Homeward Bound

Last week as my companion and I were leaving an appointment out in the country, it started to get really dark and there were a lot of windy roads so, naturally I turned the brights on. I immediately was like, "WHOA! I can see so much more now!" This is something so silly but I am always amazed how our vision and our sight increase in the dark once we turn those brights on. 

I relate this to how so many of us lose sight of our purpose and what the heck we're doing here on earth. Just like our vision increases as we turn on our brights at night, our eternal vision increases as we remember where we came from.  When we take time to think about who we really are and where we were before this life, we can more fully understand our purpose and our potential. 

Before we came here to this earth, we lived as spirits with our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ. We grew and developed. Because Heavenly Father loves us so much, He created a plan for us to become more like Him and live up to our divine potential as His children. Part of that plan was us coming to earth to gain a body like Him and to obtain experiences and trials that would help us grow in character and in faith. We chose to follow this plan and chose to follow our Savior Jesus Christ before we came to earth.

There is a talk by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf that so beautifully explains our experience in our pre-earth life and what might have been going through our minds as we made the decision to come here.....

"We do not know many details about life in that premortal sphere, but we do know some. Our Heavenly Father has revealed to us who He is, who we are, and who we can become.

Back in that first estate, you knew with absolute certainty that God existed because you saw and heard Him. You knew Jesus Christ, who would become the Lamb of God. You had faith in Him. And you knew that your destiny was not to stay in the security of your premortal home. As much as you loved that eternal sphere, you knew you wanted and needed to embark on a journey. You would depart from the arms of your Father, pass through a veil of forgetfulness, receive a mortal body, and learn and experience things that hopefully would help you grow to become more like Father in Heaven and return to His presence.

In that sacred place, surrounded by those you knew and loved, the great question on your lips and in your heart must have been “Will I return safely to my heavenly home?”

There were so many things that would be out of your control. Mortal life would be hard at times, filled with unexpected bends in the road: sickness, heartbreak, accidents, conflict.

Without a memory of your previous existence—without remembering that you once walked with your Father in Heaven—would you still recognize His voice amid all the noise and distractions of mortal life?

The journey ahead seemed so long and uncertain—so filled with risk.

It wouldn’t be easy, but you knew it was worth every effort.

So, there you stood on the edge of eternity, looking forward with unspeakable excitement and hope—and, I imagine, also with a degree of worry and fear.

In the end, you knew God would be just—that His goodness would triumph...

And a great step forward …

And here you are!

You have, each one of you, embarked on your own wonderful journey back to your heavenly home!"

This image that President Uchtdorf painted so wonderfully helps us understand that this life is truly a journey, a journey back to our Heavenly Father.

There was a period in my life when I did not recognize God or have an understanding of who He is. That was not something of importance to me. I will never forget the part of my journey that led me back to that knowledge of where I came from. It gave my life a whole new meaning. Shortly after receiving this sweet testimony I was listening to Simon and Garfunkel when their song "Homeward Bound"scratched across the record player. I sat and pondered on the title of that song and I immediately had this overwhelming feeling that I was finally back on my path to my Heavenly Father. I was truly "Homeward Bound." 

I want to bear testimony of what President Uchtdorf shared above, Heavenly Father has truly revealed to us who He is, who we are and who we can become. My favorite part of the hymn More Holiness Give Me, are the words, "..more longing for home." I invite each of us to truly take time to remember where we came from and where we want to be- back with our Heavenly Father- and to truly feel more longing for our eternal home with Him.

 Life is full of windy roads like the ones here in the South. When we think about where those windy roads are taking us, that's when the brights turn on and we are better able to make it home safely.  May we all make the decisions and live in a way so that we can truly be "Homeward Bound."