1. Study diligently.

2. Pray earnestly.

3. Serve willingly.

Study Diligently

First, study. What does the disciple study? The most obvious answer is the scriptures. Christ has said,

“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me” (John 5:39).

When we read the scriptures with sincerity and diligence, we hear the Lord’s voice and understand His words — then, when they speak to our heart, they penetrate deep. As we study, we read, hear, and understand. We learn the will of the Lord and grow in testimony and love for Him. The scriptures are the best foundation for our faith in a world that wants to eat away at anything spiritual. They are a sure guide to paths of faithfulness and the best defense against evil. Scripture study is not a light reading once a week; rather, it is meant to be a diligent pursuit for something we truly desire. We should search the scriptures with the same fervency that we would look for our lost car keys when late for an appointment. They are our life preserver in a world drowning with sin and pain.

Along with the scriptures, explore other good and powerful works. Gain an education and knowledge of the best things the world has to offer. These are placed here for the growth and benefit of God’s children so that we could celebrate our lives, talents, and differences during our experience here on earth.

Pray Earnestly

Second, pray. Once we have come to understand the language of God and can feel His words in our hearts from the scriptures, we must open the line of communication even further by connecting in an even more personal manner.

“Pray always, and I will pour out my Spirit upon you, and great shall be your blessing” (D&C 19:38).

Express to Heavenly Father your every need, fear, and joy. He will share in your life through your prayers and give you personal direction and support when you listen for His spirit during your communications with Him.

Serve Willingly

Lastly, we must have a goal to serve willingly. Does it have to be big and dramatic? Usually not. Consider the ways of the Savior. Yes, there were many significant and highly visible acts, and there will be times when we are placed in significant situations where our service will be extremely great. But just as often during the Savior’s mortal ministry, it was something small and personal. There were many times when He told someone to go and tell no one; many times when He noticed what everyone else in the crowd had overlooked. Often, He understood a person’s heart when the world could not.

These are the things that marked His greatness in my eyes and what He most often requires of us as His disciples. As His hands of service in the lives we come in contact with, He wants us to notice the little things. The man in the tree, left on the outskirts. The woman who needs someone to notice the soul behind her tears. He needs our eyes and ears and, most of all, our hearts. He needs our willingness to express our love for Him in ways others can understand and learn from.

These are three simple but soul-expanding goals for the disciple of Christ.

This article was originally published in 2009. Edits have been made for clarity.

Alison P

Let’s look at what the Savior did when He saw the multitude in this account. He noticed their hunger and asked His disciples how their needs could be filled. He asked if there were traditional or expected solutions to the problem, partly to recognize this as a first step and partly to make sure those around Him acknowledged the absence of normal means to solve the problem. When there was not a way for the crowd to feed themselves, He provided divine intervention. He took what seemed a meager offering and fed the five thousand. When it was done, He gathered what was left so that nothing would be lost. There was an abundance left over to gather.

There are two lessons here for the disciple.

The first is the role of the Savior in our lives. He sees our needs. He asks us to look for the normal and reasonable ways to help ourselves, but He doesn’t leave us alone when these options prove insufficient. At that point, His divine intervention is always available. He takes the little we have to offer and turns it into more than enough to fill our needs. His grace and love is unlimited. There will always be more than enough. He’ll never run out of ability and ways to help us if we offer up our part and accept His offering in return. He has more than 5000 ways to succor up His disciples.

The second is our role in following His example. Because we serve and follow Him, our priority is helping and serving our fellow man in His name. We follow the same pattern as the Savior. First, we notice others more than ourselves. Second, we look for normal and available means of helping the person or allowing them to help themselves. When this is not an option, we take our meager offering, the little bit we can do for them, and offer it to the Lord to magnify. Then, there will be more than enough for all. Lastly, we notice what has been accomplished and gather those blessings to us so that nothing is lost and we are sustained until the next time we can be of service.

Just as the Savior’s capacity to love and serve us knows no bounds, this is the attitude we are trying to develop. Start a service record or journal. How long will it take you to provide 5000 acts of service, and what do you think will be left when you and those you associate with have been filled?

Perhaps more importantly, how long will it take before you’ve recorded 5000 ways the Savior has blessed you?

This article was originally published in May 2008. Minor changes have been made.

