Finding Joy Through Loving Service

I read this last night after a long run and felt like it applied so well to the things I'm going through. I especially loved the story about the "young merchant from Boston." I can relate and often find myself caught up in my own gold rush; however, I am earnestly working to be more aware of what I'm doing and seeking after so that I don't end up in a place I didn't want to be.

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"Finding Joy Through Loving Service" - M. Russell Ballard 

--Against this beautiful backdrop of spring and its symbolism of hope, there is a world of uncertainty, complexity, and confusion. The demands of everyday life—education, jobs, raising children, Church administration and callings, worldly activities, and even the pain and sorrow of unexpected illness and tragedy—can wear us down. How can we free ourselves from this tangled web of challenges and uncertainties to find peace of mind and happiness? (I have certainly felt this lately and am almost surprised how easy it is to get swept up and distracted and consumed with things that feel urgent and pressing but may not be as important as they seem to be, especially with an eternal perspective.)

--Oftentimes we are like the young merchant from Boston, who in 1849, as the story goes, was caught up in the fervor of the California gold rush. He sold all of his possessions to seek his fortune in the California rivers, which he was told were filled with gold nuggets so big that one could hardly carry them. (Again, I can totally relate - sometimes, I feel as though I am very much caught up in the fervor of success and innovation and praise/popularity.)

--Day after endless day, the young man dipped his pan into the river and came up empty. His only reward was a growing pile of rocks. Discouraged and broke, he was ready to quit until one day an old, experienced prospector said to him, “That’s quite a pile of rocks you are getting there, my boy.”

--The young man replied, “There’s no gold here. I’m going back home.”

--Walking over to the pile of rocks, the old prospector said, “Oh, there is gold all right. You just have to know where to find it.” He picked two rocks up in his hands and crashed them together. One of the rocks split open, revealing several flecks of gold sparkling in the sunlight.

--Noticing a bulging leather pouch fastened to the prospector’s waist, the young man said, “I’m looking for nuggets like the ones in your pouch, not just tiny flecks.” (This reminds me of an article I read recently in the NYT about unhappiness and not getting what we want. I wonder how to shoot for the stars but still be humble enough in my desires that I don't end up feeling unsatisfied or extremely disappointed.)

--The old prospector extended his pouch toward the young man, who looked inside, expecting to see several large nuggets. He was stunned to see that the pouch was filled with thousands of flecks of gold.

--The old prospector said, “Son, it seems to me you are so busy looking for large nuggets that you’re missing filling your pouch with these precious flecks of gold. The patient accumulation of these little flecks has brought me great wealth.”

--Brothers and sisters, the gospel of Jesus Christ is simple, no matter how much we try to make it complicated. We should strive to keep our lives similarly simple, unencumbered by extraneous influences, focused on those things that matter most.

--I believe there is one simple but profound—even sublime—principle that encompasses the entirety of the gospel of Jesus Christ. If we wholeheartedly embrace this principle and make it the focus of our lives, it will purify and sanctify us so we can live once again in the presence of God.

--“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matthew 22:36–40).

--The love the Savior described is an active love. It is not manifested through large and heroic deeds but rather through simple acts of kindness and service. (YES!)

--I remember as a bishop working alongside several active members of my ward as we cleaned out the silage pit at the stake welfare farm. This was not a pleasant assignment! A less-active brother who had not been to church for many years was invited to join with us. Because of the love and fellowship he felt with us as we worked and talked in that smelly silage pit, he came back to church and was later sealed in the temple to his wife and his children. Our fellowship through service has blessed his children, grandchildren, and now great-grandchildren. Many of them have served missions, have married in the temple, and are raising an eternal family—a great work wrought by a simple act, a small fleck of gold.

--In all of our service, we need to be sensitive to the promptings of the Holy Ghost. The still, small voice will let us know who needs our help and what we can do to help them.

--President Thomas S. Monson has counseled:

“The needs of others are ever present, and each of us can do something to help someone. … Unless we lose ourselves in service to others, there is little purpose to our own lives” (“What Have I Done for Someone Today?” Liahona andEnsign, Nov. 2009, 85).

