tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1943020487912844322.post8486671905156050042..comments2022-10-13T21:34:19.790-04:00Comments on "In My Days": A rod of IronL. Conkey Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08975100986842139102noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1943020487912844322.post-51525529998020001722010-06-15T10:20:18.145-04:002010-06-15T10:20:18.145-04:00Perhaps the older children remember a different ve...Perhaps the older children remember a different version of the rod of iron in Cleveland... When we moved there I worked downtown near the shore of Lake Erie in the Bond Court building on East 9th street just up from where the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame would later be built. There were times when the howling winds coming off Lake Erie were so strong that it would literally knock down people walking on the sidewalks around the building - particularly in Winter when the snow and ice made footing less than sure. As a result, the Bond Court building, along with a number of other buildings near the lakefront, had iron railings along the sidewalks so that pedestrians could have the support needed to continue walking on their paths. <br /><br />I have thought about the applicability of these supporting rods of iron and some of the challenges of mortality. When we know about a particular challenge in our life (a howling wind) do we struggle to walk unaided in our paths in spite of the challenge or do we seek to establish in advance rods of iron that we can hold to for support as we try to walk our paths. Depending on the nature of the challenge there are many potential sources of support we can rely upon - family, friends, scriptures, prayer, faith, the Holy Ghost. <br /><br />It's also important to note that while some of the challenges of life may directly or indirectly result from choices that we make, other times the challenges are merely the result of the vicissitudes of the winds of mortality that blow in one degree or another upon all who sojourn in this earthly existence. For such challenges, which come unbidden and unexpectedly, the strongest and most reliable support is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ - a faith which must be continually built-up for those times when we need to make withdrawals.<br /><br />It is my hope and prayer that each of us will take time daily to make protective deposits against the time, which surely will come, when the howling winds will blow in our lives.Dadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01309779162408195280noreply@blogger.com