Alison P

Last night, I happened across a headline that caught my eye. Maybe you saw it, too. It advertised a 5-year-old piano prodigy. Some of us might completely ignore the hype that often surrounds a child’s prodigy status, but this one held an extra set of unique circumstances. Yes, she’s five and yes, she plays better than I ever could, but she’s also blind and was adopted after being abandoned as an infant.

I do not pretend to understand what might have caused this child’s mother to leave her, but my heart breaks for both the child and the mother. I also wonder if this particular mother knows what her child has shown herself capable of. I wonder if it’s a case of hindsight: If she had known the beauty and power her child possessed, would the mother’s choices have been altered? Again, I can’t know.

I can only try to apply what I’ve learned to my own life. This small video clip on the internet stirred something in my heart. Have there been times in my own life where something has seemed too hard, too different, or too insignificant that I have tossed it aside without ever seeing the gift that God had in mind for me? Have I only seen a rock, when I should have refined and polished it to find the gem underneath? If I had only stuck with a particular challenge longer, would I be better off now? Has God given me a special talent or blessing that I have ignored because I was too intent on seeing and magnifying my own inadequacies instead of my unique qualities?

I thought of times in the scriptures where Christ, or one of His servants, issued advice or a task to be performed. I wondered if I had ever been like some who, in response to the Lord’s command, went away discouraged thinking that it couldn’t possibly be the answer to the problem. Or, have I received a gift from Him and not recognized it as such or not given Him thanks and credit for filling my life with His love.

I say and feel that I am loved personally and individually by my Father in Heaven, but I still think there are plenty of times in my own life when I forget, or simply cannot comprehend how vast and significant that love is. Nurturing and loving us is at the very center of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ’s nature and character. The Savior’s perfect love is just that—perfect. But I am far from it. I sometimes overlook the little (and the big) things that trickle down from heaven because of this love and the miracle of the Atonement every day.

In the Book of Mormon, there is a passage that I think I need to remember a little more often.

But behold, the Lord hath redeemed my soul from hell; I have beheld his glory, and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love. (2 Nephi 1:15)

His arms are constantly around us, with His heart close to ours. But the world and our own human frailties can overwhelm and block out its soft, comforting beat.

It might be that we’ve let ourselves become caught up in more than we can handle, or even the wrong things. Consider Mary and Martha. Martha was a good person. She loved the Savior. She was His disciple. She was excited to have Him in her home. But, she was so engrossed in her chores (and the stress associated with them) that she missed out on a portion of the love and peace Christ was trying to share with her that day. In this world I think it’s very easy for each of us to become so caught up in “have-to,” “need-to,” and “should” that the stress becomes overwhelming. It pushes out the presence of the Spirit in our lives and causes us to forget to bring Him back. Though we can see the Savior in the distance, we just can’t seem to “catch up” so that we can catch up with Him. We forget that Jesus Christ has offered us the chance to walk beside Him— not run after Him, short of breath and unsure of the way.

Another possibility is that we’ve noticed how far behind we seem to be. We know we’ve fallen by the wayside or feel that we can never match up to what the Savior requires of His disciples. Do we refuse His blessings because they couldn’t possibly be meant for us? Somewhere in the back of our minds, do we feel that only those that seem to be so much better than us deserve or receive His love? As false as that thought might be, it is common. We mistakenly think salvation can be handled in the same way that everything else on our to-do list is: figure out what needs to be done, do it, and mark it off the list. Life isn’t “done” once—it happens every day in every way. The walk with Christ is still a walk, not a sit-down-on-a park-bench-and-watch-everybody-else-go-by experience. He bids us “come” not “arrive.”

It might be that we simply don’t recognize the blessing hidden among the trials and chaos. I think of another scripture found in the Book of Mormon:

And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things. (1 Nephi 11:22)

I envision a mighty tree that is reaching out, trying to cover me with shade and protection. Then, I think of the humble beginnings of any tree. Every plant, including a tree, begins as a seed. It really doesn’t look like much, but it has miracles hidden inside. If it’s given nourishment, it grows—but even then it can be mistaken for something of no consequence. Then there’s my favorite analogy: have you ever re-potted a plant? What would have happened if you pulled out the tender plant, took one look at the jumbled and tangled roots, said “nothing good can possibly come from this mess!” and thrown the whole thing away?! It’s difficult to understand that our seemingly chaotic roots hold up some of the most beautiful parts of our lives.