The prophet Mormon taught us the supreme importance of this gift and told us how we can receive it: “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure” (Moroni 7:48).

real love and a smart phone

last night i bought my first smart phone. i actually feel really grown up, which is funny bc i am 26 years old, which seems like i should already be grown up. :)

at first i wasn't all for getting a smart phone. i wasn't necessarily against it, but probably secretly told myself i wouldn't get one. i don't know why, i guess i just felt i didn't need one. BUT... i'm actually really grateful for it. not only is it awesome! but it's also been really helpful.

this morning i was reading a conference talk on it that reminded me of a few things i have read in a book this summer called "real love." my roommate here recommended it and i have really loved it so far. i haven't read everything and sort of skip through parts, but the thing i really like about it is the way the author talks about real love. he says that it can only be felt when it's freely offered and received. 

he illustrates this principle using a simple story about apples. he says you look out your window and see a man walking toward your house carrying a bushel of apples. you want some so you hurry outside and tell him you haven't had anything to eat all day and no one will give you anything. (he explains the first statement is a lie and the second one presents you as a victim.) 

the man with the apples starts to say something but you dont wait to hear it before you start attacking him and making him feel guilty by saying things like, "i hope you remember all the things i've done for you in the past." (in reality we probably don't say those things but our actions do no matter what words come out of our mouth.) so the man gives you the apples, but what you don't know is that he actually picked them out just for you!

the less is although the man offered his gift freely (real love), you didn't receive it freely, and he says that you basically bought the apples with your behavior--by lying, acting like a victim, and attacking--just as if you'd paid for them with money. and because of what you did, whatever the man gave you could not feel like a gift. if you would've allowed him to offer the apples without your making him give them to you, you would have felt his unconditional concern for you. 

the counsel in the talk i read by pres eyring also reminded me of this principle. 

pres eyring was talking to the men of the church, those holding the priesthood, and he explained four way a priesthood father could lift and lead his family towards the savior.

his second suggestion was to "love your wife." interesting, bc sister dalton last year talked about how the best thing a father can do for his daughters is to love their mother. so important i think, in more ways that just the obvious ones.

so pres eyring said it is imperative to love your wife. he said, "it will take faith and humility to put her interests above your own in the struggles of life. you have the responsibility to provide for and to nurture the family with her while serving others. that can at times consume all the energy and strength you have. if you choose even then to put her happiness above your own, i promise you that your love for her will increase."

i really liked that and it was another gentle reminder to me of how my own love is still very much in the working/developing stages and that there is still much yet for me to learn about loving other unconditionally and freely so real love may be felt. getting these gentle reminders doesn't make me feel distraught though; actually, i really enjoy learning and seeing these gaps because it gives me a sense of direction of where to go and what is possible. so grateful for learning, so grateful for the time to apply it. i feel as though my whole life has been a laboratory and i'm just so, so grateful. :) happy DAY!

learning about love. :)

i don't even really know where to begin but i cannot believe the summer is almost over, at least it feels like it's almost over bc my time is new york is almost over. and what an incredible journey it has been. (ee! that is my excited squeal :D)

every single day i have been in this city i have seen miracles. and so much beauty! in sometimes very unexpected places. i feel so privileged to have seen these things. i have not been able to write them all down, but the lord has blessed me with an excellent memory and i feel that so many of them are stored securely away with the thousands of other beautiful memories and moments in my life. 

how is the lord so kind, and what does all of this mean to me? this past summer i have thinking about my love for christ. i remember my first sunday here i started thinking about this. i noticed that at church several people shared their feelings of how much love they've felt from him, and it really made me ponder on how much love he feels from me. i know that he loves me perfectly, but what about my love for him?

well, i continue to see that everyday he gives me opportunities to increase that love. my love and gratitude and reverence for christ has become increasingly more sweet and more tangible throughout these past few years, because i have learned what it means and i have felt what it is to rely on him and trust him and exercise faith in him and his infinite atonement. i think elder holland describes it really well when he said in one of my favorite talks called the "bitter cup and the bloody baptism." he said we may speak of knowing the truth or having the truth, but only one who is confronting error, however painfully or however slowly, can properly speak of loving the truth. and then he said, "and i believe that god intends us to someday honestly and truly love him--the way, the truth, and the life."

i testify that the joy that can be experienced and tasted during this mortal probation is real. for me, that joy has come through exercising faith, changing what i can change (aka, repenting), honoring my covenants, and moving forward while relying on his help. 

the gospel of jesus christ is so wonderful. i know these things are true more than i know anything else, and i am so grateful for this knowledge and peace. i still have so far to go but i am so excited for this journey. the future is so bright. i. can't. wait. !! :)

it's my final final! yaaaaay!

it is early morning, the morning of my last final as a 1L!! woohoo!

i feel so much peace right now. i'm listening to a song by steven sharp nelson. it's called "homeward bound" and it's him playing the cello. i love the cello! sunday night i went to a fireside and a girl played "come thou fount" on the cello and it was so amazing. something i've now added to my summer list is I want to play the cello! relatedly, in doing a little reflecting i just want to say to all of the world and before the lord that i am so grateful to him. god has blessed me in so many ways. he is good. he is kind, he is patient, loving, and forgiving. all i want to do is serve him!

happy happy wednesday! :D