The faith to move forward
Today has been a great day-I have been out of my 'normal' routine over the holidays, meaning up by 5:30 a.m.: reading, getting ready for the day which has been a challenge. I have been doing my routine...just not at such an early hour as it needs to be. Little by little I am getting back to where I need to be, trying to continue to be consistent in my efforts. I have been talking with a friend and have been reminded of the power in such a simple act, in being consistent in your efforts. If you set a goal to get up and exercise every morning, get up and do it. Even if it is for 15 minutes, you do it. It reminds me of the words of President Hinckley in a story he related about such seemingly small decisions and there effect in our lives.
He said: "I approached a large farm gate one day. I lifted the latch and opened the gate. The movement at the hinges was so slight as to be scarcely discernible. But the other end of the gate cut a great arc sixteen feet in radius. Looking at the movement of the hinges alone, one would never dream of the magnified action that came as a result of that tiny movement."
In this same talk he also shares another one of my favorite stories of his when he worked for the Union Pacific Railroad. He continues "Many years ago, I worked in the head office of one of our railroads. One day I received a telephone call from my counterpart of another railroad in Newark, New Jersey, who said that a passenger train which had passed over our line had arrived without its baggage car. The patrons were angry.
We discovered that the train had been properly made up in Oakland, California, and properly delivered to St. Louis, Missouri, where it was to be transferred to another railroad to be carried to its destination on the east coast. But we discovered that in the St. Louis yards, a thoughtless switchman had moved a piece of steel just three or four inches. That piece of steel was a switch point, and we found that the car that should have been in Newark, New Jersey, was in New Orleans, Louisiana—thirteen hundred miles away. It had gone south instead of east.
So it is with the decisions in our lives. Some small thought, some small word, some small action can lead to tremendous consequences" -President Hinckley, Keep the Faith, Ensign, September 1985
We never know the impact our small and simple efforts can have for good in our lives-how they have the potential to do so. As we continue in these efforts, we continue to move forward and before we know it, we find ourselves exactly where our hearts desired to be. We find ourselves full of joy and happiness beyond mortal understanding. I believe it possible, starting with the small and simple. The powerful.
I have also been dealing with some of my fears as of late that have left me wanting to curl up in the fetal position on the floor. But I haven't. :) I have shed tears which have come from fear, but also from the knowledge that Heavenly Father knows me and will make me what I need to be-if He sees it fit to be. So lastnight, my mind was racing with thoughts of these fears and I kept having this image of someone standing on the edge of a cliff looking down into the valley below. This valley below is pitch black-no visability. This person needs to jump, but doesn't know what they are jumping in to. So there they stand on the edge. That is how I have been feeling, so I stayed up last night and painted it out in its entirety. It is no masterpiece, I know. But to me it is an expression of faith and a willingness in my heart to step into the dark that, as President Packer said once it is often necessary to “walk to the edge of the light, and perhaps a few steps into the darkness, and … the light will appear and move ahead of you.” I am grateful to have the faith to move forward.
"I cannot tell you in detail how to decide everything. But I can promise that if you will make your decisions according to the standards of the gospel and the teachings of the Church, and if you will keep the faith, your lives will bear fruit of great good and you will know much of happiness and accomplishment." -President Hinckley
He said: "I approached a large farm gate one day. I lifted the latch and opened the gate. The movement at the hinges was so slight as to be scarcely discernible. But the other end of the gate cut a great arc sixteen feet in radius. Looking at the movement of the hinges alone, one would never dream of the magnified action that came as a result of that tiny movement."
In this same talk he also shares another one of my favorite stories of his when he worked for the Union Pacific Railroad. He continues "Many years ago, I worked in the head office of one of our railroads. One day I received a telephone call from my counterpart of another railroad in Newark, New Jersey, who said that a passenger train which had passed over our line had arrived without its baggage car. The patrons were angry.
We discovered that the train had been properly made up in Oakland, California, and properly delivered to St. Louis, Missouri, where it was to be transferred to another railroad to be carried to its destination on the east coast. But we discovered that in the St. Louis yards, a thoughtless switchman had moved a piece of steel just three or four inches. That piece of steel was a switch point, and we found that the car that should have been in Newark, New Jersey, was in New Orleans, Louisiana—thirteen hundred miles away. It had gone south instead of east.
So it is with the decisions in our lives. Some small thought, some small word, some small action can lead to tremendous consequences" -President Hinckley, Keep the Faith, Ensign, September 1985
We never know the impact our small and simple efforts can have for good in our lives-how they have the potential to do so. As we continue in these efforts, we continue to move forward and before we know it, we find ourselves exactly where our hearts desired to be. We find ourselves full of joy and happiness beyond mortal understanding. I believe it possible, starting with the small and simple. The powerful.
I have also been dealing with some of my fears as of late that have left me wanting to curl up in the fetal position on the floor. But I haven't. :) I have shed tears which have come from fear, but also from the knowledge that Heavenly Father knows me and will make me what I need to be-if He sees it fit to be. So lastnight, my mind was racing with thoughts of these fears and I kept having this image of someone standing on the edge of a cliff looking down into the valley below. This valley below is pitch black-no visability. This person needs to jump, but doesn't know what they are jumping in to. So there they stand on the edge. That is how I have been feeling, so I stayed up last night and painted it out in its entirety. It is no masterpiece, I know. But to me it is an expression of faith and a willingness in my heart to step into the dark that, as President Packer said once it is often necessary to “walk to the edge of the light, and perhaps a few steps into the darkness, and … the light will appear and move ahead of you.” I am grateful to have the faith to move forward.
"I cannot tell you in detail how to decide everything. But I can promise that if you will make your decisions according to the standards of the gospel and the teachings of the Church, and if you will keep the faith, your lives will bear fruit of great good and you will know much of happiness and accomplishment." -President Hinckley
posted by Lynette at
10:57 PM
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