Feb. 17, 2013

Ah, it is Sunday again. So many random topics have been on my mind lately and I am going to try and make sense of them here. This will probably be an awful essay in which the point is only made at the very end.

1: Genie in a Bottle 2: Humility and Friendship of the Spirit 3: JFK and hard realities and 4: Crock-pot Thinker

First: At church today someone - my mom - commented that she's sure glad God doesn't grant our wishes like a genie in a bottle. I love that thought. Because, as much as I think I know what I want and what is right, asking a genie and getting it is probably the last thing that I need. We always hear stories of people who thought they knew, asked, and the result was a nightmare. God does answer our prayers. He does bless us and "grant" us the righteous desires of our hearts. It is so nice to have that safety net there so we can trust Him to truly help our eternal selves get where we need to go.

Second: This quote was at the beginning of our lesson today about the Holy Ghost: "Make up your minds to live humbly and in such a way that you will always have the Spirit of the Lord to be your friend." Oh, I love that quote. Right now, my life is set up in such a way that I am separated from people physically. I am 30-40 minutes away from my college friends, 25-30 minutes from my last ward, I sit far away from everyone at work, and at home I live in the basement corner where no one else is close by. Now, obviously, I'm not really alone. It's just a different world than crammed in an apartment with people right next to you. I know that I have friends, but this was a tender reminder from God that I can always have a friend with me, and feel of His support and divine love to be with me always.

Third: I started reading a book about JFK. It was a wake up call on two fronts: first - I don't really know that much about history, my country's, the world's, or even my own. Second - I do not like JFK and I am deeply disappointed in how he led his life, and hurt that someone who seemed all together, who had a wonderful life, would be so inconsiderate and egocentric, and that his wife put up with it best she could, is just so hard for me to comprehend. Life is hard. There is so much going on in people's lives it can be hard to comprehend it all. It can be disheartening, but I know God's hands are in our lives and we can find His support and peace whenever we turn to Him.

Finally: I am a very slow thinker. I feel like a crock pot - God (or others) are most successful in convincing me of things when they tell me a long time in advance. There are times where I can be put "on high" and come up with a decision relatively quickly but even then - it takes awhile. There is so much going on and I feel like every day there are new factors to consider and truths I cannot comprehend. Yet, I know God lives and loves me, and somehow His Atonement heals my pain. Once I've made a decision, I stick by it, firm and true, so I suppose it is just another evidence of God knowing what He is doing by forcing me to take my time and learn patience. :)

That's what I learned and thought about at church today.