Tending the Garden

Have you ever tried growing a garden?  I've tried once.  It didn't end well.  For starters I picked a place where the soil wasn't very deep.  It was right below my window - a place where flowers would looks absolutely beautiful!  But it was also a place where the rain wouldn't reach because it was protected from the overhang of the house, and the sprinklers didn't reach it either.  I think I saw a few sprouts before the seeds withered up and died.

No flowers for my window. 

It wasn't because the seeds weren't good, but simply because I didn't know (or rather, didn't act on the knowledge of planting I did know) how to care and tend for the seeds until the flowers bloomed.  There is a lot of things required to upkeep a garden, from the small flowers that you grow in a pot to the acres and acres of vegetables that are grown every year. 

The soil needs to be tilled, the weeds need to be kept at bay, the ground needs to be watered.  The soil needs the right nutrients to sustain the plants, the seeds need to be planted at just the right depth, the bugs that would destroy the plants need to be kept at bay.  I'm not much of a planter, but I'm sure that these are just the beginning of all of the work that needs to be considered when taking care of a garden.  These are not just one-time things that you do and then forget about; they're the daily cares and needs of a garden that needs time and attention to be fruitful.

What every garden also needs to be healthy is balance.  You can't focus all of your attention on watering it - it will be come waterlogged and the weeds will be enormous!  Similarly you can't spend all of your time planting seeds, you have to remember to tend the plants that you already have growing or you'll find them eaten away by the local wildlife. To maintain a garden you have to balance you time and attention to each of the areas of need. 

Sometimes you'll have an infestation of weeds that need an hour extra to take care of, other times you'll find that the sun is hotter than normal and is cooking the ground so some extra water will be called for.  In these cases, it's okay to spend a little bit more time and effort in one area than a different one because that is what is needed.  It just needs to be done in wisdom and prudence so your attention isn't drawn away from tending to the other areas of the garden.

There are several parables in the scriptures about sowers and gardens and even about seeds that talk about the work that needs to be done to produce a fruitful garden.  In these parables the seed is compared to the word of God, the fruit is the blessings that come from it, and the work applied...is, well, work. 

In our own lives we have many things that we need to cultivate and tend to be most profitable.  We have relationships with friends and family, interest in sports and teams, skills to improve, things to learn, places to go.  There is so much to do and see and experience!  Through the good and the bad, there is much to do! 

Yet these things must also be done in prudence.  There are your physical needs that need to be balanced, like eating more fruits and vegetables than sugar and fat (but the BACON!!).  There are relationships that need to remain balanced, like spending time with one group of friends or finding ways to serve and befriend new people.  Even spiritual needs need balance, you need to pray and read your scriptures, but if that's all you do then what will your life become?

To properly care for your life, there are things that must be done daily - you can't do them once and get away with never doing it again.  Like eating, we can't just say one day "I'm done!  I've just finished 5 Big Macs and I've decided that I'll never eat again!"  Sorry friend, but you'll not only need to eat again, but you're probably going to have to exercise big time too to get rid of all that fat and calories. 

Likewise, we need to pray and study our scriptures ever day to stay spiritually fed.  You won't stay satisfied by reading the Book of Mormon all in one day and decide you never need to read it again.  It just won't cut it.  Like the garden needs to be watered daily, we need to take care of our spiritual needs every day.

Sometimes there are pieces of our lives that need more attention than others.  Like when a friend gets offended, we may need to spend extra time and effort to mend the broken bond.  Or when you go have found that your understanding of spiritual truths is lacking, you may need to spend an extra hour studying the scriptures.  These extra efforts are good - and necessary - just as long as you don't get hyper focused and forget the other aspects of your life that need your attention.

Tending a garden and living life to its fullest is a challenge.  There are so many areas that need to be watched over that it can often seem overwhelming.  Luckily, we don't have to tackle these things on our own.  We're not the only gardener sweating under the boiling sun.  We have Christ on our side to teach us, lead us, and provide an example of how to watch over the garden.

 

We also have friends and neighbors who can provide support and further understanding.  Just as how one gardener shares knowledge of how to get rid of ladybugs without damaging the plants with another gardener, there are people in our lives who understand how to get out of debt and can share that knowledge with others.  Combined with the all-knowing, all-powerful Christ, we can make the most out of the lives we have been asked to lead.

Keep tending your garden.  Find those places that need attention and give them your energy.  Remember to keep things in balance and to do the daily little things that keep your life in shape.  Help others in their lives.  Above all, look to Christ for the guidance that you need.  He will give it, and you will receive blessings beyond compare because of it.

