The Way Begins in the Hole

The Way Begins in the Hole


Have you ever felt like you had to measure up in order to be worthy of love or help? I have. In last week's General Conference Sister Susan Porter, first counselor in the Primary General Presidency, said:

"Sometimes we mistakenly think that we can feel God's love only after we have followed the iron rod and partaken of the fruit. God's love, however, not only is received by those who come to the tree but is the very power that motivates us to seek the tree."

While I don't know that I ever consciously believed this, looking back it is clear to me that I did. It's another manifestation of the enoughness heresy, which simply says love is something I must earn. I must be enough before I am worthy of being loved, and I am not yet enough. A corollary to this belief is I can only expect God's help if I am worthy of it, and I am only worthy of it if I have already done enough. Whatever "enough" is.

I love the following quote by Helen Wodehouse, who says it better than I ever could:

"We think we must climb to a certain height of goodness before we can reach God. But He says not 'at the end of the way you may find me.' He says, 'I am the way. I am the road under your feet, the road that begins just as low down as you happen to be.'

"If we are in a hole then the way begins in the hole. The moment we set our face in the same direction as His, we are walking with God." --Helen Wodehouse as quoted in Prayer Can Change Your Life, William R. Parker and Elaine St. Johns, 17th Ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ Prentice Hall, Inc. 1965 Pp 244-5

This sings to my soul. And I have found it to be true in my own life. When I experienced one of my "rock-bottom" moments, I found God right there with me. The moment I turned toward Him, there He was. And His presence, His availability, His compassion in that moment and onward I have never forgotten. It was and continues to be "the very power that motivates" me.



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