Give the Reins to Him

In Matthew 12:8 we discussed how Christ rode into the city on a donkey and the multitudes praised him chanting Hosanna which was a way of deeming him as royalty.  I loved how we discussed that this was a miracle that the donkey allowed him to ride amongst a crowd of yelling people without being disturbed.  Donkeys are stubborn and they get anxious and irritated easily so it is not normal that Christ was able to do this.  While serving a mission in Paraguay, I was able to find the miracles in everyday.  Even the smallest things were clear to me that they were tender mercies from God.  I have noticed that the longer that I have been home, the more that I have stopped noticing the little miracles in everyday.  I always want to remember this discussion, and remember to thank God for everything that he does for me, and be able to recognize his constant hand in my life.  Life is so beautiful when we can see all the good that God does for us.

We can be likened to this donkey.  We can either appeal to our natural instinct and be stubborn, anxious, or easily irritated, thinking that our way is best, or we can humble ourselves.  We can give Christ the reins to our lives and let him guide us along the path of mortality will complete trust that he knows the path better than we do.  I know that as we give up our selfish passions and desires to God, and allow him to take the lead, we can become someone infinitely better than we ever could have made of ourselves.

In John 12, we read again about the different roles that Mary and Martha play in serving the Savior, and we learn that although their ways are very different, they are both right because they are serving from their hearts.  It is so important not to compare ourselves to others, but rather understand the divine role that each of us play as disciples of Jesus Christ, and magnify that role.

We Are His Creation

How many times in life do we pray for something and heavily rely on the lord when times are hard, but when we get what we want or things seem to come easy we forget to involve him in our lives.  It is so easy to recognize his hands in every aspect of our lives when we are searching for it.  Life is a constant miracle.  But when we get prideful and forget who gives us all, we fall into a dangerous place.  In Luke 17:14-19  it talks about the 10 lepers who were healed by Jesus.

It reads,

14 "And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests.  And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed."

15 "And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,"

16 "And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan."

17 "And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed?  but where are the nine?

18 "There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger."

19 "And he said unto him, Arise, go they way: they faith hath made thee whole."

How happy God must be when we are sensitive enough to the spirit that we can recognize his hand in our lives, and take the time to express our gratitude.

With gratitude in our hearts, we are more capable of reaching out to others and being an instrument in God's hands.  The leper that turned back to thank Jesus surely had family and friends that he could wait to go back to and tell of the great news, but he understood what was most important and he prioritized Christ over all.

I am learning in my life that the key to confidence and happiness is gratitude.  As we acknowledge all that God grants us every day, life is so beautiful and full.  It is especially important to recognize how lucky you are to be you.  I think that as were learn to humble ourselves to God, and truly love ourselves, we are telling God that we are grateful for all that he has made us.  We are his creation.

Quest, Don't Question

I believe that at some point in every one of our lives, there will come a time when we all will have to decide for ourselves what we truly believe for ourselves.  Sometimes family crisis cause us to reach this moment, a near death experience, or maybe just a loss of purpose, but when this time comes it is so important that we approach it with faith rather than fear and doubt.  My New Testament teacher helped us understand that as we search for answers to life's deep questions, or confusing doctrine, it is so important that we go on a quest rather than question.  Like Elder Holland Stated, we must fan the flame of our faith.  Questions are good.  They allow us to to dig deeper and truly know something in our hearts, rather than simply accepting something and going through the motions, but we must search for the answer with a faith that we will find them.  

I loved Matthew 19:26 where it reads, 

"But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, with men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible."

Through faith in God we can go through life with excitement and motivation that all things that are worthy and that are according to the will of God can be accomplished.  Sometimes it is hard not to have a fear of the future and of what will happen because we see so much destruction around us.  We know that life is not supposed to be easy because we grow through the hard times, but sometimes I fear what trial will be placed in my path next.  This scripture filled me with a sense of hope that no matter what the next trial is that I find in my life, through God, I will be able to conquer it.  Rather than fearing what hard times are ahead, I have found myself looking forward to what miracles and growth lie ahead.  

God is so mindful of his children, and the universe was created to help us succeed.  I love to know this for myself, but also to see this in others.  As I look at all the diverse people as I walk around campus, I am able to realize that they are spiritual beings created to accomplish incredible things, and I am filled with love for them.  This gospel of Christ is love, acceptance, perseverance, trust, and happiness and these things are all within reach for every single one of God's children.  I am setting a goal with my self to quest for my divine role in this life and for answer, and throw questioning aside.  Nobody's got time for that. 

All that you have is all that he needs

John 6:

9. There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?

10.  And Jesus said, Make the men sit down.  Now there was much grass in the place.  So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.

11. And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to the that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.

Jesus asked them to give him what they had, and it was not much, but they did it willingly.  The "lad" that gave up his food was probably depending on that food for the night and maybe the next morning but sacrificed everything that he had because he had faith in Christ that all would be well.  I remember so many times on my mission having a burning desire to give all that I had, yet feeling like I would never be able to do enough to show Christ my love and appreciation for him.  As Dr. Griffin talk about this young lad in class, I was able to liken myself to him a lot.  His contribution was relatively small in comparison to the end goal of feeding the five thousand, but because he gave all Christ was able to fill in the gap and provide more than enough for the multitude. 

I KNOW that Christ lives and loves us and that his purpose for us in this life is to find joy.  He does not want us to be wallowed up in our inadequacies and short comings but rather give 100% of what we've got, and he will make up the difference.  Life is so good and happiness is AlWAYS within reach.