I had the assignment of teaching in our Relief Society on the first week of January. I was to introduce the new theme we as a presidency chose for the upcoming year: Alma 37:6 By small and simple things are great things brought to pass.
As we discussed this theme we talked about it in terms of celebrating all the many small and simple things we as women do but often don't recognize. So I've been thinking a lot about this for the past several months. There are so many great articles and scriptures out there about this theme and it was so encouraging to read and study them.
The scripture in Alma references D&C 64:33 which talks about "be not weary in well doing" as we are laying the foundation for something great. The footnotes also point to D&C 123:16-17 which has long been a favorite scripture of mine. It's the scripture about a large ship being benefited by a small helm and that we should cheerfully do all things in our power and stand still with assurance that we will see the salvation of the Lord.
And then I read the first presidency message in the January ensign. I loved everything President Uchtdorf said about setting goals and new years resolutions. I especially loved the idea that we don't have to wait to become the person we were meant to be. I also loved his thoughts on not letting fear get in the way of even beginning to try and improve. I think his thoughts were full of hope and joy.
And I suppose that was the take home message for me in all of this. We are meant to feel joy now, in the moment, successes or failures aside. As we do the small and simple things daily to the best of our ability we take comfort knowing we are partnered with Christ and he can make our efforts great. We can cheerfully do those simple things and know that we can feel that joy because we have done enough. We don't have to rob ourselves of joy today based on past failures or fear of failing in the future. Do our best and rest assured that we are contributing to a much larger picture of greatness. (Oh and I love this talk from Elder Bednar and especially where he talks about the brushstrokes of the painting in his office)
So my resolution for the year is to find the joy in my day to day happenings. It's not all bliss and happiness all the time but there is always some moment of joy to capture in the day. And that is worth focusing on.
3 comments:
That is a wonderful goal. I have the typical, run a mile, lose some weight, read a book, do some family history goals. Maybe I should've just focused on one, but either way is a step up from not doing goals at all last year.
Thanks for sharing this! I really need to read Elder Bednar's talk. I've heard a lot about it.
Thanks for sharing what you have been pondering for your lesson. I am teaching this coming week for our presidency lesson. Our theme for the year is Covenant Keeping Women and my topic for February is "Hearts Brim with Joy" as we do the small, simple, consistent things to keep our covenants. So my thoughts are right here with yours!
Post a Comment