I realized today that I am not doing very well with my New Years Resolution of having a clearer perspective.
I guess it lasted about as long as it took to type that posting, ha ha ha. Its not so very funny, but what else can I do but laugh? :) I can rest easy knowing that most New Years Resolutions have probably been broken by now.
After I posted on here last night, I was thinking about the lesson I taught in Relief Society on Sunday and a couple of the quotes by President Snow were running through my head... I figured I needed to read them again and reflect on them a little deeper.
"... in speaking of its
effects, the Apostle [Paul] says: “The spirit is given to every man
to profit withal. To one is given faith.” (See 1 Corinthians 12: 7, 9) Not
a common, ordinary faith, which some people pretend to at the present
day; but a faith which enabled its possessors to be sawn asunder, to
be cast into dens of lions, fiery furnaces, and to undergo tortures
of every description. This was the kind of faith that the Holy Ghost
conferred upon those who possessed it, enabling its possessor to
stand in the midst of every difficulty, defy every opposition and lay
down his life, if necessary, for the cause that he had espoused."
~ Lorenzo Snow
"If we keep the light of
the Spirit within us, we can so walk in the gospel that we can
measurably enjoy peace and happiness in this world; and while we are
traveling onward, striving for peace and happiness that lies in our
path, in the distance, we shall have a peace of mind that none can
enjoy but those who are filled with the Holy Spirit."
~ Lorenzo Snow
Light.
That is key.
Back in 1996, I was a new young single adult and I was sitting in the tabernacle on Temple Square listening to a fireside where President Hinckley was speaking. I wrote down something he said that night that has stayed with me and has been something I try to reflect on when I need to.
He said:
"Wherever the light of Christ enters, the darkness of satan must depart."
~ Gordon B. Hinckley
I know that can apply within us.
When I am going through really rough times, I am letting the darkness of satan get me down and take over my thoughts and feelings, but when I allow the Holy Ghost to comfort me, or the light of Christ to radiate from within, then it pushes that darkness out. There is no way for the light of Christ and the darkness of satan to dwell in the same space. So, when I let my heart be filled with the light of Christ and the peace of His love, it radiates from within and I can walk around feeling like a beam of sunshine. I need to let the light of Christ shine through my countenance so that others can see and know that I love the Lord and that I know He loves me.
I need to try harder.
I need to do better.
I really do.
It sure would be nice to see the sunshine more often,
I also need for Spring to arrive.
I also need for Spring to arrive.
I need light and warmth.
My sister posted this on facebook and it hit me hard today, I want it to be here to read and re-read.
"The house is not the family. The wind may
tear the roof off, blow out the windows; the hurricane may even sweep
the house away; but the family remains, that which makes the home. Nor
is the body the life itself. It is but the house in which the spirit
lives. Sickness may waste the body, but the true life is the spirit
within, the which thinks and feels and loves and suffers and wills and
chooses, aspires, and achieves. The purpose of life is to beautify,
ornament, develop that something within. To develop a more radiant and
lovely character is the true purpose of life." ~David O. McKay
* * *
4 comments:
I never think a new year's resolution is "broken" if you stray from it a bit. Just keep working towards getting back to it. I figure I have the whole year (and truthfully, a whole lifetime) to work on getting better at that resolution.
Looking for light is hard in the middle of a dreary winter on your side of the Rockies. It takes a toll on some people, when the sky is always gray and overcast...I agree with you, Spring is always welcome after a long cold winter.
New years resolutions are so hard to follow, sometimes it seems like it is a set up for failure. Sometimes it is okay to give up your burdens, give them to Him, and rest your soul for awhile. Sometimes by deciding to be okay with what is and that it is okay to be happy with what is you will find that Heavenly Father has the most wonderful things in store even if it is not what we planned for ourselves. I hope I am not coming across as making light of your burdens for that is not what I am trying to do. President James E Faust in his talk Refined in Our trials states: The Divine Shepherd has a message of hope, strength, and deliverance for all. If there were no night we would not appreciate the day, nor could we see the stars and the vastness of the heavens. We must partake of the bitter with the sweet. There is divine purpose in the adversities we encounter every day. They prepare, they purge, they purify, and thus they bless.
When we pluck the roses, we find we often cannot avoid the thorns which spring from the stem.
Out of the refiner's fire can come a glorious deliverance. It can be a noble and lasting rebirth. The price to be come acquainted with God will have been paid. There can come a sacred peace. There will be a reawakening of dormant, inner resources. A comfortable cloak or righteousness will be drawn around us to protect us and keep us warm spiritually. Self pity will vanish as are blessings are counted.
The blessings of eternity will surely come to those who endure refining, as the Lord Himself taught: He only is saved who endureth to the unto the end.' I testify that Jesus is the Christ and the Divine Redeemer. He lives! His are the sweet words of eternal life."
Just remember YOU are a daughter of God. He KNOWS you and he LOVES you. He knows the trials of your heart that you don't even share here. YOU are special to HIM, he knows YOU by name. And most of all he will not forsake you.
How many deer have you seen lately? Don't know why but I just feel prompted to ask :)
Beautifully said and something I need to remember as well.
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