Two days ago, Sydney wanted to watch a movie but couldn't find the DVD/Surround sound remote. Adam is spending some time at our house, so he and I looked for it briefly, but decided to just turn the movie on without the remote. That evening, Gavin came home from work and we searched high and low for the remote. No where to be found. Last night the search started again. We emptied laundry baskets, looked in the trash cans, searched all the rooms and the garage. No where. Such a mystery that bothered all of us. Not that we need the remote to watch a movie, but just the fact we couldn't find it and had searched everyone -- that was annoying part.
My calling in our ward is the primary pianist. As I sit and watch the kids each week, I'm amazed by their simple faith. I recalled a story that a little girl had told; She had lost something, prayed, and then found it immediately. I remember doing similar things throughout my life. But, as I contemplated praying for a lost remote; I couldn't help thinking that it such a silly, materialistic thing to pray for.
Nevertheless, I decided to do it anyways. I even apologized to God in my prayer for praying for something so dumb. But I also knew that if it was his will, he'd help me to find it.
The exact minute I finished my prayer, an image came into my mind. I remembered Sydney holding this little black zippered cooler bag the day the remote went missing. I immediately went to the cupboard that they are stored in, and looked through all the bags (we have 3 or 4 -- I'm not sure how many total). Nothing. I was disappointed. I was SO sure it would be there. Confused, I looked a bit longer, then we decided to stop and just watch our movie without the remote.
This morning I was leaving my vanity area and I looked over at the closet floor. And there, amidst my pile of shoes, was another black cooler bag! I immediately smiled, picked it up, and unzipped it. There, the lost remote sat.
Albeit a simple thing, this experience makes my testimony grow of the power of prayer and the Holy Ghost.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
The Maze of Life
Wow -- it's been a while since I posted to this blog. Times have been crazy, and I just haven't found the time.
Every year, when autumn approaches and corn mazes are being advertised, I always think "How fun! We should go!" Most years it doesn't happen. But when it does, I seem to all of the sudden remember that I really don't like being in a large maze, lost, and not knowing where to go.
Well, this year, my excitement came again, and we went to a corn maze as a family last week. This farm had a large maze, but since we have two kids, we spent our time in the kiddy section. They had a small maze in there. But this maze was different than any others I'd been to. Because it was designed for kids, this maze had signs posted throughout, telling you which way to go. I actually had fun! I enjoyed going, because I didn't spend hours walking around, lost and tired. And when I thought about it, I decided it would also be fun to go to a maze with a map of the maze in hand -- so you could navigate your way through. I enjoy navigating, so this sounds way fun to me!
So it is with life. Life is hard when you don't have directions or signs telling you which way to go. So many wander around their entire lives -- not making any progress and feeling lost most of the time. I am SO grateful that I have the gospel in my life. I am grateful for the scriptures, prayer, and our latter-day prophets. They are all sources of our "directions". If we listen to the prophets, read our scriptures, and listen to the answers to our prayers, we will be directed in this life and we will be able to find our way through. Yes, there will be times we may feel lost. But, if, in those times, we turn to what we know, we can find the right path once again.
Every year, when autumn approaches and corn mazes are being advertised, I always think "How fun! We should go!" Most years it doesn't happen. But when it does, I seem to all of the sudden remember that I really don't like being in a large maze, lost, and not knowing where to go.
Well, this year, my excitement came again, and we went to a corn maze as a family last week. This farm had a large maze, but since we have two kids, we spent our time in the kiddy section. They had a small maze in there. But this maze was different than any others I'd been to. Because it was designed for kids, this maze had signs posted throughout, telling you which way to go. I actually had fun! I enjoyed going, because I didn't spend hours walking around, lost and tired. And when I thought about it, I decided it would also be fun to go to a maze with a map of the maze in hand -- so you could navigate your way through. I enjoy navigating, so this sounds way fun to me!
So it is with life. Life is hard when you don't have directions or signs telling you which way to go. So many wander around their entire lives -- not making any progress and feeling lost most of the time. I am SO grateful that I have the gospel in my life. I am grateful for the scriptures, prayer, and our latter-day prophets. They are all sources of our "directions". If we listen to the prophets, read our scriptures, and listen to the answers to our prayers, we will be directed in this life and we will be able to find our way through. Yes, there will be times we may feel lost. But, if, in those times, we turn to what we know, we can find the right path once again.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Holding fast
A few weeks ago, we had the pleasure of attending Stake Conference. The general authority that presided and spoke there was Jeffrey R Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. It was such a neat experience to listen to such an inspired leader.
In light of the recent political conflicts that have been happening in California, Elder Holland spoke some simple, powerful words to us. He asked us a few questions to ponder. Do you believe in God? Do you believe that we have a living prophet who receives revelation from God? Do you believe that a prophet could ever lead us astray?
I believe in God, in his living prophets. They will never lead us astray. When they tell us something, we had better do it. When they speak out on important issues, we had better take the same stance. Because it really isn't the prophet telling us what to do. It is God telling us what to do. It may test one's faith at times. But if you truly believe in God, your faith will be strengthened.
The time has come where we must stand up for what we believe. As the world around us whirls into darkness, we must make sure that our testimonies can stand up to the trial of our faith. The pioneers of our church went through many persecutions. We may be starting to see the same persecution for what we believe in. Don't be scared. May we all stand tall and proclaim what we believe in.
In light of the recent political conflicts that have been happening in California, Elder Holland spoke some simple, powerful words to us. He asked us a few questions to ponder. Do you believe in God? Do you believe that we have a living prophet who receives revelation from God? Do you believe that a prophet could ever lead us astray?
I believe in God, in his living prophets. They will never lead us astray. When they tell us something, we had better do it. When they speak out on important issues, we had better take the same stance. Because it really isn't the prophet telling us what to do. It is God telling us what to do. It may test one's faith at times. But if you truly believe in God, your faith will be strengthened.
The time has come where we must stand up for what we believe. As the world around us whirls into darkness, we must make sure that our testimonies can stand up to the trial of our faith. The pioneers of our church went through many persecutions. We may be starting to see the same persecution for what we believe in. Don't be scared. May we all stand tall and proclaim what we believe in.
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