I Am With Thee, & Will Keep Thee

Recently I was at the temple with my husband doing sealings. It had been awhile & I kept getting flashes of a feeling throughout. What IS that feeling? I wondered. Then it hit me- Coming Home. Beautiful familiarity, security, belonging, peace. Even those words don’t quite hit on what I felt.

And then when the sealer mentioned "Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob" my ears perked up & in light of my recent studies, I wanted to say excitedly, "I KNOW THEM!!" Cause I feel like I kinda do, really, for the first time in my life.

And then when I carefully folded my sacred & symbolic temple clothing, I felt a rush of connection with ancient Israel! Their worship, my worship. Their covenants, my covenants. Their God, my God.

With Sarah, who waited so so long to see promises fulfilled, but rejoiced knowing they were coming. 

With Hagar, who wanted to be seen, & God saw her!

With Rebekah, who said I WILL GO. Who inquired of the Lord & to whom the true birthright of her babies was revealed.

With Rachel & Leah, each with their own struggles, but destined to be the mothers of Israel, of those very tribes we are meant to help gather!

With Jacob & his temple experience as he slept on rocks, glimpsing the “ladder” to heaven, Christ reaffirming his right to hold the blessings of the Abrahamic covenant, promising, “I am with thee, & will keep thee in all places… I will not leave thee” (Gen 28:15) & Jacob’s vow back, realizing all that the Savior offers him, “If God will be with me, & will keep me in this way that I go… then shall the Lord be my God” (20-21) ❤️

And “this stone,” the very stone he slept on as a pillow, “shall be God’s house” (22) Ordinary made holy. Kinda like Jacob himself.

His wrestle! His name change, how symbolic! Jacob to Israel- Let God Prevail!  It brings tears to my eyes, am I weird?!

Not to mention his reunion with his brother Esau! All the feels!

How awesome to be part of the gathering of Israel! How awesome to make my own covenants with God! How grateful I am to those faithful, imperfect people who have gone before. I can’t wait to chill out on the heavenly couch with them one day, hear their full stories, ask them questions, & really say, “I KNOW THEM!”