Better Than You Think

 The  movie "Greyhound"  tells the fictional, but historically accurate story of a captain of a warship tasked with the difficult job of leading a convoy of ships through a portion of the Atlantic which was outside the range of air support during World War II.   (Partial spoiler alert- I am going to talk about the film so if you want to watch it first stop here😊).

Pilots in the air could see and attack the German U-boats from above but only had the fuel range to fly a certain distance from shores.  During the war, the U-boats destroyed more than 3500 allied ships, including unarmed merchants.  

The ships would group into convoys to travel across the out of range portion of the journey which took about five days to cross.  The U-boats would group into "wolf packs" and generally attack at night when the ships lost visual support.  

I don't want to ruin the story but the captain faces many losses and feels them incredibly deeply.  Even when his crew celebrates the successful hit of a U-boat he reminds them that souls have been lost.  

As the movie progresses, Tom Hanks does an excellent job of showing the emotional strain and the feeling that he has increasingly failed.  Each hit and each of the more than 200 lives taken add to his distress.

But at the conclusion of his turn at the helm, feeling battered and physically and emotionally exhausted he passes through the convoy he protected and is greeted by thousands of soldiers cheering him.  It's a poignant reminder of his resounding success in spite of the failure he has noted. 

There are many times in life where we can feel physically and emotionally exhausted.   Where we feel like we are losing the battle.  The hits from the enemy are hitting those around us and we can feel powerless as they spiritually sink.  

Parenting can feel like this as we try to help our kids cross the deep waters knowing the enemy lurks below waiting to attack our children's weak spots.  Sleepless nights at the helm wear us down.  We will make mistakes when we say the wrong things, let them down, and fail to provide what they need.  

Our deep love for them magnifies our errors and imperfections. Satan applauds when we give up in despair.  Like the ship captain we can easily focus on the hits and the losses.  

But if we remember to look up and ask for God's help, we will see the thousands and thousands of things we have done right.  We will hear the echoes of the cheering from heaven for every choice made in kindness, every sacrifice to help them, every apology and attempt to make it right, every prayer offered in their behalf. 

Elder Holland shared this powerful apostolic reminder, "To all mothers (and I would add all people) in every circumstance, including those who struggle—and all will—I say, “Be peaceful. Believe in God and yourself. You are doing better than you think you are. In fact, you are saviors on Mount Zion."