How
It has been another one of those weeks to give me moments of reflections.
My reflection has been HOW? Answer: I will probably never truly understand or know in this life, but it has been a good question to ponder.
The question came early, but was then magnified with events of the week. A dear friend almost lost their life. For me it was an extremely emotional experience. I struggled with the thought of losing something I value and hold so dear to my heart. I reflected upon all those loved ones in my life and how it would affect them, their weakness, their strengths, their hopes, their dreams, their faith, and their testimonies. Yet this friend has no concern for such things. For them, there was no hope, no worry, no thought of loved ones. It would have simply been the end.
How can one live that way? How can one not hope for something more? How can one move forward each day without a knowledge of Christ and his Atoning sacrifice that in part allows us to overcome death and continue living with what is most important? I don't know.
Then my thoughts returned again to the other half of the Atonement, the saving Grace, that was so willingly spent. How can He understand all that I experience, all that I do, all that I feel, and all that I carry with me so well that He is willing to take, experience, feel, and carry what I can no longer bear?
Jesus Christ is my saving Grace, my Hope, my Faith, my Testimony. He brings Light into my life, that I may see. He shows me where I am weak and has paid the price that I may become strong. He may not have been played the sports that I have played, been ridiculed by those who have ridiculed me, lived where I have lived, but He has experienced the same emotion, feeling, rejection, desire, weakness, and pain that I have in a similar manner, but times 1000 or more.
I have pondered His life. He was born on the wrong side of the tracks. We are told that He was probably not the strong, good looking, popular Joe on campus. In fact, there is reason to believe He was probably not formally educated as we know it. What He learned, He learned from His Father, through the Spirit of Revelation.
I imagine Him as one that moved from place to place, where his father could find work. He did not have a place to lay His head or call home. He probably did not have many friends because of this. He was more than likely teased and ridiculed for his social standing. Even among His earthly siblings, there was a lack of belief and jealousy. But He did not let this stop Him. He kept moving forward.
Because of Him, we don't have to be the BEST at everything. We were sent here to learn and develop our weaknesses. He paid the price that allows us to keep practicing and trying. He put us here with brothers and sisters whom we can learn from and whom we can teach. We should not be jealous of them as Lucifer is. We should not seek to destroy those who appear to have more, as Lucifer does. We should not look for opportunities to stop others from progressing, as Lucifer does. We should follow the path of our Savior has led us down.
It may not be profound, but it has been on my mind. Hope you take the time to ponder as well.
Any who....
This week has been wet. We keep going from extremely wet, to extremely cold, to both. I know that April Showers are supposed to bring May Flowers, but most of our May Flowers have already blossomed and have not been frozen to death.
The Queen has been going through a nesting period. She assures me she is not pregnant, but she has been in one of those cleaning modes. Desk drawers have been organized, sheds and garages cleaned, bedrooms have been organized and painted, and each week she finds another project to work on. I guess it has been good because she found one of SnackPack's paychecks that had not been cashed. He is now trying to find out if they will still give him cash for it.
The Professor counted down the days to, hours, minutes, and seconds to Friday. She was ready for the track to be over. She will spend the next several weeks, riding bikes, reading books, running outside, going to the dentist and doctors, and maybe even sleeping in a little. It will be interesting to see what happens with both the Queen and I working in the house.
Tall Man called us late Monday evening with exciting news. The promotion he had assumed he was not getting was given to him. He is now a team lead of a couple back office groups. His superiors see the potential we have always seen in him. Now he is doing his best to see it himself. He is learning that not everyone is as excited about his promotion as we are. There are some that he now leads that feel they are would have been a better selection. He is carrying the responsibility well.
SnackPack starts training for his summer job this week. It looks like he has a meeting tomorrow to learn about some of his responsibilities as one of the Head Guards and then will have re-certification training to add to his list of AP testing and such. He has also gotten a crazy idea to run for Senior Class Officer. The advisers at the school were sure he would have made Student Body Officer, but he was scored low on one small technicality. He is hoping for the best in the week to come as voting and such will take place.
We continue to watch and pray for those laboring in the field. Stay warm, stay dry, and keep on trying. As you do so, He has taken care of the rest.