Heavenly Father is giving us the best and most desirable gifts every day, yet, at every stage, we can overlook or reject God’s blessings. Have you rejected a blessing lately? Have you lost sight of Christ and feel that it isn’t possible to walk beside Him as He invites? Look again. You never know what amazing gift can be hiding in the corners of life.

This article was previously published in July 2008. Minor changes have been made.

Alison P

Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing, and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God;

 

That your incomings may be in the name of the Lord, that your outgoings may be in the name of the Lord, that all your salutations may be in the name of the Lord, with uplifted hands unto the Most High— (D&C 109:8-9)

Can you guess what words I remember every time I close the scriptures and walk away? Organize, order, and house. Somehow over the years, I’ve taken a beautiful concept and turned it into something that seems impossible for me. I’m not an organized person. Far from it, in fact. Because these scriptures start with and re-emphasize these words, I have equated an orderly, clean, and well-running home with a heavenly home. Somehow I’ve assumed that God can only be closer to me when my chores are done. But really, that’s not what the scripture says at all.

Though these verses were given to provide specific parameters for what should be available to the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when they entered God’s temples. As you can tell, I believe it is also a pattern for what God would like to have present in our everyday lives and dwellings. These are the things that matter most to our Heavenly Father as we try to build our lives around His son, Jesus Christ, and His teachings. In a sense, these two scriptures give us a pretty clear direction on where our personal priorities should be. Yes, there are plenty of things we face every day that aren’t covered here — but perhaps when we place these first, it becomes clearer what we are supposed to do with the rest of the items on our daily “to-do” lists.

The problem is, I tend to get caught up in the “to-do” part, which puts my mind on worldly matters, and I forget that the parts that are most important. Does Christ ask His disciples to scrub their toilets before saying their morning prayers? Not really. There is a place for a clean home, of course; it offers peace and a greater sanctuary from the world. But what really matters as we try to build a relationship with the Savior is not necessarily the “organized” part, but what He is actually asking us to be reliable and organized in. Have you forgotten the other parts of the instructions?

Let’s review:

Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing, and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God;

 

That your incomings may be in the name of the Lord, that your outgoings may be in the name of the Lord, that all your salutations may be in the name of the Lord, with uplifted hands unto the Most High— (D&C 109:8-9)

The things we need to make sure we have in our homes are: prayer, fasting, faith, learning, and worship. We need to make sure our homes are places where God is invited and can enter. Sure, it’s nice to offer Him a seat without first having to brush off yesterday’s paper. But it’s more important that the spirit of the home is inviting to His goodness and purity. The thing that is needful, the thing that must be present, is Christ.

When you take a look at your “to-do” list tomorrow, check and see how many of these elements of order are present. How fully are you providing yourself with a house of God? Where can you improve? When you look at it from God’s perspective, which things have you been constantly adding, just to beat yourself up with, that don’t really matter for the type of organized home you want?

Take a look and see how organized you are according to God’s pattern and I’ll try to do the same.

This post was originally published in July 2008. Minor changes have been made.

Alison P

20 And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him.

 

21 And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross.

 

22 And they bring him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull.

After enduring more than any other man could ever withstand, Jesus stumbled through the streets of Jerusalem under the weight of His own cross.

He was weak, He was tired — yet He bore it all with dignity and majesty until the Roman soldiers became impatient with His slow, stumbling progress. They pulled a man from the crowd and told him to carry the cross of Jesus. This was the custom of the times. The Romans could demand that a Jew carry their load. The scriptures do not tell us whether the man Simon offered any protest. We simply know he took up the cross and followed. If he was a disciple of Jesus Christ, what must this have meant to him? On the one hand, he was offering a humble service to his Lord; on the other, it was a service that would end with Christ’s death. It must have been a difficult burden to bear. How would you have felt knowing that you were easing the Savior’s burden only to be a facilitator to His death in the end? It must have been very hard indeed.

Today, our tasks as disciples of Jesus Christ are no less difficult. One of the first covenants we make with Heavenly Father comes at the time of our baptism. We bear witness that we desire to become members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but more importantly, we covenant that we are willing to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ. We renew this promise every week during the sacrament as we humbly pray we will be able to always remember Him.