Building Boats, and Other Crazy Things God Asks Us to Do

"Will you invite everyone you see to come closer to Christ?" My mission President asks me.  I gulp down my fear and reply with a, "Yes, I will".  Then when I'm walking down the street and I see a person, I balk at the challenge and chose instead to keep walking.  I let my fear get the better of me and I miss out on that opportunity to share the gospel.

There is another person who was commanded to do something difficult.  He had a much better response than I did:

"Thou shalt construct a ship, after the manner which I shall show thee, that I may carry thy people across these waters."  Nephi's immediate response to this statement is "Lord, whither shall I go that I may find ore to molten, that I may make tools to construct the ship after the manner which thou hast shown unto me?" (1 Nephi 17:8-9)  The Lord then showed him where he needed to go and he did it.  He built a ship.  He had never before constructed anything similar, but he trusted that the Lord would show him how if he simply tried.

What is the difference between these two experiences?  In both of them a request has been made, and in both of them the person accepted the challenge.  But in only one of those experiences did the person actually fulfill the request.  Why?  What made the difference?

Faith.  Faith that was stronger than fear made up the difference.  Nephi had the firm faith that "the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them." (1 Nephi 3:7).  He believed that God would provide the way, and so he pushed forward to accomplish this seemingly impossible task of building a boat.

The Lord will provide a way for us to accomplish all of the things that he has asked us to do.  He will because he keeps his promises perfectly.  When we put our faith and trust in those promises, then we will see his miracles. 

Sure it's sometimes scary, confusing, and you might not understand why.  But know that in his power you will be able to do all things.  So seek for his guiding hand.  Ask him what he wants you to do with your life, and he will answer your prayer.  Be open to hearing that answer and be willing to act on it.  Have the faith that God will provide a way for us to follow through on the promptings of the Holy Ghost.

So when you feel like you need to talk to a stranger - do it.  He will give you the words you need.  When you feel impressed to read your scriptures even when it seems everything is crashing down and you don't have time - do it.  You'll be blessed for it.  When you get that unshakable feeling that you're supposed to go visit somone - just go and do it.  The Lord will not leave you comfortless.

If you do, you will see miracles in your life.  It may not be as blatantly obvious as a boat that will carry you and your family across unfamiliar waters, but it will be there if you look for it.

The Difference Between Baking Soda and Baking Powder

Once upon a time when Sister Butts was maybe 4 feet tall, she was making some sort of food concoction.  The recipe called for baking soda, but she couldn't find it.  But she did see some baking powder!  Not knowing the difference, she made the substitution and kept baking.  To her surprise (and great confusion) the resulting food was different than what she had expected.  What had happened??

Her mother knew, and after a few inquiries she pulled out the different powders.  "They are different," she explained to the small child.  "Here, taste them, you'll be able to tell the difference."  And she promptly placed the differing ingredients on Sister Butts' tongue. 

"There, you see?"

Sister Butts solemnly nodded her head, and she skirted away from the kitchen.

The honest answer was "No, Mom.  But I do understand that I did something terribly wrong and you were punishing me by putting a foreign tasting substance in my mouth." 

Okay, maybe I wouldn't have been so articulate.

In that instance I wasn't focused on learning and changing my behavior, I was more focused on what I saw as a punishment.  It was an excellent opportunity to learn the difference between the two substances, but I saw it more as a severe chastisement for messing up.  My mother acted out of love and a desire to help me grow.  I chose to look at it from the negative point of view.

As I thought about this experience, a scripture came to mind: "For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth..."  Hebrews 12:6.  The greatest act of love that God can have for us is when he corrects us.  If you don't care about someone, then you don't care when you see them making mistakes and suffering those consequences.  It shows great love when God reaches out to stop us from putting ourselves into further danger.

In Hebrews 12:11 it says "Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby."  I did not like it when my mother put baking soda in my mouth (that stuff is not made to be eaten alone), but if I had paid attention, then I would have learned the difference between soda and powder. 

A lot of times we are put through trials where we don't find any joy, but afterwards (if we are paying attention) we receive knowledge.  That is how God works.  He is always teaching us by who and what he places in our path.  He is not one who punishes us out of spite or anger, but chides us out of love when it is necessary.

"Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?  For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness." Romans 12:9-10  God always chastens us so then we can learn, and not for his own pleasure.  He can see the bigger picture of who we need to become and what we need to do and change to get there. "That we might be partakers of his holiness", he corrects us so then we could have the blessing of becoming as he is: holy.

