The School Bus Episode

The other day as Elder Ika and I drove to the mission home, we saw all the kids heading to school.  A lot were on their bikes, some were walking, and some had gotten rides from their parents.  However, the most recognizable mode of transport was that of the big yellow school buses.  As I watched them drop off students, my thoughts took me back to an incident in my life that happened about fifteen years ago... 

My family and I were living in Colorado at the time.  I was either in kindergarten or first grade and decided that I wanted to ride the bus to and from school.  My mom walked me down to the corner which served as the bus stop, gave me a hug, and told me that she would be waiting for me after school at the corner.  It was a lot of fun riding the bus with my friends and school was of course all that little kids want.

On the way home while on the bus, I tried to pay special attention to where we stopped because I wanted to make sure I got off at the right stop.  Well, there was a stop on the corner with a hill leading up just like the road that I lived on.  So of course I got off.  Then it hit me...I was not at the right corner.  Terror and fear filled my little six-year old body and I did what any kid would do.  I burst into tears.  Luckily the bus driver had waited to make sure we all went on our way, noticed my anguish, and told me to get on.  The next stop we went to guess who was at the corner.  It was none other but my mom.  I had forgotten that she had promised that she would be there.  What relief and joy filled me at that moment.

This morning as I reflected on this experience my mind was taken to a scripture found in the Book of Mormon.  It is 2nd Nephi chapter 31 verse 20, which states "Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ...wherefore, if ye shall press forward and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father...ye shall have eternal life."  Endure to the end, it is definitely one of those phrases that is easier said than done.  Endure to the end means to keep going and stay true to what we know and the commitments we have made to our Heavenly Father.  Endure to the end means that each day we need to do a little more and be a little better.

Christ's Embrace

I learned the lesson of enduring to the end on the school bus, I just did not realize it.  Had I trusted in my mom's promise and looked for her at the corner, I could have avoided the fear that came with getting off the path early.  We never know when our "end" is; however, as we work each day and trust in the Lord's promises, He will be there to comfort us and give us strength.