Life is hard. I have a lot of different thoughts floating around in my head right now and I hope that I will be able to piece them all together just right. Things that were seemingly unrelated have morphed into one big theme that I constantly need to learn over and over again in life; doing the small and simple things can sometimes be the only thing keeping us moving and going during the hard times.
Not to say that any big hard thing has struck me lately. But I've watched a lot of the most important people around me go through some of the most difficult things this summer.
I won't lie, I guess you could say before seeing all these things I was feeling like I was in a bit of a rut. Small little problems or daily stresses were building on each other and left me feeling a bit unsure of what to do or what to change.
I'm realizing that every single person has, is, or will experience similar feelings. It's impossible not to. It's life. But it's what we do about it that determines how we will make it out. I firmly believe that each experience, good or bad, leads us to be who we are. I like to think of them, particularly the harder experiences, as building blocks or lessons that need to be learned. Some take a little longer than others, some seem to go on forever, but I am again reminded that the key is to keep moving.
I was visiting teaching the other day, which is something we do as a part of my church every month, and the topic of simple, daily, scripture study and prayer was brought up. Why is it that it can seem so hard to do sometimes?? It's so simple, so easy, and yet it feels like the hardest thing to get done at times.
The thing is, I think it's one of the most important things.
Okay... so now to try and bring it all back together. Nothing really majorly difficult is happening directly to me right now, but I am seeing so many around me who have been struck by the unexpected; very difficult trials, and very unexpected. We never know when these challenges are going to strike, we never know when we are going to start feeling like we are in a rut. So what can we do? What happens when it comes? I know sometimes I feel like running and hiding until the storm passes, but I'm relearning that it only makes it harder.
The key is to keep moving. Keep pushing on. Even when it hurts, when it seems too hard, when we feel like we are too worn out... we need to just keep going.
I stumbled upon this scripture the other week in our scripture study and it was exactly what I needed to do just that... to keep moving, especially with the small and simple things. Alma 32: 37-40:
37 And behold, as the tree beginneth to grow, ye will say: Let us nourish it with great care, that it may get root, that it may grow up, and bring forth fruit unto us. And now behold, if ye nourish it with much care it will get root, and grow up, and bring forth fruit.
38 But if ye neglect the tree, and take no thought for its nourishment, behold it will not get any root; and when the heat of the sun cometh and scorcheth it, because it hath no root it withers away, and ye pluck it up and cast it out.
39 Now, this is not because the seed was not good, neither is it because the fruit thereof would not be desirable; but it is because your ground is barren, and ye will not nourish the tree, therefore ye cannot have the fruit thereof.
40 And thus, if ye will not nourish the word, looking forward with an eye of faith to the fruit thereof, ye can never pluck of the fruit of the tree of life.
I loved this because it is so true, that there are times when we feel like things are good or we're in a really good spot, so it might be easy to forget to nourish our testimonies and read our scriptures. But when hard times come, if we aren't doing anything, or if we essentially just give up or hide, it's going to consume us. I think it's so neat too that it says it's not because the seed isn't good, meaning it's not that we aren't good people or doing wrong, but that to even the best of people, we need that nourishment and that extra strength to make it through.
I know this probably came out of nowhere, but it's been on my mind a lot lately. So to those going through a rough time, remember to keep moving and don't stop because it will get better.
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