SHADOWS
Yesterday we were visiting with a good friend and while we were talking, her dog, Freckles, came up and sat on my lap. Freckles turned her body so that she was facing the shadows in the corner and she refused to look at anything else. She wanted to get the shadows but couldn't. She was staring so intensely for probably an hour and after a while she even began to shake. I tried to point her in a different direction but she was persistant in finding the shadows. While this may seem silly to all of us, how often do we have a similar attitude?
"If you spend your whole life waiting for the storm, you'll never enjoy the sunshine."
-Morris West
Do you ever find that even when things are going well in your life, there is at least one thing to disrupt your happiness? Sometimes I have a talent for focusing in on one or two negative things, when everything else in my life is great! And then I'm upset that life isn't perfect :/ Well life isn't supposed to be perfect. It's practice. God just wants us to get really good at finding the light in our lives.
Yes, sometimes we have trials to face and mountains to climb... but we have to look in the right direction if we are going to "come off conqueror". D&C 10:5
http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/10.5?lang=eng#4
There is light all around us! There is peace, joy, laughter, optimism... Do we seek after these things or do we insist on facing the shadows of our lives?
"Keep your face to the sun and you will never see the shadows." -Helen Keller
I know that we will all find more joy in our lives if we look to the light around us, instead of focusing on shadows. And no matter what we are facing in life, we can have joy as we count our blessings and thank our Father in Heaven for all the light He has given us.
"In sunshine and in shadow we look to Him, and He is there to assure and smile upon us." -Gordon B. Hinckley http://www.lds.org/search?lang=eng&query=sunshine&collection=general-conference
PRAYER.
I don't know how or why God chooses to answer certain prayers in the way He does. And in the moment of trial or distress, it can be hard to recognize God's hand in our lives. These are some experiences I had that showed me that God really does care aboout me, and that He does answer prayers.
Sometimes we have those trials or circumstances in life where we desperately need His help; where nobody else but God can help us. I know I have had those times where I was terrified about the possibilities in my future. My little nephew Zachary, had open heart surgery recently, when he was about 3 months old. This was one of those times for me. My sister comforted me, saying that Zach would be OK. And he was. I didn't know why God grants us certain blessings (or miracles) at times, but I was so thankful for this one!
Then at other times in our lives, we have little things come up; things that probably seem insignificant to everyone except us. Last week, I lost my CTR ring. It was a little something. But it meant something to me. It wasn't the most important thing in the world by anyone's standard. But I prayed for 2 days that I would find it, because I knew that God could help me. I told my doubtful mind over and over again, that He could. And then one morning, I checked my pocket (a pocket that I had already turned inside out 3 times before.) And there it was.
I don't know about you but I realized recently that sometimes when I pray, it feels like I am sending an email out into the universe, and that God will check His inbox when He can get around to it. And sometimes I treat it as something very casual. But that is not how it works... Not for God anyway.
Last week one night, it was time for bed, so I got down on my knees and said a prayer. I didn't have some overwhelming experience, but I did feel something different...
I felt like my Heavenly Father was sitting down next to me, listening to every word.
And at that moment I knew that He does not only hear and answer our prayers, but He really LISTENS. Logically, I've known for several years that God answers my prayers. But right then, it wasn't about giving me blessings or answers or anything else... I had peace, just knowing that he heard me.
God really is there.
He hears our prayers... and answers them!
Yesterday we were visiting with a good friend and while we were talking, her dog, Freckles, came up and sat on my lap. Freckles turned her body so that she was facing the shadows in the corner and she refused to look at anything else. She wanted to get the shadows but couldn't. She was staring so intensely for probably an hour and after a while she even began to shake. I tried to point her in a different direction but she was persistant in finding the shadows. While this may seem silly to all of us, how often do we have a similar attitude?
