12/17/08

a realization.

I've been having a spiritual week so far, and I just thought I'd write down what I've realized in the past few days, that totally blew my mind away. I want to share a total of two things that I think are absolutely profound, and I know I couldn't have thought them up by myself. I love it when Heavenly Father lets the Spirit whisper amazing things He wants me to know. I feel so lucky and so blessed knowing that he cares about me that much.

One night I was saying my prayers. It was during a silent pause that all of this knowledge came flooding into my head. What I realized was something I've known my entire life, but never really thought much about. I realized that the straight and narrow path that leads to eternity is, in fact, straight and narrow. I also realized that peoples' lives, peoples' paths they walk on are not straight and narrow. Actually, they are quite crooked, leading people here and there, zig-zagging to and fro, always changing. I realized how we are so used to our lives being so chaotic, and all over the place. If our lives were set out on a board, with the straight and narrow path right smack dab in the middle, what are the chances of us finding it? What are the chances of us finding it, and staying on it? I then realized how incredibly blessed I am to not have only found the path for myself, but to actually be walking down it, this very moment. I realized how blessed I was because some peoples' paths don't even cross it. I realized that as much as our lives are changing, the gospel has always stayed the same, and will always stay the same. What a great gift Heavenly Father has given us. I just feel the need to express how amazing that man is. Truly.
Secondly, I was at my staff Christmas party last night, and we had a white elephant gift exchange. There was a gift on the table that was wrapped in a clear, cellophane bag. It was a little painting of Santa Clause. Apparently, no one wanted it, because it was the last present left on the table. When the game ended, the painting was still on the table, because someone had left early. There it was, sitting all by itself. Cheryl got up, walked over to the table, picked it up, turned around and said, "Do you guys know the meaning behind this picture?" She then began to explain that some man who was in a war (?), who was paralyzed from the neck, down, painted that picture, while holding the paintbrush in his mouth. Everyone completely changed their views about that picture, now that they knew the meaning behind it. But it was too late... It really made me think about how often people look at our church, and everything we do, and aren't satisfied with it, so they move on to the next one, blindly knowing what they're going to get. They take their chances, because this church doesn't look all that great. But when people find out the true meaning behind out church, and what we stand for, and what we believe, they experience a change of heart. That's what I love about our church. Everyone is so judgemental towards it, but we, the members, don't mind, because we know the truth.

I am so blessed.

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