When I was a missionary in Russia, I had the opportunity of loving a young girl named Nadya. Nadya and her family were new to the gospel, and full of desire to follow the Savior. Nadya possessed a purity that made my heart tingle every time I saw her. During one visit with the family, Nadya shared a favorite scripture with me:
"Great and marvelous are thy works, O Lord God Almighty! Thy throne is high in the heavens, and thy power, and goodness, and mercy are over all the inhabitants of the earth; and, because thou art merciful, thou wilt not suffer those who come unto thee that they shall perish!" --Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 1:14
Yesterday, some twelve years after hearing Nadya share that verse, I began again the Book of Mormon, and again heard Nadya's voice as I read the verse. Life is daunting. Challenges abound. It can be scary to think about approaching God, whether such fear emanates from our own feelings of unworthiness, or from our feelings of our nothingness before God. God, however, notwithstanding his greatness, his power, his goodness, is filled with mercy and with love for us. He wants us to approach him. He wants us to include him in our lives. Sweet Nadya taught me on that cold winter day long ago that God loves us and that he won't cause us to perish if we go to him - we can safely approach him. On yesterday's cold winter day, I was reminded that not only will he not cause us to perish, but our only way to be safe is if we do approach him. He is home base. We can keep playing life's game of tag, running from or smack dab into challenges, temptations, sorrows, or heartaches, but we will have to keep running or perish, unless we keep touch on our base, our safety, our Savior. As long as we go to Him, He will not allow us to perish. He will save us from all that fights against us. I am grateful beyond words for that, and so grateful that Nadya shared this verse with me, so that I cannot read it without feeling its truth and power.
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