In a covenant relationship with God, we are always in His hands.My dear friend Garna, single well into her 30s, recently told me about the deeply satisfying covenant relationship she has with God. As an unmarried woman, there were times she felt lonely—an emotion that may be felt by unmarried and married people alike—but she never felt truly alone, because she was bound to God by covenant. She felt His love in a real and sustaining way and spoke confidently of that “special kind of love and mercy” available to her because she had forged a covenant bond with Him. She was happy and confident in figuratively placing her hands in the hands of the Savior. Joyfully, Garna was sealed to Sterling in a celestial marriage. They covenanted with God and with each other to be faithful and loyal. Now Garna is yoked by covenant to God and to Sterling as well. She continues to figuratively put her hands in the hands of the Lord, and now Sterling is part of that shared bond. The lessons she learned in that change from a vertical two-person relationship to a triangular three-person covenant relationship are instructive. Garna wrote: “A recent experience caused me to reflect on what it means to be yoked in a covenant marriage. “In my 20s and 30s, I longed to find my ‘eternal companion.’ During that time, I experienced seasons of loneliness, but I never felt abandoned or disconnected from God. I knew my Savior was with me constantly and ready to support me. “For this reason, I felt something of a jolt when I experienced what felt like a change in my connection to heaven. “I was asked to write on the importance of families and ‘The Family: A Proclamation to the World.’ I spent weeks pondering, studying, and preparing in the way I always had. However, when the time came to write, I felt confused about what Heavenly Father would have me communicate. Time and time again, I sat down and stared at a blank computer screen. I looked over piles of notes, but nothing seemed to be adequate or inspired. I was missing that sense of ‘flow.’ In a moment of—quite frankly—desperation, I turned to Sterling, my husband of 11 months, and asked if he would help me brainstorm. For weeks, he had seen me study and discuss my assignment, so he eagerly agreed to help me. “Together, we sat at our kitchen table, offered a prayer for guidance, and pulled out our scriptures with all my notes. We discussed his feelings on the significance of the family proclamation, and I shared mine. It wasn’t long before the words started flowing, first a sentence, then a paragraph. We scrutinized every word, considered every meaning, and sought diligently to listen to the whisperings of the Holy Ghost. By the end, we reviewed our statement and felt certain—and relieved to know—that what we had written was not only accurate but pleasing to the Lord. “As I reflect on this experience, I marvel at the contrast between the hours I spent feeling blank and the ease I found in working with Sterling. I told myself, ‘Well, two brains are better than one,’ but I felt there was something more happening. I could think of countless times when I had received similar assignments, undertaken similar preparation, and had no trouble being guided by the Spirit, feeling sure in His promptings, without the need to rely on anybody else. “I even began to wonder if I had done something wrong to cause my mental block, but I knew these thoughts were false. “It wasn’t until I was studying the importance of families again that I received this understanding: “‘When you were single, you could lean on Me entirely. Now that you are bound in the new and everlasting covenant, you need Sterling too. Together, you can rely on Me.’ “The Spirit was teaching me that a grand blessing of my eternal marriage is a covenant bond not only with God but also with my husband. Even though we are imperfect, as we strive to keep the covenants we have made with Him, we are blessed by his merciful patience and love. We find peace and...
