12-31-11
“He did deliver me from
bondage” p.160, Day 6
I
think verse 5 gives a clue to the answer to her question. As I was reading this verse, the words
“retain their brightness” jumped out at me.
Its a natural condition of morality that the human mind easily forgets,
in the same way a garden will become overrun with weeds when not cared
for. It is the principle of work that
keeps us swimming upstream in the river of life. If we do not work, we get weak and float down
stream. As we work to share with others,
it keeps us in a learning mode. Also I
have noticed that in the past when I have shared with others the principles I
am learning, the Spirit recalls the words to me for me to apply in my own
life. It ignites my integrity to feel
that if I am telling others to do it, then I better get myself in gear. I know none of us are perfect and I can’t
perfectly do what I share with others.
It all comes down to Gandhi’s words to “be the change I wish to see in
the world.” This is living from the
inside out. When we ‘give advice to
others’ especially words we have not lived we are living from the outside
in.
I
just had a little insight into why my writing felt off yesterday. I think my heart was in an authoritarian
mind-frame, so that I thought of myself as the teacher. Today as I am writing I am consciously
working at trying to remember I am a student simply sharing the discoveries I
have made. This puts me in the
application mode of truth, rather than the un-relatable position of a Guru
teacher. I think I am being tempted into
pride by seeing myself as someone who possesses wisdom. The truth is that wisdom is not owned, it is
seen through work as we apply truth in our lives- and belongs only to
God. We all see truth from our own
individual perspective and only the Spirit can translate what that means for
each of us. I will never be able to say
the perfect words for someone else to hear because of all the ‘wisdom I
have’. As I was talking to a friend
yesterday, I wondered if I had possibly said something that may have helped
her. Often times in my past I have
thought of the things others have told me and wondered, ‘why didn’t they say it
this way? It would have meant so much
more to me then.” I realized that no
other mortal can say the exact words we need to hear in the exact way we need
to hear it. It is only the Spirit that
can interpret those words to our hearts so that they hit their providential
target. It’s not my job to try to
‘declare the word of soberness to the world’ as a teacher or one who has
arrived. I am a student; I am a
recovering addict who has problems just like everyone else. I struggle with temptation and this is a
perfect example. I have learned much and
come to a place the path that is a little more visible, but the struggle and
the work are still a part of life. I
love what Elder Corbridge said in a talk called the way: http://lds.org/ensign/2008/11/the-way?lang=eng
“Life is hard for all of us-- For
everyone everywhere. Life is hard but
life is simple. We have only two
choices. We can either follow Him and
have His light… or we can go some other way and go it alone in darkness doubt
grief and despair.”
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