4-Wheel Drive and the Gospel

Back in High School a good friend of mine and I decided to drive up to the Park City area and enjoy a day of skiing with my Dad and brother. They were already in the area so we drove my little half-battery half-gas Honda Civic. On the road up the sky was blue and the roads were clear and we felt confident driving up the windy road to the ski hill. All day we enjoyed the mountain and the beautiful slow falling snow that had begun. We hardly thought about the drive home.

Suddenly the weather took a turn for the worse. It began to snow and blow fairly hard. A little nervous about our inexperience with driving in the snow, my friend and I decided it would be best if we left early and headed home. My Dad, always looking for an opportunity to spend time with his kids, invited us to eat dinner with him around the Heber area. We would be down most the mountain and the canyon after that was well traveled. He was leaving by plane and thought we would all be safe and sound-an hour dinner wouldn't change much. Happily we took him up on the offer and enjoyed a nice meal together, not heeding the rising snowfall around us. Reality hit hard the second we walked out the restuarant and found we were in the middle of a full blown snowstorm. Our car was burried and the doors were frozen over so that it took some effort to get them open. Being from a desert we had no shovel, no scraper, no 4-wheel drive, and no chains. Yet, we had no choice. We had to get off the mountian. Bravely my friend offered to drive and off we went.

It didn't take much time for panic to set in. We were sliding all over the road and the semis on the road with us were fishtailing all over the lanes. My brother who had left ahead of us called to make sure we were ok; it was a bad storm to be driving in-especially in a little Civic. Well, for those that know me they won't be suprised I lost my head. Thinking I should find a way to get out of this I quickly suggested we call someone to helicoptor us out. That's how much I wasn't thinking straight. I literally thought that was an option. I figured all the money I had saved in college combined with my friends savings should pay the bill. We could leave the car here for all I cared. My friend as gently as she could told me that propably wasn't an option. So instead I called my Mom to tell her goodbye and that I loved her. She of course was a little unhinged by my call, but she told us to just drive slow, nothing too bad could happen at 15 mph. In the moment, I begged to differ, but we forged on with no other choice.

As evident by this blog we both lived. In fact we made it unscraped and unharmed; and it only took us a few extra hour drive. We collapsed gratefully in bed; grateful for our lives.

A few days ago I had a similar experience of being a passenger driving through a bad storm, only this time I was in a 4-wheel drive Chevy Colorado. I had a shovel, good tires, and an experienced driver in the truck. The whole time I looked back and thought of how different my first experience driving through a storm had been. Why? The storms were equal in snow, wind, windy roads, ice: and both times we were traveling at night. The situation was as similar as you can get, and yet, I felt at peace this time. That is how our lives can be when we fully utilize the gospel of Jesus Christ. When we put our trust in Him and fully use the Atonement through the Restored gospel we are in essence trading in our Civics for Colorado's; our half-battery cars to 4-wheel drive trucks. The storms of life will not ever go away. That is part of mortality. But when we equip ourselves properly we need not fear accident, death, or any other calamity. We can be assured of our safety and we can know we will eventually complete our journey and rest in the love of our Savior in eternal and everlasting life. That is what the tools of the gospel can do for each and every one of us, and if we utilize them, when a storm hits, we can drive without fear, for we know that the Lord will enable and protect us no matter what.

The Karate Kid

This last summer I had the joy of watching the Karate Kid series via Netflix as I watched my niece Emmerson. It took some diligence and time to keep at it between Emme breaks to play with her, feed her, and make sure she didn't get into anything dangerous, but I was able to accomplish my goal. I soon realized how awesome the Karate Kid truely is, and I vouch for its general awesomeness.
But besides awesome 1980's music like "Cruel Summer", Ralph Maccio in his prime, mollets, cut-off t-shirts, and pretty thrilling Karate stunts, the Karate Kid offers much more for us; the sage advice and guidance of Mr. Miyagi. Mr. Miyagi guides Daniel through his quest to becoming a great Karate master to overcome his fear of bullies through often odd and tedious actions. We all remember well the old "wax on wax off" method of Karate learning and how although frustrating and seemingly pointless at first, over time the pay off of these techniques were remarkable. I think the same thing applies to the gospel.
In the gospel we are asked to do certain things over and over again. These things a generally simple and easy to do; reading our scriptures, going to church, saying our prayers, taking the Sacrament; these are things that we do repeatedly. At times they may seem mundane, too simple, or overdone, we may want to move on to more exciting or "advanced" things in the gospel, or wish we didn't have to do these things so often. But just like the Karate Kid I know that these things repeated over time, will become the most amazing strength to us and provide us with application after application in the "real" world, just as it did for Daniel. So next time you feel "here we go again" with prayer, or scriptures, or whatever, just remember the old "wax on wax off" technique and remember that true power lies in dedication, discipline, and small accomplishments repeated over time. That is the best and truest way to build faith, strength, testimony, and love of the gospel. That is the best way to learn gospel "karate" to defend oneself against fear or trials in our lives, for true disciples are simply those who are disciplined enough to practice Christ's attribute of diligence to the Faith and gospel of Jesus Christ.
So remember "that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise." (Alma 37:6) We like Daniel can master "karate" and have confidence in the face of adversity because of our heed and diligence to the small and simple things of life.

The Door of the Sheep

I happen to love reading and before I came on my mission I made a goal of reading all the Newbery Award Books. It was a lofty goal and unfortunately I didn't finish but I read one that will stick with me forever. It is called "The Door in the Wall" by Marguerite de Angeli. The story follows a young son of a knight who dreams of becoming a warrior like his father. While he father is absent the lad gets sick and although recovers most his strength back with time, his legs become mostly useless, making knighthood out of the question. Instead, he is sent to an Abby far away to learn to read and write and find a way to make a trade. The boy is bitter about his lot and fights against learning anything other than knighthood. A kind monk patiently works with him and teaches him to swim, whiddle, read, write, and even makes him crutches that allow him to get around with some mobility. Over and over again he tells the boy that hard things may put a wall in our path to what we want, but we always have the ability to make a door. He tells the boy to learn all he can so that when he meets a wall in life he will always be able to make a door in it and keep progressing forward. The book is short and I don't want to spoil the end for any intrigued readers but the story itself stuck with me because of the monk's advice to prepare for walls so that when they come we can make a door through them. There are many applications to our lives of this sound advice but I want to focus on one: the Atonement.

In the Bible Dictionary under names of Christ it lists "the door of the sheep". It is in reference to John 10:7,9. That really stuck out to me because it really puts perfectly into words who Christ is to us when we come accross our own walls or trials in life: he is the door. No matter how difficult or impossible life may seem at times we know that although we ourselves may not be able to climb over or break through them we know that if we allow Christ into our lives he will always provide a door for us. There is nothing his power cannot heal or make right and as we realize that the Atonement begins to have real power in our lives. I know that Christ lives and that he is our door if we let him and become his sheep as we prepare every day for our walls in life. So, let us like Nephi go through life and say "I will go and do" for "the Lord shall provide a way for (me) that (I) may accomplish." (1 Nephi 3:7) If we do so we will never meet a wall too high, thick, or strong for us, for Christ truly is the "door of the sheep".