Every day is a learning opportunity.  Use every moment you have been given.  I still don't know the difference between baking soda and baking powder (sorry Mom), but one day I will.  I am going to do all I can to learn from the "punishments" that God has given, and see them for what they really are: "opportunities".  I challenge you to do the same.

Synergy At Its Best

There is an exercise that we have done with a couple of members that I would like to share with you.  You take three cups and separate them knife-apart.  You get three knives.  The goal is to place the knives in such a way that you can put a book of Mormon on top of them and it won't fall down.  SPOILER ALERT: this is how you do it.

The point is that it takes three things (church, scripture study, and prayer) to keep things in working order.  If you miss out on one, then everything will far apart.  But as I read the talk "We Have Great Reason to Rejoice" By Carole M. Stephens I realized that this same idea can be applied to us as human kind.

A single knife placed on a cup doesn't have much strength to it.  In fact, it will topple over at even the lightest load.  But when you hook all three knives together then not only can they support the weight of all three of the knives, but you could also put a dictionary or two on top of them and they will stay secure.

How does that work?  Each of the knives are interlocking with each other, supporting one another as they are being supported themselves.  With this kind of a design, they become much stronger together than they would separately.  (I love synergy like that.  When you can get 2+2 and come out with a number like 10 then you just know your day has been made.)

This is parallel to our lives.  Alone, we can't do much.  We're weak little human beings that tear up at a small papercut.  But when you get a group working together, supporting each other, then miracles can happen.  Like the people of Nehemiah, they worked together and were able to rebuild a wall in a matter of 52 days.  Or like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.  When they worked together and supported each other in their beliefs, it was easy to stand up to what they knew was wrong.

Likewise, we are asked to "bear one another's burdens, that they may be light;" (Mosiah 18:8).  And when we do that, we become like the three knives.  We are able to lift one another and together we are made strong.  Indeed, the burdens do become light as we help each other.  Going to church and giving our input is one way we can help each other.  Giving service and faithfully fulfilling our visiting or home teaching assignments makes strengthening each other possible.

While it may seem counterintuitive to find ways to help others while we are struggling ourselves, I know that if we do we will be blessed with strength from on high to endure every challenge that comes our way.  We will not only have the ability to deal with our own baggage, but we will be made strong to withstand any and all trials that this world has to throw out at us.

So look out to others. Seek for ways to help them - for they do need your help.  And I promise you that you will find that strength and peace that you need in your life.

Piano Analogy

Life is like playing the piano. 

You start out only playing on the black keys, then you try to master the white ones and that's where all the trouble begins.  You go to piano practice, then you practice it at home.  Hours upon hours you struggle with those little notes that like to hang out around bars and just when you start to think you know what you're doing your teacher gives you an even harder piece to play.

Blegh.

Scales up, scales down, left hand with the right hand, and then they throw sharps and flats at you!  You learn to hate those little black keys that you started out on.  They throw everything off!  What's the point of practicing the piano anyways!  The songs are a burden and sitting on the piano bench for long leaves you with a sore tush.

:P

Hence why not many people make it past more than a year or two of piano practice.  It's hard to see the end goal of "Moonlight Sonata" when you're stuck on "Mary Had a Little Lamb".  Yet if you can see that end goal, if you keep practicing and don't let the sour notes get you down, you learn how to play the piano note by note until it becomes something beautiful.

I remember practicing the piano.  All my attention would be on this one song and I just couldn't get it right.  I kept playing the wrong notes, my fingers wouldn't stretch far enough, and I was just frustrated with myself that I couldn't play the piece perfectly.  So I'd get off the bench and find myself a little corner and book to sulk in.

My mom would inquire as to my blackened mood, and I'd tell her of how I didn't want to practice the piano because I couldn't get it right.  That's when she'd gently encourage me that I could do it, and that if I just practiced one note at a time, one hand at a time, then eventually I would get it right.  I'd express my displeasure at making mistakes, after all she was the one who had to listen to me mess up.  I wanted to do it right so then it'd be pleasing for her to listen to.

With the amount of love that only a mother can have, she'd tell me of how she didn't care about the mistakes.  She was happy at my progress.  She was grateful that I was doing better and better with each try.  She believed in me and my growing ability that I could do it.  My mother would then help me put down the book, she'd chase away the negative shadows that clustered my mind, and she'd guide me back to the piano bench so I could begin again.

Do you know what happened then?  I still messed up.  But I could keep going and practicing until I did get that song right.  Because of her support, I could then pick up new pieces and not feel terrible at all the mistakes.  I could keep going and progressing, knowing that my mother was supporting me.  And while I didn't always like sitting at a piano struggling with a single song for an hour, I learned to like practicing and improving until I got it right.

