When Looking for God in our Lives, Hindsight is 20/20.

For most people the Holidays are a time of happiness and joy.  Despite the lack of sunshine, the cold weather, and the other stresses which come with the Season, it is a time of warmth, giving, and love.  On the left is a picture out of the front door of my families home in Colorado last winter.  It is no coincidence that to start the Christmas season we have Thanksgiving.  I have often heard testimony of others; as well in my own life how when we take time to count our blessings we are able to see how much the Lord has blessed us in our lives.  I remember our Branch President shared a curious verse which illustrated this point in one of our meetings.  This comes from the Old Testament with the Lord talking with Moses in the Tabernacle.

Exodus 33: 23 “And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.”

Family Pets, Falling Rocks, a Few of my Favorite Things

Following Elder Howden’s example, I have also decided to write a few of my thoughts on some things I am grateful for with Thanksgiving coming up so soon.  I tried looking around the room we are in for inspiration (my desk is in the bottom right of the picture) but all I could really think about was how much I wanted to get out.  I figured the wisest thing would be to go with what I had been given.  Today, I am grateful for Nature and the many wonderful creations we have.  Plants and scenery are nice, but they don’t really do too much for me.  They just kind of sit there.  But, what I am most grateful for is the interactions we find in nature.

Cancer Relapse Engraved in Gold

From my experiences in High School Chemistry I seem to remember that gold is one of the more pure and stable metals, in that it did not easily mix with the materials around it.   It is used in wedding rings, dentistry, all manner of jewelry, and I am sure science uses it for something important as well.  Gold is steady and sure.  It lasts.  These things coupled with the shine and beauty it has on its own is probably what makes it such a versatile and popular element.  We however have something which is infinitely more stable and helpful in our lives—the Love of God as brought to us through the Holy Ghost.  In sacrament meeting today, Brother and Sister Gee gave wonderful talks on what it means to trust God and how we can follow the promptings of His spirit in our lives.  I feel their words tie in with some difficult decisions in my life.  I have noticed in my own life going through cancer treatments how many times the right choice we make can seem like a bad choice at first, just like Nephi records on gold plates in the Book of Mormon.

A Rock, a Hard Place, and Moving on

The concept of a halfway rock is something that I learned about in scouting on hikes.  Most of what I remember about scouting hikes is walking up and down hills in the dirt, mostly staring at my shoes as I was too tired to lift my head, getting in trouble every time I tried to go off the path (something about preserving nature, which I never really understood), and all with a backpack which was too heavy and filled mostly with things I wouldn’t need.  Inevitably, as the hike would progress the fun would quickly fade to be replaced with fatigue and exhaustion.  I am sure it must have been equally tiresome for the leaders who had to listen to the “How much further?” every 100 feet after the first half a mile.  A combination of these circumstances is what I assume gave birth to the halfway rock idea.

Sacrament Inspirations - Gratitude

I feel fast and testimony meetings are always a great blessing and opportunity to feel an increased measure of the spirit.  In a recent devotional here at the MTC Elder Richard G. Scott talked about how learning to recognize and follow the spirit is something which we learn throughout our lives.  Similarly, I feel fasting is an opportunity we have to feel an increased measure of the spirit in our lives.  To start the fast and testimony meeting today in the spirit of Thanksgiving which is coming up, the Bishop shared this verse from the Doctrine and Covenants: