There are times when tender mercies are difficult to find. When the stress of a pandemic, earthquakes, and social distancing overwhelm the strongest among us. I learned something prior to the distress we’re currently facing that has brought peace adjusting to a “new normal.”
I was listening to the BYU Maxwell Institute Podcast episode "Briefly Jacob" with guest Deidre Green. She was interviewed by host Blair Hodges about the Maxwell Institute’s series of books, Brief Theological Introductions to The Book of Mormon, of which she authors the volume of Jacob. Hodges quotes her writing of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection, “By viewing the duration of Christ’s death, we witness and embrace loss that has not yet found resolution.”
I think that we need to be instructed by the way in which Christ’s death and resurrection happen. There’s a reason it doesn’t occur instantaneously, right? There isn’t an instantaneous resolution. And I think there’s a type there, or a prefiguring of what we all experience at various times in our life. And if this is the way that God chose to carry out the most important event in human history, then we ought to learn from that. That this is how God wants it to be. There needs to be this sort of empty, ambiguous spaces in our lives. And that there’s something productive for us in engaging those with authenticity. – Deidre Green
That struck my heart. Why three days? What am I to learn from that? After Christ’s death, his apostles didn’t realize he would return so soon. Will I feel the same way when my own trials and struggles are over? Will I look back and think, “Well, that wasn’t long at all. In fact, it felt like three days.”
I searched for a symbol I could wear to remind me to be patient and wait upon the Lord. I wondered what piece of jewelry I could find to symbolize waiting upon the Lord. I didn’t really want to wear an empty cross, but wearing a closed tomb would have just been a rock around my neck. In the middle of a text conversation, while waiting for a response, I noticed the talk bubble with those pulsating dots and I knew I had my symbol.
…
The ellipsis. Three dots to represent three days. A reminder that answers will come, trials will end, and, eventually, the peace we all seek will return, punctuating all our waiting with a final period.
I was able to find a metal stamp of three small dots that would fit perfectly on miniature silver circle tags I had from making bracelets for Personal Progress. Since I had leftover waxed twine as well, I created a symbol to look to whenever I needed the admonition of patience.
I’ve been able to share these with friends and family who are struggling, enabling me to comfort those that stand in need of comfort. That’s brought me more peace than any symbol I could wear.
