There Will Be An Answer

“When I find myself in times of trouble Mother Mary comes to me, speaking words of wisdom, let it be.”

Did you read or sing that line? Most will recognize this as the lyrics to one of the Beatles and rock and roll's most famous songs. What most don’t know is the story behind the song. It is not about “Mother Mary” in the biblical sense, although Mary is Paul McCartney’s mother’s name. It was 1968, the Beatles were enjoying huge success but things were not going well between them. McCartney felt lost and was doing drugs, drinking and staying up late. His mother had died twelve years earlier. The memory of what her face looked like had faded. One night he had a dream about her. Her face was very clear, so much so he could see her eyes. She spoke to him gently and reassuringly, “Let it be,” she told him. McCartney said, “It was lovely. I woke up with a great feeling. It was really like she had visited me at this very difficult point in my life and gave me this message: Be gentle, don’t fight things, just try and go with the flow and it will all work out.”

Upon waking, McCartney immediately went to his piano and wrote the lyrics to “Let it be”:
A song that has become an iconic rock and roll hymn. It was one of the first songs he and his wife Linda played together and after nearly thirty years of marriage, it was played at her funeral. Since that fateful visit from McCartney’s mother Mary fifty years ago, singing or applying the wisdom “Let it Be” has brought comfort and healing across the globe. On more than one occasion I have experienced things that made me realize I don’t always see what’s right in front of me and an answer can be so much simpler then what I perceived. Two of these stories are funny, two of them were deep personal reflections.

A number of years ago I was in Georgia paying for a purchase at a gas station. My eyes caught a display of coconut M&M’s. I love chocolate and coconut, so I bought two bags in case I really liked them. My instincts were right - I loved them. I lived in Minnesota at the time and made a point to go back to that gas station and purchase ten more bags to take home with me. I had not seen them in my home state, so I wanted to stock up. A short time later, I visited a friend and brought her a bag. She liked the same types of candy as me, so I was sure she would like them. She did, and I was happy to share my newly found Georgia exclusive treat! Not long after that I met up with her again for my birthday and she gave me a one-pound bag of these delectable delights. Oh my gosh! “Did you buy these on Amazon?” I asked. She chuckled. “I bought them at WalMart two miles away, Jill!” “No way!” “Yep, they had an entire display of them.”

I couldn’t believe it. In an attempt to prove myself not so dumb that I would have to go back to Georgia (or call on a friend who had already agreed to send me more), I stopped at the gas station six blocks from my house on my way home. Guess what I found? Those coconut M&M’s were in the candy aisle. I never bothered to look for them because I had convinced myself they could only be found in one place. Silly me.

The month of July has been challenging for me since 1982, the year my eleven-year old brother died. I developed a disdain for that month for many years until the sting wore off. Twenty-seven years later I would lose my own son and six years after that, my house would be struck by lightning and start on fire. Both occurred in the month of July. “Why God, why July?” I asked and wondered in my head over and over until one day last fall I had an epiphany. July is not a month in which I was being personally punished, it was a month for me to remember my faith. The month for me to be reminded that my trials have built my character and that I have never walked alone through this journey. The month for me to be reminded whose I am and whom I should lean in to for the greatest understanding. The month that on numerous occasions my faith grew deeper and continues to prepare me for what is yet to be. What I love about this epiphany is that it came to me thirty-two years after I decided I was never going to like July. One simple thought changed my entire perspective.

The second epiphany I had happened this past spring when I was hiking by myself on a quiet trail near my home in Indiana. Someone had recently asked me what I feared. I replied only one thing: being alone. As I am walking alone and having this thought, I laughed out loud at myself. Why the heck would I fear being alone, when I spend so much time alone? Another long comfortable selfish thought kicked to the curb in an instant! Nothing to worry about here, when I am clearly already living comfortably (mostly) with my own company.

Finally, this one will hit home with my fellow Minnesotans. My entire life I have believed that Pearson’s Candy Company made their Salted Nut Roll candy bar only in Minnesota. It has long been practiced that when one moves from MN to states otherwise, you send goodies that are exclusive to our home state. Salted Nut Rolls are at the top of this list. Last fall I met up with a friend for several days of camping in Oklahoma and Arkansas. I was living in Florida at the time and a MN friend had recently sent me a bag of salted nut rolls. I brought some with to share with him, believing it would be a new treat. Well, it was new, but only temporarily. After we parted ways and he was back in Oklahoma, he sent me a picture of a display of salted nut rolls at a local grocery store. No way! I was absolutely certain they were ONLY available in MN. Several months later when I moved to Indiana, guess what I found at my local grocery? Yep, the MN exclusive Salted Nut Roll! A friend of mine works at the Pearsons factory in MN and was able to obtain a twenty-five pound salted nut roll as a donation for a charitable event I host in July. We put it in the silent auction. The winning bidder is getting married in December and is going to serve it at his wedding! How neat - a MN exclusive candy bar at a MN wedding. HA!

“Letting things be” later opened my eyes and gifted me life changing perspective. The answers came eventually. Believing what I once thought was not in front me, but really was, has also been life changing and may have satisfied a candy craving or two.

Whisper words of wisdom, “Let it Be.” There will be an answer.