Today was a good day for a variety of reasons:
- Got to go to church and renew covenants
- Kids were good in sacrament meeting
- My lesson went well, although the boys are ROWDY and don’t all seem to pay attention
- Got to take a great nap
- Feel better physically today
- Had a good talk with Dad about how things are going
- Had a good Family Council with Becky, talked about things
- Becky mentioned some things that I feel will really motivate me to succeed:
- my entire family on both sides is watching to see how I do with this new endeavor
- all my friends (and the people that aren’t my friends) at PR are watching to see how I do
- we both got very specific answers that this is the direction I should go – do we believe those answers and trust in God?
- I will NOT want to have to say, “I tried that and didn’t succeed…”
I appreciated her frankness and feel like this week is going to be KILLER because of it (and because I want to do what’s best for my family).
I’m excited to meet with Jason this week on Wednesday to start making the plan to make amends. One of my new goals starting tomorrow, Monday, November 15, 2010 is to do a personal study of the program/scriptures/gospel at 8:30 a.m. (or the first thing I do in the morning).
Not only do I feel that this HAS to be my top priority, but it reminds me of the scripture:
I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise. (D&C 82:10.)
In looking for this reference at LDS.org, I found a great talk my Elder Marvin J. Ashton titled “If Thou Endure it Well“.
Interestingly enough, the first line of the talk is this:
When tragedy, disappointment, and heartache surface in our lives, it is not unusual for many of us to become self- condemning and resentful. In the stress of the situation we declare, “What have we done to deserve this? Why does the Lord allow this to happen to us?”
“Self-condemning” and “resentful” are core issues that I face at times. In my talk with Becky tonight though, I talked about what it says in Step 9 about how “this time is different”. That I really am making life changes that will not allow me to fall back in to paths I’ve been at before in my life.
If we are offended and resentful, can we believe that He is bound to help us in our tragedies and disappointments? This scripture does not tell us how or when this commitment will be effective or realized, but His promise is real and binding. Our challenge is to endure. There will always be testings and trials along life’s paths. Heartaches and tragedies need not defeat us if we remember God’s promise.
A worthwhile attitude for all of us could well be, “Help us, O Lord, to remember thy love for us and help us to be fortified by thy strength when our eyes are blurred with tears of sorrow and our vision is limited.”
“My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;
“And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.” (D&C 121:7–8.)
As we are called upon to suffer we need to ask ourselves the question:
“The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?” (D&C 122:8.)
The ingredient that is essential in learning to endure is consistent effort. In our race for eternal life, pain and obstacles will confront all of us. We may experience heartaches, sorrow, death, sins, weakness, disasters, physical illness, pain, mental anguish, unjust criticism, loneliness, or rejection. How we handle these challenges determines whether they become stumbling stones or building blocks. To the valiant these challenges make progress and development possible.
WOW, WOW, WOW! This is just the info I needed right now.
I’m so grateful for the hand of the Lord in my life. I know He wants me to succeed. I don’t know exactly what that success will look like, but I do know that I will do whatever it takes to be able to serve without restriction because of money (or lack thereof).
I’m grateful for this time in my life.
I’m grateful that I can live what my patriarchal blessing says: “…helping others try to be like you.”
As Becky and I talked about who is watching me at this point, that phrase came to mind. Most of my friends at PR want to do the same thing I’ve recently done. If I can show them that it can be done honestly, ethically, and effectively, I can hopefully influence them for good.
By no means to I want to be “haughty” or compare myself to others, I just feel I have a chance right now to realize my potential in a variety of ways.
Until tomorrow!
Hasta manana!
Nate
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