On Life, Loss, and Angels

©2019 Susan Noyes Anderson

Image by Brian Kershisnik

Life brings challenges and joys.
Our path to progress was foretold.
We chose the bitter with the sweet
and vowed to step out brave and bold.

We were God’s children, well-prepared
to walk His way and show our worth,
but we could not perceive the pains
we would be subject to on earth.

And yet we ventured forth in faith,
upheld by Father’s promise sure.
A Savior was brought forth for us,
and in His grace, we would endure.

No anguish could exceed His reach.
Christ opens loving arms to all.
He goes before us, and His angels
bear us up each time we fall.

And we, as soldiers in a battle,
face down each unyielding foe;
overwhelmed and yet unbeaten,
laboring to learn and grow.

Heartbreak is a potent teacher.
Grief and loss make humble hearts.
Illness slides us into stillness,
drives us to our sacred parts.

Souls need strength to carry on
when hardship tries to drain our will;
but in those darkening hours, stand fast.
The angels circle round us still.

“For I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left,
and my spirit shall be in your hearts and mine angels round about you,
to bear you up. ~ D&C 84:88

If this poem resonates with you, you may also relate to “Innocence Lost.”

Related Poems:

Sharing the Burden Love and Lighthouses Peace, My Child The Promise