Recently as you may recall I hired a personal trainer to help me reach my goals. He writes out my diet and my exercise plan for every day of the week. The equation is simple, if I want to see results I follow the plan. The thing that makes me laugh is how when I tell other people what my plan is for the week they all like to share what they would do differently. Repeatedly I face the same scenario…Oh, that’s good, but you need to add this, or subtract this, or change that. Sometimes the struggle comes from within my own self. Am I really pushing hard enough? Would it help to eat less, or exercise more?
Finally the other day it dawned on me while I was reading my scriptures. “If you keep my commandments you shall prosper in the land” That was it, in a strange way I needed to take the suggestions of my personal trainer and treat them as commandments for my body.
I have seen blessings in my life as I have kept the commandments. For example when I pay my tithing things work out financially. When I attend the temple I feel more peace in my life. So, shouldn’t it also be so if I keep the commandments of my coach? After all didn’t this whole thing start as a way to further live the Word of Wisdom?
This new perspective has increased my capacity to trust my personal trainer. Sometimes he requires things I don’t like (eggs for example) or things that I don’t understand (stop pushing so hard) but as I listen to his advice I find myself resting with more confidence in one day reaching my goals.
Further more, this has strengthened my faith in my Heavenly Father. He is the ultimate personal trainer for life. He knows what will help me to grow the most and become the happiest. He has the tools to help me get there. As I turn to him and ask for help he can give me more specific commandments for my life through personal revelation. He can instruct me to do the things that make me the grow the most.
Heavenly Father can strengthen my spiritual muscles through things I don’t like always (trials). He can mold my character. As I trust in my Father I can walk through life with an added measure of confidence and peace knowing that I will reach my ultimate goal of eternal life back with Him. As we learn in Doctrine and Covenants 123:17, as we cheerfully do all things that lie in our power, we can stand still with the utmost assurance to see the Salvation of God.
The Single Life.
To read more of Ashley’s articles, click here.
My challenge for you is to find someone with whom you need to strengthen that bond of trust, and fix it. That bond may be with God, or a family member, or a friend. When you strengthen that bond of trust I can promise that you will feel a greater kinship, and a deeper love for the person.
Ashley Dewey is extremely talented at being single. Hobbies include awkward conversations with members of the opposite sex, repelling third dates, talking to boys about their girl problems and to girls about their boy problems. In her spare time she also has a very fulfilling school life, work life, and social life.
Besides being a professional single, Ashley is also a BYU graduate with a degree in linguistics (Aka word nerd). She enjoys studying other languages, particularly American Sign Language, and finds most all of them fascinating. She is currently pursuing a masters degree in Teaching English as a Second Language.
Ashley works most of the time and has often been accused of being a workaholic. Currently she works full time as a merchandiser and supervisor in a retail store, and part time doing social media work. On her day off she works (really it doesn't feel like work) in the Provo LDS temple. The only kind of work she finds difficulty focusing on is house work.
Her favorite activities in her free time are reading, writing, creating social experiments, and spending time with great friends and family. Specific activities with those family and friends include: going to concerts, plays, dance recitals, BYU basketball and football games, and watching sports on television.
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