Filling the Bucket

Today was my first faculty meeting, which was a little bit intimidating. Besides being terrified and very overwhelmed it was actually a really good experience. Our principal mentioned a character development concept called "filling the bucket". He talked about how every interaction either fills or dips into our bucket and how important it is to fill others buckets. I am a huge believer of that. But what made me really think was the state of the buckets-because no matter how much you seek to fill others buckets, if there is a hole in it it will never make a difference in their lives. That's not to say you didn't help them at the time or that your efforts were wasted, but there is a better way. I like to think of it as being similar to "first seek to understand, then seek to be understood". The same concept could be applied, "first seek to fix a bucket, then seek to fill it". Find out where the hole is, find out how to repair it, don't just keep pouring water in it over and over again thinking some how it will be full; for it never will be. And both you and the bucket you seek to fill will become exhausted and discouraged and be none the more full for all the effort.

Now that doesn't mean the one who needs a bucket fixed is off the hook. There is only so much others can do to help us "retain" water, but in the end only we can fix our buckets. I know that many of you who read this may feel very empty right now whether its unloved or unworthy or unhappy or anything else in life causing a hole that drains out joy. Trust me, I've been there and still have quite few holes in my bucket. But from personal experience I realized that rather than craving and praying for others to come fill my bucket, I needed to fix my bucket. I needed to believe in myself and teach myself how to make that water useful rather than constantly casting it aside only to look for more later. I needed to relearn how to think and feel and react until my bucket was so tight that nothing could drip out of it. And now, I am seeking very hard to keep it that way. And today, I am going to do everything I can to go help someone fix their bucket-then I will be free to fill it.

4th of July Thoughts

I have been thinking about Independence Day and all of the blessings of freedom I enjoy because of the brave men and women who sacrificed so much of themselves in our behalf. Because of them I enjoy freedom of education, speech, religion; I get to vote, decide what I want to be when I grow up, and more things then I could ever name. As I thought about all the things I have because of others sacrificing it led me to reflect on the Savior and all He sacrificed for us to be free.
In 2 Nephi 2:26 it says "and the Messiah cometh in the fullness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because that they re redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not be acted upon." (2 Nephi 2:26)
I know that because of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on our behalf, we truly can be free from all of our mistakes, guilt, trials, sorrows, tribulations, hurts, pains, and even our weaknesses. There is literally nothing He cannot make right, no chain He cannot break, no hurt He cannot heal: all it takes is us to turn to Him in Faith.
So, this week, as we think of all those men who have died to keep this nation free, let us also remember the one who died to make all men free.

You Reap What you Sow

Satan tries to act like a saw; he tells us we can pick up one
end of the stick without the other...

Growing up I would often wonder a very important question-why did our saw have "Satan" written on it in big, bold, black letters? My mind would run through many possibilities; because it can be dangerous, because it's old, or because Satan most likely has sharp teeth too. One day I finally decided to ask my mother. She laughed and went on to tell me about my Grandpa. My Grandpa has spent many years in educating youth and young adults in the Church, and because of this he has many object lessons up his sleeve. He used to teach lessons on how Satan is like a saw. Often he tells you you can pick up one end of the stick and then he'll come saw off the other-you get to act consequence free. The trick was he had metal under the stick-no matter how hard you sawed that stick would not cut in half-Satan can never rob the laws of the universe and God. You cannot just pick up one end of the stick.
This morning I read a scripture that really brought this concept to heart. It was in Mosiah 7:29-32:
"For behold, the Lord hath said: I will not succor my people in the day of their transgression; but I will hedge up their ways that they prosper not; and their doings shall be as a stumbling block before them. And again, he saith: If my people shall sow filthiness they shall reap the chaff thereof in the whirlwind; and the effect thereof is poison. And again he saith: If my people shall sow filthiness they shall reap the east wind, which bringeth immediate destruction. And now, behold, the promise of the Lord is fulfilled, and ye are smitten and afflicted."  In other words, "wickedness never was happiness" (Alma 41:10).

