This morning I was thinking about spa robes and being covered. During my 2 days of being stranded at LAX last week, my airline put us up for a night's stay in a pretty fancy hotel. For me, a hotel is "fancy" when everything appears to be brand new, ultra modern and there is a white Egyptian Cotton spa rope hanging up in the closet. Feeling a little beat up from the airport, I was all over that action. I took an insanely long hot shower with the massage shower head, used every drop of the free toiletries, tenderly put lotion all over my tired body, covered up in the white robe and slippers and plopped on the bed. Wrapping up in a clean, white, spa robe makes me feel special and that I deserve a great big hug. This is luxury. It stood in stark contrast to flying on the cheapo airline that doesn't even serve water or peanuts, makes you pay to use the overhead bins, and can't seem to replace or repair a plane to carry us back to Provo. Happens the original plane had some type of malfunction due to a bird flying into the engine. Go figure. Utah Lake IS one of the best places for bird watching in the state of Utah-perhaps not the best place for an airport. Nevertheless when we finally landed at 3:30 a.m. Saturday morning, the flight attended reminded us that even though it had taken them longer than expected, (2 days versus 1 hour) the airline had flown us safely to our destination. I admit, I felt relief when the plane's wheels finally touched down at our rinky dink airport. Besides our fancy hotel, the company fed us expensive airport food for 2 days and gave us 200$ worth of airline credit All these perks including the spa robe reminded me even though we were at their mercy and had no control over the situation, they made an effort to take care of their passengers-or at least they tried to. They had us covered.
If I'm not covered, then I'm exposed, naked, vulnerable, unprotected, unsafe; it's flying by the seat of my pants. Stiff penalties are levied against those who drive without insurance coverage. As a society-we demand it. We know accidents happen-all the time. Bad things happen- all the time. The sky is falling-all the time. We want to know when those bad things happen, someone's going to swoop in and fix it-make it all better, or at least for the other guy we accidentally hit and maimed. That's the law. Coverage isn't luxury, it's necessity. Who wants to drive a dented up piece a junk all through high school? My then 15 yr old son wished my insurance covered his mishaps when taking my car in the dead of night while I slept. With my income, I couldn't afford to make it all better one my own and my insurance surely wouldn't cover that situation.
With my beat up life, I can't afford to fix it on my own. I metaphorically drive around with a huge dent in my door, the convertible top is busted and won't retract, the headlights are busted, rearview mirror is swinging, the vinyl is ripped. It doesn't even come close to having the new car smell it use to have. We kept driving that car and tried to make the best of it. Recently someone noted how with my first marriage, I had been trying to make the best of a bad situation but how I could have made different choices to influence my children for the better. Just because my "relationship car" still had workable, good features-it didn't make it a keeper. Focusing on the good part doesn't make the whole good. It's lost it's inherent value-the Kelley Blue Book buyback price. No one could swoop in and fix it and restore it to factory condition. Since the premium of covenant keeping wasn't paid, I didn't have coverage.
I want to be covered. I want to be protected. I want the embrace. More luxurious than any spa robe or superwow comprehensive car insurance is the coverage offered through the Savior's grace.
Russell M. Nelson states, " In Hebrew, the basic word for atonement is kahar, a verb that means "to cover" or "to forgive." Closely related is the Aramaic and Arabic word kafat, meaning "a close embrace"-no doubt related to the Egyptian ritual embrace. References to that embrace are evident in the Book of Mormon. One states that "the Lord hath redeemed my soul...; I have beheld his glory, and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love.Another proffers the glorious hope of our being “clasped in the arms of Jesus." I weep for joy when I contemplate the significance of it all. To be redeemed is to be atoned—received in the close embrace of God with an expression not only of His forgiveness, but of our oneness of heart and mind. What a privilege! "
Jesus Christ swoops in and makes it all better-my very own hold harmless clause. Through his grace I am justified. Jesus Christ also enables me to be a changed person as I continue to repent. Through his grace I am sanctified. Through his continuous atonement and my continual conversion, He is able to separate out my evil and my desire for evil and lift it out of me- remove it, burn and purify, make holy, so the whole is good. Though I beat myself up for past choices, I had faith in the atonement then, and I still do. His incomparable grace wraps me up helping me to feel I am being cared for-even pampered at times. "...These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." (Revelation 7:14) I join my voice to Nephi as he pleads, "O Lord, wilt thou encircle me around in the robe of thy righteousness." Now that's coverage!
If I'm not covered, then I'm exposed, naked, vulnerable, unprotected, unsafe; it's flying by the seat of my pants. Stiff penalties are levied against those who drive without insurance coverage. As a society-we demand it. We know accidents happen-all the time. Bad things happen- all the time. The sky is falling-all the time. We want to know when those bad things happen, someone's going to swoop in and fix it-make it all better, or at least for the other guy we accidentally hit and maimed. That's the law. Coverage isn't luxury, it's necessity. Who wants to drive a dented up piece a junk all through high school? My then 15 yr old son wished my insurance covered his mishaps when taking my car in the dead of night while I slept. With my income, I couldn't afford to make it all better one my own and my insurance surely wouldn't cover that situation.
With my beat up life, I can't afford to fix it on my own. I metaphorically drive around with a huge dent in my door, the convertible top is busted and won't retract, the headlights are busted, rearview mirror is swinging, the vinyl is ripped. It doesn't even come close to having the new car smell it use to have. We kept driving that car and tried to make the best of it. Recently someone noted how with my first marriage, I had been trying to make the best of a bad situation but how I could have made different choices to influence my children for the better. Just because my "relationship car" still had workable, good features-it didn't make it a keeper. Focusing on the good part doesn't make the whole good. It's lost it's inherent value-the Kelley Blue Book buyback price. No one could swoop in and fix it and restore it to factory condition. Since the premium of covenant keeping wasn't paid, I didn't have coverage.
I want to be covered. I want to be protected. I want the embrace. More luxurious than any spa robe or superwow comprehensive car insurance is the coverage offered through the Savior's grace.
Russell M. Nelson states, " In Hebrew, the basic word for atonement is kahar, a verb that means "to cover" or "to forgive." Closely related is the Aramaic and Arabic word kafat, meaning "a close embrace"-no doubt related to the Egyptian ritual embrace. References to that embrace are evident in the Book of Mormon. One states that "the Lord hath redeemed my soul...; I have beheld his glory, and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love.Another proffers the glorious hope of our being “clasped in the arms of Jesus." I weep for joy when I contemplate the significance of it all. To be redeemed is to be atoned—received in the close embrace of God with an expression not only of His forgiveness, but of our oneness of heart and mind. What a privilege! "
Jesus Christ swoops in and makes it all better-my very own hold harmless clause. Through his grace I am justified. Jesus Christ also enables me to be a changed person as I continue to repent. Through his grace I am sanctified. Through his continuous atonement and my continual conversion, He is able to separate out my evil and my desire for evil and lift it out of me- remove it, burn and purify, make holy, so the whole is good. Though I beat myself up for past choices, I had faith in the atonement then, and I still do. His incomparable grace wraps me up helping me to feel I am being cared for-even pampered at times. "...These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." (Revelation 7:14) I join my voice to Nephi as he pleads, "O Lord, wilt thou encircle me around in the robe of thy righteousness." Now that's coverage!
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