Sunday, April 15, 2012

The One who Understands

There is something I learned as a youth that I’ve always liked. Ready for this profound truth?! Here it is-

“You can be an egg, or a carrot.”

Yep. That’s it. And I love it!

What it means is simply that when trials beset us, we can become hardened or softened. Like an egg or a carrot in boiling water, we won’t remain the same after trials come. Yet whether or not our hearts are hardened or softened depends on us.

I was sitting in church today thinking that it is so easy to feel angry, alone, and overwhelmed when I focus on trials I am facing. I don’t see people around me struggling with their own trials. I am so zoomed in on my own problems that I lose sight of the path I want to be on and the people around me who need help. Everything I’ve ever done right in my life seems like wasted efforts, and all I see are my faults and weaknesses.

I see a mountain ahead of me, and all I’m holding is a small garden shovel.

Then I remember the story of a young man whom the Lord instructs to push against a large rock. He pushes and pushes for years, but the rock never budges.

Finally, dejectedly he says, “Lord, I have labored long and hard in your service, putting all my strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even been able to budge that rock. What is wrong? Why am I failing?”

The Lord responded compassionately, “My friend, when I asked you to serve me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come to me with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. But, is that really so?”

“Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back sinewy and brown, your hands are callused from constant pressure, and your legs have become massive and hard. Through opposition you have grown much and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. Yet you haven’t moved the rock. But your calling was to be obedient and to push and to exercise your faith and trust in my wisdom. This you have done. I, my friend, will now move the rock.”

Some trials the Lord doesn’t give us because we need to overcome them, but because through them, our hearts can become softened and our testimonies strengthened.

Though at times we will feel so powerless and frustrated when we face seemingly insurmountable challenges, we need to remember that we don’t face them alone. There is One who understands.

Our Savior has conquered every mountain that we have to climb.

He has weathered every storm that will beset us.

He understands us.

Never feel alone. Never feel like your efforts are wasted. Keep climbing the mountain. You will reach the top one day. Don’t lose hope during the storm. It will end. Remember that it is not always about conquering your trials, but about who you are becoming because of them.

Friday, January 13, 2012

My Best Friend

There are so many things we want at different points in our lives: that awesome nerf gun the kid down the street got for Christmas, a new basketball, a puppy dog, money for tuition, a significant other, a new car, cheaper insurance, more grandchildren, etc....Of all the things I've ever wanted, the most consistent was my desire for a best friend. I just wanted someone who I could tell EVERYTHING to; someone who understood me perfectly and accepted me, faults and all; someone who would be there to share the good times and the bad times with me; someone to hug me when I was scared and to hold me tight when I cried. I use to pray and cry, pleading with the Lord to simply give me a best friend.


I have been blessed with amazing friends throughout my life. I know that the Lord placed many of them in my life for specific reasons. Many of them have been there to comfort me through hard times, to offer much needed counsel, to help me to laugh, and to give me that much needed hug. We have had crazy adventures together, made unforgettable memories, and laughed so hard together that we cried. Lessons my friends have taught me over the years have melded together with the lessons learned from my family, all of which have shaped me into who I am today. I am sooooooo grateful for those friends, and will never forget them nor the things they have taught me and the service they've rendered.


Yet, none of them can be there for me always. I find myself crying alone sometimes. I need a hug, and no one is there. Or when something wonderful happens, I can't share with them what happened because they live far away or are busy. I love my friends with my whole heart, but they can't be there for me always, and as much as I wish I could be there for them always, I know that I can't. I don't always have the right words to say to comfort them, the advice they need, or the means to solve their problems. Part of me wishes that I did, but the other part knows that I can't take the place of the One who is truly meant to be our Best Friend.


Our Savior is the only person who has lived on this earth who perfectly understands us. He is the only one who knows our every thought and desire. He knows the darkest parts of us, the things we hide even from ourselves. He knows the immense potential we have, potential that we can't even comprehend. He knows the fruits of our labors, the lives we have touched that we aren't even aware of. He loves us perhaps more than we will ever understand. We know that He shall "wipe away all tears from [our] eyes," and was sent to "bind up the brokenhearted" (Rev. 7:17, Isa. 61:1). He loves us each so incredibly much that He gave His life for us. I am so grateful for Him and for all He has done for me, and I am soooooo grateful that He can be there for my friends and comfort them if they let Him, because only He can heal their wounds. I stopped praying for a best friend a few years ago. Now I pray that I might always be an instrument in the Lord's hands, that I might help other people come unto my Best Friend and find their best friend in Him as well.

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Friends....

There are a few quotes in the scriptures about friends that I really like. The first is in Proverbs 27:17-

“Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.”

The first time I read that quote I didn’t really know what to think of it, but the more I pondered it the more I liked it. Iron is sharpened by “slow, measured strokes until a rough, sharp edge has been revealed” (http://www.ehow.com/how-does_5611896_process-iron-sharpening.html). You don’t sharpen iron with one hard, swift stroke. It takes patience, time, and care. Likewise, friends don’t change you overnight. Slowly, over time, their influence transforms you. Their slow and measured strokes help you to reach a higher potential. I am so grateful for each and every friend I’ve had, especially those who over the years have continued to help me become a better person.

Proverbs 27:6-

“Faithful are the wounds of a friend….”

This one stumped me at first too! Why would a friend ever want to wound another friend? Then I remembered a few examples from my own life of friends who hurt me when they were being honest and open with me. Corrections hurt, but when given by a loving friend who truly has our best interest at heart, those wounds are faithful. I wouldn’t be who I am today if it weren’t for the correction my true friends have given me, and I’m grateful for the courage they had to wound me on occasion when I needed that correction.

John 15:13-

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

Apparently another way to translate 'lay down' from Greek is ‘set aside'. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man set aside his life for his friends.” What a beautiful thing it is to have friends who are willing to set aside their lives and serve you when you truly need them. Wow….I hope I can be a friend like that to others.

So, I’ve been thinking a lot about friends because of my amazing roommates. I started trying to blog more last semester in an attempt to record my experiences in our ASL apartment. At the end of that first post I talked about how I knew that the “frustrations of not being able to fully express ourselves or completely understand each other as roommates will be far outweighed by…the experiences that we will have, and the love that we are developing for each other through this experience. Already I feel like we are a family.”

Wow. I had no idea how right I would be when I wrote that. Last semester I gained some of my very best friends and a handful of new sisters. What an amazing experience to learn from their examples, their patience, and their love. I will be eternally grateful for the four months I had the privilege of living with Destiny, Rebekah, Alex, Darci, and Aubry. What a blessing they are in my life.