God doesn't punish us at harvest,
He simply lets us reap what we sow

A lot of times we take "the truth to be hard"
(1 Nephi 16:1-3) because we know what we are doing is wrong, and deep down, making us miserable. It is literally impossible to live a life out of line with God's will and be happy. Why? Not because God is out to punish us if we don't do it His way, but because God loves us and knows exactly what will and won't make us happy. He lets us know what these things are; they are called commandments. If we feel frustrated because what we want to do seems to not make us happy, its not the laws of God that need a change, its us. It would be like a ship asking a lighthouse to move out of the way.
We cannot expect to sow weeds and reap carrots; it just doesn't make sense. God doesn't make us miserable once harvest hits; He just simply lets us reap what we sow.
I know that God truly is our loving Heavenly Father. Just like any parent He wants nothing more than for us to be truly happy, and He is showing us and pleading with us to follow His path to this joy. Because He loves us He will never tell us what we want to hear, but rather beg, plead, and even at times sternly tell us what will make our lives better and more fulfilled. When we understand and feel His love for us we will want to follow His commandments, because we know that these things will make us happy. We will know which seeds to sow.

More on this:
Love and Law by Dallin H. Oaks

Gratitude: A Heart of Thanksgiving

With Thanksgiving tomorrow gratitude has been on my mind. Sister John pointed out to me a scripture that has really got me thinking even more about gratitude. It is in Alma 10:5 and it is Amulek speaking of his conversion as a missionary in his home town. This is what he says, "Nevertheless, after all this, I never have known much of the ways of the Lord, and his mysteries and marvelous power. I said I never had known much of these things; but behold, I mistake, for I have seen much of his mysteries and his marvelous power; yea, even in the preservation of the lives of this people." What Sister John pointed out to me is that Amulek had had God's hand in his life all along, but he hadn't always noticed it. Looking back now, he sees that the Lord has been there every step of the way in his life. He even sees clear back to his fathers and all that they have been delivered from and how grateful he is for that. In short, he begins to have true gratitude in his heart. My mother has a similar idea that is probably currently sitting in some prominent area of her home. Every November she gets out a fake bonsai apple tree and places a wooden figurine of a hog or pig under neath. She has a quote that says something along the lines of "ingratitude is like a pig eating apples and never looking up to see the tree they come from". As I have thought of these things I realized something; gratitude truly is for us. Like any other commandment from our loving Heavenly Father it is for our benefit. Think of the fruits of gratitude-contentment, selflessness, closeness to God, joy, a feeling of peace with what you have, a heart full of love for those people around you... The list goes on and on. I know when I take a step back and think of everything I have been given and all that I have and all that the Lord has promised we will have as we endure I cannot help but feel overwhelmed by a peace and love for life, my Savior, and my family. In essence, I have found that I am happiest when I am grateful. I am most full of charity when I am grateful. I am more like my Savior when I am grateful. And now, I realize, that it is a commandment with blessings, just like any other commandment we are given. So, though I know that gratitude should come out of sincere love, respect, and awareness of our Heavenly Father, I also know that He has asked to be grateful not really much for His sake, but for ours. I have come to realize it is just another gift from Him for the betterment of our lives. I have come to realize that gratitude is a gift we give ourselves by commandment of our Father above. And so, I have found that I have yet another great thing to be grateful for this Thanksgiving: gratitude. May we all fill our hearts with it so that we can truly enjoy this season of blessings and begin to have the happiness and joy that comes from a heart full of thanksgiving for our God.

Telephone Poles

 

The other day Sister John and I were driving to Conrad. I was a little tired so I was just looking out the window at the horizon and thinking. Being a new missionary can be overwhelming at times, as is any new stage we go through. With so many new things to learn and understand, so many new people to know, and so many directions to have down pat, I was feeling very flustered. I kept thinking, "life will sure be nice once..." and I mentally listed a million things-when I have the lessons down, or when I can get from town to town without a GPS, or when I teach enough that I don't feel like I am going to pass out with nerves. As these thoughts chased each other I stared at the long gravel road I noticed the telephone poles standing erect far into the horizon. I noticed that the further away the telephone poles were, the closer together they seemed to be. I looked behind, and noted the same phenomenon. It was then something hit me, a lesson that I have always struggled with; the time to be content is NOW. I noticed that a lot of times, just as the telephone poles looked closer together in the horizon, I think the future looks a lot better, easier, or more exciting. But that is all it is-it only looks that way. As soon as we drive a few miles we get to those telephone poles and realize that they are exactly the same distance apart-that we have been bamboozled. We then look ahead and see more, drive to them earnestly, and find them to still be the same distance apart. At this point we might begin to look back at the telephone poles we have already passed, and see that now, suddenly, they look closer together, and we begin to wish to be back where we were. And I realize, looks are really deceiving. Instead of deciding to be happy "when", and speed my truck towards the next telephone pole, I need to enjoy the now, because really, every moment in life can and should be enjoyed, because really, every moment in life is exactly the "same distance apart", just like those telephone poles...