He's Been There Before

Recently, I received a letter from a good friend on his mission. With his letter, he enclosed a poem written from an Elder on his mission. This particular Elder was having a hard time and just woke up one morning and started writing. It's called "He's Been There Before" by Elder Troy Whittle. I hope you guys enjoy; I sure did!

The alarm bell rings at 6:30, I stumble to my feet

I grab my companions bedding and pull off his sheets

A groan fills the room, is it already time to arise?

It seems like just a second ago I was able to shut my eyes

The morning activities follow-study, prayer and such

When it's time to leave the apartment, you feel you haven't accomplished much

"We have a super day planned," My comp. says with a grin

I lowly utter a faithless breath, "Yeah, if anyone lets us in."

With the word of God and my faithful Schwinn, we ride off in the street

prepared to face another day of humidity and heat

It's 9:30 in the evening, the day is almost through

My companion and I are riding home not accomplishing what we thought to do

We ride up to the mailbox, hoping to receive a lot

Only to look inside and hear my echo reverberate "air box"

We go up to our apartment, the day is now complete

The only thing to show for our work is a case of blistery feet

It's past 10:30 p.m. My companion is fast asleep,

Silence engulfs me all about and I began to weep

In the midst of sadness, I kneel down to pray

I need to talk to Father, but Im' not sure what to say

"Oh, Father" I begin, "What happened to us today"

I thought we'd teach somebody, but everyone was away

My hands, my aching hands-worn, hurt and beat;

If our area was any smaller, we'd have knocked every street"

"Why on missions are the days so much alike?

The only difference about today was the flat tire on my bike

Will you send some cooler weather? The heat is killing me

I sweat so bad, it gets in my eyes, it's very hard to see."

"Why do I have to wear a helmet, isn't your protection enough?

People always laugh at me, and call me stuped stuff

Please send us investigators so I may give them what they lack

I want to give them Books of Mormon, the weight of them hurts my back"

"And what about my family; they don't have much to say

I'm sick of not hearing from hom day after day after day

Oh Father, Why am I here? Am I just wasting time?

Sometimes I just want to go home, I'm sorry but that's on my mind"

"My companion, Heavenly Father, what are you giving me?

The way he rides his bicycle, I don't think he can see

Now you have it, I can't go on. I don't know what to do

That, my Father in Heaven, is the prayer I have for you"

My prayer now finished, I stand up, then jump right into bed

I need my rest for tomorrow, we have another long day ahead

Sleep starts to overtake me, I seem to drift away

Then it seems a vision takes me to another time in another day

I'm standing alone on the hill. The view is very nice

A man walks towards me and says, "My name is Jesus Christ."

Tears of joy well up inside, I fall down to His feet

"Arise," He states, "Follow me to the shade. You and I need to speak."

My attention's towards my Savior, total and complete

He says, "Your mission is similar of what happened to me

I understand how you feel, I now what you're going through

In fact, it would be fair to say I've felt the same as you."

"I even know how you felt when no one listened to you

At times I felt not quite sure what else I could do

I know you don't like to ride a bicycle, for you a car would be sweet

Just remember the donkey I rode wasn't equipped with 21 speeds."

"I understand you don't like sweating, in fact it's something you hate

I remember when I sweat blood from ev'ry pore, oh the agony was great!

I see you don't like your companion-you'd rather have someone else-

I once had a companion named Judas who sold my life for wealth."

"It's hard to wear a helmet and have people make fun of you

I remember when they put thorns on my head and called me 'King of the Jews'

So you feel burdened down by the weight of your pack

I recall how heavy the cross was when the slammed in on my back."

"Your hands hurt from tracting and knocking on doors all day

I guess when they pounded nails into mine, I ached in a similar way

It's hard not to hear from home when your family's not there to see

I lost communication on the cross and cried, "Father, why hast Thou forsaken me?"

"We have a lot in common, but there's a difference between us you see

I endured to the end and finished my mission. so follow and do like me."

He embraced me with His arms and His light filled me with His love

With tears in my eyes I watched as He went back to the Father above

I stood with awe and wonder when a beep rang in my head

I listened and heard the alarm, then realized I was in my bed

My companion let out a groan, "6:30 already, no way!"

I sat up and said, "Come on, I'll even carry your scriptures today!"

No matter what we go through, when we feel we can't take more

Just stop and think about Jesus Christ, He's been there before.

I hope we always remember that He went through everything He did for us. There is nothing we go through where we will be completely alone. He DOES know what we're going through and He DOES understand and will ALWAYS be here for us; His arms are outstretched to us. We just need to remember to trust in Him and always keep Him in our lives. I have a tile that I keep in my room which says: Just BELIEVE, and let Him in. Also, one of my favorite quotes is 'When life gets too tough to stand, KNEEL.' I hope that you always remember this and know that when life is hard, we should definitely turn to Him to find strength and comfort. I'm so grateful for His atoning sacrifice and for everything He has and continues to do for me. I hope you all will be able to find the comfort needed in this poem.