My reflection has been HOW? Answer: I will probably never truly understand or know in this life, but it has been a good question to ponder.
The question came early, but was then magnified with events of the week. A dear friend almost lost their life. For me it was an extremely emotional experience. I struggled with the thought of losing something I value and hold so dear to my heart. I reflected upon all those loved ones in my life and how it would affect them, their weakness, their strengths, their hopes, their dreams, their faith, and their testimonies. Yet this friend has no concern for such things. For them, there was no hope, no worry, no thought of loved ones. It would have simply been the end.
How can one live that way? How can one not hope for something more? How can one move forward each day without a knowledge of Christ and his Atoning sacrifice that in part allows us to overcome death and continue living with what is most important? I don't know.
Then my thoughts returned again to the other half of the Atonement, the saving Grace, that was so willingly spent. How can He understand all that I experience, all that I do, all that I feel, and all that I carry with me so well that He is willing to take, experience, feel, and carry what I can no longer bear?
Jesus Christ is my saving Grace, my Hope, my Faith, my Testimony. He brings Light into my life, that I may see. He shows me where I am weak and has paid the price that I may become strong. He may not have been played the sports that I have played, been ridiculed by those who have ridiculed me, lived where I have lived, but He has experienced the same emotion, feeling, rejection, desire, weakness, and pain that I have in a similar manner, but times 1000 or more.
I have pondered His life. He was born on the wrong side of the tracks. We are told that He was probably not the strong, good looking, popular Joe on campus. In fact, there is reason to believe He was probably not formally educated as we know it. What He learned, He learned from His Father, through the Spirit of Revelation.
I imagine Him as one that moved from place to place, where his father could find work. He did not have a place to lay His head or call home. He probably did not have many friends because of this. He was more than likely teased and ridiculed for his social standing. Even among His earthly siblings, there was a lack of belief and jealousy. But He did not let this stop Him. He kept moving forward.
Because of Him, we don't have to be the BEST at everything. We were sent here to learn and develop our weaknesses. He paid the price that allows us to keep practicing and trying. He put us here with brothers and sisters whom we can learn from and whom we can teach. We should not be jealous of them as Lucifer is. We should not seek to destroy those who appear to have more, as Lucifer does. We should not look for opportunities to stop others from progressing, as Lucifer does. We should follow the path of our Savior has led us down.
It may not be profound, but it has been on my mind. Hope you take the time to ponder as well.
Any who....
This week has been wet. We keep going from extremely wet, to extremely cold, to both. I know that April Showers are supposed to bring May Flowers, but most of our May Flowers have already blossomed and have not been frozen to death.
The Queen has been going through a nesting period. She assures me she is not pregnant, but she has been in one of those cleaning modes. Desk drawers have been organized, sheds and garages cleaned, bedrooms have been organized and painted, and each week she finds another project to work on. I guess it has been good because she found one of SnackPack's paychecks that had not been cashed. He is now trying to find out if they will still give him cash for it.
The Professor counted down the days to, hours, minutes, and seconds to Friday. She was ready for the track to be over. She will spend the next several weeks, riding bikes, reading books, running outside, going to the dentist and doctors, and maybe even sleeping in a little. It will be interesting to see what happens with both the Queen and I working in the house.
Tall Man called us late Monday evening with exciting news. The promotion he had assumed he was not getting was given to him. He is now a team lead of a couple back office groups. His superiors see the potential we have always seen in him. Now he is doing his best to see it himself. He is learning that not everyone is as excited about his promotion as we are. There are some that he now leads that feel they are would have been a better selection. He is carrying the responsibility well.
SnackPack starts training for his summer job this week. It looks like he has a meeting tomorrow to learn about some of his responsibilities as one of the Head Guards and then will have re-certification training to add to his list of AP testing and such. He has also gotten a crazy idea to run for Senior Class Officer. The advisers at the school were sure he would have made Student Body Officer, but he was scored low on one small technicality. He is hoping for the best in the week to come as voting and such will take place.
We continue to watch and pray for those laboring in the field. Stay warm, stay dry, and keep on trying. As you do so, He has taken care of the rest.
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