We are being asked to carry His name, just as Simon was once asked to carry His cross. Do we bear this honor with dignity? As we walk forward through the streets of our daily lives, can those around us recognize whose name we carry with us? As Christ’s disciples, do we focus our actions, our words, our thoughts, and our appearance in such a manner that those around us can see the goodness and beauty of Jesus Christ through us?

It means expressing gracious kindness in the face of offense. It means helping a neighbor. It means taking time with a child. It means being His disciple even when it’s hard and the outcome seems dreary. In return, He offers us peace and eternal life and an assurance that on the days when it seems we can’t carry on, He will be there to help us with the load. Even in the process of carrying His cross for Him, the Savior offers tremendous blessings.

28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

 

29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

 

30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

(Matthew 11:28-30)

I may not have carried His cross in Jerusalem and I may not wear a symbol of that cross around my neck, but I carry His name every day in my heart for everyone to see. I, like many of you, am willing to carry His name as far as He needs me to. He will bless and guide our efforts as we covenant to bear His name.

This post was originally published in November 2007. Minor changes have been made.

Alison P

And there shall be silence in heaven for the space of half an hour; and immediately after shall the curtain of heaven be unfolded, as a scroll is unfolded after it is rolled up, and the face of the Lord shall be unveiled; (Doctrine and Covenants 88:95)

In the verse prior to this, the Lord describes some of the disturbing things that will be happening right before Jesus Christ appears on Earth again. Now, I recognize that this scripture is ultimately talking about the Second Coming of Christ, but I found it working into my mind in regard to managing my own time. I saw, though not the exact complications, the same amount of chaos trying to wiggle its way into my own life. No, I may not face some of the horrible trials and loss of faith that the world in general will be experiencing. I do, however, experience those moments when everything seems to be falling apart, when there is more going on than I feel I can possibly handle, and I’m lost to know which direction to turn in my struggle to free myself.

I like the analogy of verse 95 as it can apply to me personally when I find myself in such a disheveled state. The key, I think, was silence. There was silence for the space of half an hour and then the Lord was revealed. The answer is in the silence: a quiet time of introspection when the world and its influences are pushed away, leaving room for the Spirit only. It’s a special time of preparation, inviting in good things that are to come. Every disciple needs moments when they are just quiet, when they can reflect on what matters most and ponder the course of their life as it relates to their Savior.

How busy is your life? What would it take for you to find just half an hour each day to be silent and think about the Savior? Some days, it would probably take an awful lot—and those are probably the days we need it most. One of the greatest blessings of discipleship is the ability to build a personal and loving relationship with Jesus Christ. We need those moments when nothing else matters but that relationship. We need a little time to ask ourselves what we did today that the Lord is pleased in, what we did that should have been better, and how we will let Him guide us more fully tomorrow.

Make a goal to be silent! If half an hour isn’t feasible, try to find just 10 or 15 minutes. Get up a little earlier or go to bed a little later, spend a little more time in the shower, take an extended walk, hide in the broom closet on your lunch hour—do whatever it takes to give yourself a few moments in which Christ can show you His face and nature.

Heavenly Father has told us over and over again to “Be still, and know that I am God.” So that’s my advice for today:  push everything away except your scriptures, your prayers, your faith, and an open heart. Let there be silence for several minutes and see God anew in the world around you.

This article was originally published in July 2008. Minor changes have been made. 

Alison P

What made the difference? Was it the type of competition we were facing or the attitude of those around us? Was it our own attitudes about what winning and losing meant to us?

I think many of us carry those childhood beliefs about winning and losing into our adult lives with us. There are so many things in this life that we are supposed to “get right” or “win” at, not the least of which is our path toward Christ. But who decides if we win or lose?

Sometimes we decide, sometimes we base our wins on the opinions of others—family, friends, or peers. How often do we let Christ decide?

If He were giving us a pep talk about our lives, do you think it would be, “It doesn’t matter if you win or lose, as long as you do your best”? Our Savior loves us dearly and He paid a great sacrifice for us to be able to make up for our shortcomings—I don’t remember anywhere in His teachings where it says, “You must win at all games if you expect to win with me.” The scriptures don’t really say much about the win or lose part, but they do have a lot to say about doing your best.

What is our best, in terms of Christ’s standards? It’s a very personal thing. “Best” is not the same for everyone, nor is it the same for everything one person does. “Best” is based on who we are and what God knows is in our hearts.