This parallels our lives quite well.  In the beginning of life we can't do much, it takes time to learn how to walk and talk.  We start with the basics and move on until we can do more and become more.  Every day we practice living and growing.  We make mistakes.  Sometimes they're little ones, sometimes they're big piano crashes where we pound too hard on one note and break a string.  Luckily it's never the end of the world.

There have been many times in my life when I've been frustrated with the mistakes I've made.  I get tired of saying the wrong things, making the wrong choice, or just not doing all that I could.  I've gotten tired of trying.  But a loving, kind, gentle Father in Heaven always stepped in and taught me a better way.  To keep trying.  To keep practicing. 

Just like my mother delighted in my growth and practice and didn't mind the mistakes, God delights in our growth.  He is so proud of us for our efforts to improve.  He has provided a way for us to be redeemed from our mistakes through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  He wants us to succeed, for he sees all we can be.  We are his children, and we have the potential to become like him.  When we focus on the end goal of becoming Christ-like, then we can find the patience to work through our little mistakes.

Find joy in practicing the piano!  Find the joy in practicing life!  There will be mistakes, but that's okay.  You're expected to have a few when you're learning something new.  Rejoice with your Father in Heaven in the wonderful fact that you are progressing and growing!  If you can find that joy in the little things - good and bad - then you will find greater progression in your life as well.

A Foggy Day in Northern Virginia

It is foggy in the Northern Virginia area today.  In the night it is a dangerous hazard, but in the day it is an eerie effect.  As we drove from place to place, all but our immediate surroundings were covered with a blanket of white fog.  I would look off into the distant white to see a shapeless mass appear and solidify into what I could recognize as houses and trees.

Sometimes the fog would be so thick that we could only barely see the car in front of us, let alone the white fences that line the road.  In those times I would feel an edge of uncertain fear.  I couldn't see the world around me.  What if a deer jumped into the middle of the road at the wrong time, like they always do?  What if a car had suddenly stopped and I ran into them?  What if? 

Of course I couldn't stop driving.  The only choice there really was to keep going.  My little bubble of sight would follow me as I drove, just enough so then I could keep going without accident.  It was a little frightening, but as long as I kept going, I could keep going.

The experience reminded me of a talk given by Elder Eyring entitled “Patterns of Light”.  In it he talks about revelation being similar to a foggy day, where we don’t gain the revelation all at once, but it comes line upon line, gradually.  Just enough to take one step in front of the other and then you’re given a little bit more light to take one more step forward.

I can see potential parallels in life.  Times in life where I won’t know exactly what to do in every single moment.  Where money will be tight, relationships may be rough, and I may be wondering what new disaster lies ahead.  I hope and pray that in those moments I will remember what I have been taught and that I keep going in faith.

God will never leave us, nor forsake us.  There are times in our lives when he gives us sunny days where we can see everything clearly.  Then there are those moments when things are a little foggy and a little harder to understand.  I hope that in those moments I will keep going with the faith that God will provide a way.  Because he will.  I know he will.  Even on the foggy days when driving is a little scary.  He will provide a way.

That You May Bring Forth Fruit

Have you ever wondered why bad things happen to good people?  Perhaps you have lived your life to the best of your ability and you've been confronted with something difficult and unexpected.  Have you ever wondered why?  Why would God let something bad happen to you when you've done nothing but good?

There is an answer. 

I was reading in John today when I came across this scripture verse: "2 Every ^abranch in me that beareth not ^bfruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he ^cpurgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit." John 15:2  What does that mean?  I looked up the footnotes for "purgeth" and it said how it means "purifies" or "tests". 

Now, I don't understand much about gardening, but I do remember watching my mother cut back her rose bushes until they were little stubs.  "Why are you doing that?" I asked.  From my child eyes it appeared she was killing the plant.  She then explained to me that it would help the rose bush have more roses.  I still didn't understand, but I trusted her judgment.  Later in the summer we would have a rose bush full of beautiful roses. 

It appears that this concept is also true with us, as children of the Almighty God.  We are good, but we have the potential to become better.  Because God wants us to grow and be fruitful, he prunes us.  He cuts us back.  He puts us through hard trials so that we can bring forth more. 

It's painful.  It's hard.  Luckily Christ has already said, "Blessed are ye that weep" (Luke 6:21) so I don't have to feel bad about filling up a waste basket with used tissues when things get rough.  But the wonderful thing is that there are great blessings that come because of difficult trials.  It takes time, but the blessings will come.