The Weight of The World

Dan was explaining to me the other day how much more weight yoked animals can pull than a single animal.
He was very impressed.  This is why Jesus wants us to take His yoke upon us, because then we will have help with the weight of all of the things we worry about.  And if we feel stuck, He can help pull us out.

Carrying the weight of the world means that we are taking off the "yoke" that ties us to Christ, and trying to solve our problems, our loved ones problems, and really the world's problems all by ourselves.  It doesn't really work very well, and it is discouraging and exhausting.

It is frustrating to me how many times I fail to trust Christ to help and try to do things on my own, forgetting that I know Christ, and that I can trust Him to give that help.  I have taken to having messages pop up on my phone to remind me of Christ's love, and the grace He extends to me because I apparently have a challenge keeping this in mind during stressful moments.

I have heard that if you "live the gospel" you will be happier.  And it is possible that I immediately thought of a checklist.  Am I praying?  Reading the scriptures?  Being nice? Going to church?  Helping all I can? etc. etc.   But the essence of living the gospel isn't that list, it is trusting God, and turning to Him in my troubles, and trusting that He is aware of me and all of the people I want to help, and He knows what to do. 

I think it is hardest of all to remember to trust God when people I love are facing long, difficult challenges that go on and on.  Where is God then?  Is the Savior turning a blind eye?  Should I get angry, give up on God, and take off that yoke while frantically trying to solve the problem myself?  No.  He can carry much more weight than me, or those I worry over, but it does take experiences with Christ for me to trust Him.  The more I learn of Him, the better I know Him, the easier it is to trust Him, and then the weight of the world can be lifted off of my shoulders.

Easter Week: Saturday -- The Dark Day

God's word is a light unto our path.

The tomb was closed.  The Son of God had died.  The Light of the World had gone out.  Hope seemed to be gone.  What now?

Sometimes in our lives we have dark days.  It may seem that all of the light has gone out of our lives.  Hope seems gone, or at least very far away, and we ask ourselves, "What now?" 

The good news is that, unlike His followers on that dark Saturday, we know what happened on Sunday.  We know the tomb was opened, and that Christ had Risen.  The Light of the World still shines bright, and hope is NOT gone.  "...weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning."(Psalms 30:5). 

So, what now?  We hold on to the knowledge that there will be a morning.  Even if all we see is darkness, the light will come.  We search His words because we know that "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."(Psalms 119: 105).  We search His word, and then step forward, trusting in that light.

*Photo by Michael Mouritz on Unsplash

Accepting What Is

Accepting what is
(That I sometimes wake
up with an exciting hairdo)

Does not mean that there is no way to make it better!

I am reading a book called The Five Thieves of Happiness by John Izzo where he talks about control as a thief of happiness -- specifically us trying to control people, or situations.  Trying to control what is not ours to control sets us up to be unhappy.  It's like saying we will only be happy if it is sunny -- and then it rains.  Or I will only be happy if my friend is happy.  What if they are chronically unhappy?  Do you have to be chronically unhappy too? 

When Derek and I were first married I cried a lot -- over just about everything.  At first, Derek would be sad too, but then he told me that he would always be sympathetic when I felt sad, but that he didn't think it was a good idea for him join in my sadness.  He was right!  I knew he cared that I was sad, and quite frankly, a happier Derek had a lot bigger chance of helping me snap out of my sadness!

When I opened my journal today I read about the lesson I had learned with Dan's food allergies.  I didn't feel peaceful about them until I realized that they just are.  Me using my mind to wish them away wasn't working.  It did nothing but make me grumpy, and keep me from finding solutions.  I then listed some of the challenges my children were facing. I had "struggled against it all -- feeling sorry for me and them."  The solution I came to?  "I need to accept that these challenges are and be grateful that the Lord will help me.  I need to not only trust that He will try (to help) but that He will help ...

Accepting what is helps us to be happier than trying to control what we can't change.  Accepting what is can move us forward, helping us find happy solutions to the very problems we are fighting so hard against.

It Is Well With My Soul

The hymn It is Well With My Soul was written by Horatio Spafford as he passed a spot in the ocean where, just a few days before, his four daughters had died when the ship they and their mother were travelling on sank.  His wife was the only member of his family left alive, and you can imagine how devastated they both were.  I saw a dramatization of the story done during a Tabernacle Choir concert.  It was so sad!  It was also a story of faith. The mourning that, for both Horatio and his wife, eventually turned to peace and assurance.  The words written by Horatio show his trust and faith in God, even in this incredibly sad circumstance.

It Is Well With My Soul

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say
It is well, it is well, with my soul

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, o my soul

It is well (it is well)
With my soul (with my soul)
It is well, it is well with my soul

Shortly after hearing the story of this hymn, I found, and bought the sign from the picture above.  It is on my room on a shelf.  Sometimes, in the evenings especially, I will glance at it and wonder, "Is it well with my soul?" This sign has unexpectedly given me a reminder to ponder whether I am trusting God in whatever situation I am in, and if I am trusting Him to forgive me when I make mistakes, or to help me when things seem hard.  I am thankful when I come to the conclusion that, at least for the moment, it is well with my soul.

Giving God Control

I read somewhere that we should give control of our lives to God, and so I was contemplating what that means and what it looks like.  It's not a big shock to me or anyone else that He's smarter, wiser, and more knowledgeable than everyone on the planet, so it makes sense to give control to Him.  I also know that giving Him control does NOT look like me sitting around waiting for Him to decide what I should wear, tell me exactly how to help everyone, and take away my problems!

God gave me the ability to choose, and He wants me to use it.  I believe that giving control to Him means that I use my will to choose Him, and His way. I trust Him in all circumstances.  I believe Him and His word and that keeping the commandments is the happy way to live.  I use my agency to think, do, and say things that honor Him.  I take time to listen for His guidance, and to follow it.  When I make mistakes, and sin, giving control to God is repenting -- letting Him heal me.

In short, giving control to God simply means that I use the agency He gave me to choose to give up what I think is best, to do what He knows is best.  Elder Maxwell's quote is a good summation:

In striving for ultimate submission, our wills constitute all we really have to give God anyway.

Neal A. Maxwell

Latter-day Saints

Photo by ActionVance on Unsplash

I do not often stop to consider why, in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we are called saints.  It certainly isn't because we have reached perfection!  Elder Renlund in a 2015 general conference talk called "Latter-day Saints Keep Trying" said,

"If we don’t try, we’re just latter-day sinners; if we don’t persevere, we’re latter-day quitters; and if we don’t allow others to try, we’re just latter-day hypocrites.  As we try, persevere, and help others to do the same, we are true Latter-day Saints. As we change, we will find that God indeed cares a lot more about who we are and about who we are becoming than about who we once were."

I like so many things about this quote, but maybe especially that we don't need to look back and keep regretting the same things over and over.  We cannot re-do the past.  We can focus forward and trust that God cares more about who we are than who we were, and He will help us to become who we were meant to be.