“Best” is not trying to excel above another. “Best” is not even trying to excel within our own life to a level that takes us away from Christ. “Best” is a measure of where our heart is and what we hope to accomplish with our actions. It’s not our own analysis of what we could have done better. That can be helpful for the future, but it is not helpful for judging things that have already passed.

Does that seem a little odd? “Best” is a measure of the moment. It is a question of whether in that moment, in that situation, we were doing the best we could. Jesus Christ does not require us to be in competition at all. He does not require us to be perfect in everything or even one thing in this life. He does ask us to take the gift of life that we are given and make the most of it every day. He asks us to be a little more perfect each day, or, in other words, to be more like Him with every passing day. Some days our best may be much greater or less than other days, and that’s okay. He is not comparing us against our neighbor, or even Himself—He is only looking at us through our own potential and path.

I think we are often harder on ourselves and each other than we need to be. We are not judges; we do not have the perspective and knowledge to be such, and yet we seem to spend an enormous amount of time doing just that. We judge ourselves, we judge our neighbor, and none of it turns out very well at all. I wonder why we continue to do it, then? Because somewhere along the line, we learned that life is a competition and we didn’t believe the well-meaning person who said winning or losing didn’t matter when the world clearly defines that one was better than the other. We all want our best to be the “best,” but unfortunately our limited perception does not let us see the Lord’s definition of what that is.

We need to spend more time figuring out what the Lord needs from us and less time trying to figure out how we measure up against our neighbor. How would our lives change if we looked to Him first rather than the rulers of the world? How would it be if we took our pep talks from Christ rather than our peers?

His counsel never changes. He asks us to sincerely do our best to keep His commandments, and that’s all. Are we actually trying to do that? Then our “best” will always be good enough for the Lord.

This post was originally published in April 2008. Minor changes have been made.

Alison P

It was about money. That’s something that has been on my mind for the last few days, as my husband’s commuter car died on Monday. It was a sudden death that we were not prepared for. We knew it would be “soon,” but we just kept limping it along because we didn’t have the money to replace it.

Now, like it or not, we have to find a way to replace it. I wish we didn’t need to, but my husband’s work is too far away. If there were an emergency with one of the children, it would take too long for him to get to us. So we’ve been car shopping and I’ve been stressed.

Enter last night’s dream.

In the dream, I was sitting in some sort of class and the teacher was asking us to share things that we had learned through our life’s experiences. After a few other people spoke up, I raised my hand and shared a thought I’d never consciously had before. I told the class that I had discovered that the Lord cares just as much about your financial well-being as He does your health, relationships, and spiritual well-being. I’d never really thought about this before, but it was starting to make sense to my dream-self.

I said that finances follow the same rules Christ has set out for every other part of our lives. Though there are specifics, the overall goal is the same as any other good thing the Lord would have us reach for:

First: Do your best.

Second: Turn the rest over to the Lord with faith that He can make up the difference.

That may seem overly simplistic, but I think it’s what I needed to understand. I also think there is a great deal of truth to it. The Lord does care about the state of our checkbook. Maybe not so much whether it’s grand and large or very humble in its content; rather, I think it’s more of a matter of wisdom and met needs. He expects us to be wise and careful and to do the needful thing first, and then He expects us to have a measure of faith that He will not leave us wanting for our needs.

Notice I didn’t say our wants or even our goals, necessarily. Those may not be in line with the path He wants us to be on. But He does care whether we have food on the table, a roof over our head, and are able to go to the doctor.

After I woke up, I thought about this. I thought about my worries and desires and wondered if I was bearing a greater burden than I needed to be. For me, it was time to sit back and see if I was doing my best and if I was placing my faith regarding my finances in the world’s inadequate hands or in the Lord’s.

In doing my best, I need to look at the commands He has given us on how to govern ourselves and our money. These include:

• Honor your obligations
• Know where your money is
• Pay your tithes and offerings
• Work for what you need
• Beware of pride—either by placing more value on money than it should have in our lives, or by refusing or ignoring help that you could use
• Stay out of debt
• Prepare for the future

I think the whole point of my dream was to make me look at things realistically rather than in panic and upset. Am I doing my best in the areas He has directed me to pay attention to? Then, am I allowing Him to help me when I fall short? If I’m doing these things, just as with everything else, there shouldn’t be room left over for fear.

