So often when my head hangs low feeling the weight of my sorrow stone filled bucket, I have to remind myself to lift my eyes up. For tied to my bucket (and very often tied to each individual stone) there are a mass of colorful blessings rising up like balloons in the sky, lifting a bit of their sorrowful anchor.
I am amazed at the sheer number of blessing balloons are tied to some of my weightier stones. For example, I lost one child, yet I have been blessed with 5 other healthy, living children. Because of the loss of that one child, I have gained thousands of new friends I have never met. I have gained a wealth of wisdom and a greater appreciation for my motherhood.
And these are only a few of the blessing balloons tied to that one most weighty sorrow stone in my bucket. And I know there are a multitude of blessing balloons tied to that stone which are not currently in my view but they are there, subtly lifting me up all the same.
These balloons cannot remove the stones from my bucket. The sorrows are still there. But when I remember to lift my eyes to the heavens, in a beautiful array they are a manifestation of the Lord's love for me. They let me know that not only will the Savior help carry my load, but that I am blessed in other ways as a sort of side compensation for my sacrifice. As Maria in the Sound of Music says, "when the Lord closes a door, somewhere he opens a window."
I have been looking up these last few days, and counting all those balloons in the sky. I feel I should be floating, seeing so many. Sometimes it really pays to just look UP.