Yes, fears and doubts still happen because we are human. That’s why it’s so great to get little reminders every once in a while. Whether my mind was consciously thinking about it or not, my heart knew the Lord cared—about me and even about my checkbook.

This post was originally published in April 2008. Minor changes have been made. 

Alison P

What is it that our Heavenly Father expects of us regarding our time? Where would He have us place our energies from day to day?

If we look to Jesus Christ’s example, we see that He was a very busy man with very little time to Himself. He gave His time to those around Him and served them in patience, even when it was not convenient. He went about doing good and found more good along the way.

I think the message, then, is that no matter how we fill our days, it should result in good. Good for ourselves, our family, our friends, and our community. Still, our choices are many and the demands of our society can stretch us very thin. It often becomes a matter of priority. There are many good things, but not all of them may be right for us at the time of our lives we find ourselves in.

We ought to remember the message the Savior taught to Mary and Martha: that many things were good, but some things are needful. We must look to Him to find which parts are most needful for us personally.

For me, I have looked a little closer at how the Savior spent His time here on Earth. Yes, He was always busy. Yes, He was always doing good. Still, there were more important things that He would let interrupt Him. There were things that, no matter what else might have been at hand, Christ made time for. These were some of His highest priorities:

He was never too busy to pray.
He was never too busy to spend time with a child.
He was never too busy to notice the needs of one among the crowd.
He was never too busy, though He knew the end would be joyful, to cry with His friends in their sorrow.
He was never too busy for forgiveness.
He was never too busy to serve.

I think for me, it is the same. There are simple little things that will—if I commit to never be too busy for them—make the greatest impact on my happiness and salvation. As always, I follow the Savior’s example.

May I never find myself…

Too busy to pray
Too busy to hug my children
Too busy to read the scriptures
Too busy for the Sabbath
Too busy to see another’s need

If I am, I have let too much of the world, and Satan’s distractions, into my life. If I find myself too busy to follow the commandments, it is time to re-humble myself and remember the Lord’s will for me. I know I need to ask Him what needs to fall away so that I am never too busy to be His disciple. When I do that, I find He is never too busy for me.

This post was originally published in January 2008. Changes have been made for timeliness and consistency.

Alison P

“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” – C.S. Lewis

I’m grateful for my understanding of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Knowing I’m part of an eternal family and striving for a personal relationship with my Savior makes me a better person, but it also changes my perspective on many other things.

Knowing God, believing in Him and in His plan for our lives, allows me to see His touch in the world around me. I see Him in so many different ways on so many different days. These are a few of the things I thought of on my walk that help me understand divinity and love a little better.

I’m grateful for:

• Dandelions and roses
• Gentle breezes
• Sunsets and stars
• The smell of lilac trees and rain in Arizona
• Warm chocolate chip cookies
• Willow trees
• Thunderstorms
• Butterflies, lightning bugs, and hummingbirds
• The sound of cicadas and spring peepers
• Bubble baths
• And yes, bug spray

I see each one of these things, and many more, with more clarity and appreciation when I’ve first looked to see where God is in my day. I see goodness and beauty. I see His love. I also see one thing more: me.

Sometimes this is the thing I overlook most if I’m not looking through the lens of my faith. If I look out at the vast world with its many wonders, creations, and even modern inventions, it becomes very easy to feel small and insignificant. If I’m exercising my belief in God first, then I have a different perspective of myself as well. I see more of what makes me beautiful and valuable as a child of God and a disciple of Christ, and I see more of the ways Heavenly Father has touched my life with His love.

Considering this on my walk also brought to mind a set of scriptures.

19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

 

20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

 

21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

 

22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

 

23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

 

24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

 

25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

 

26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

 

27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

 

28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

 

29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

 

30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

 

31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

 

32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

 

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

image via workingmother.com

If I could, I think the treasures I’d want most to take with me to heaven would be a bouquet of dandelions from my children, a little baby drool on my shoulder, a warm chocolate chip cookie, and a glass of cold milk. Somehow I suspect that because God knows me, those things are probably waiting for me. In the meantime, I’ll spend a little more time considering the lilies and His many other creations that are meant to bring me peace and happiness in this life. I’ll try a little harder to push the cares of the world aside and see things through God’s eyes.

This post was originally published in July 2008. Minor changes have been made.

Alison P