His Will
Sunday Thoughts: His Will
August 30, 2015
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"I
hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean,
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens,
Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance,
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance...
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens,
Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance,
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance...
I
hope you dance...."
As
you may have figured out by now, I love music! I have had many tender and
meaningful experiences with music, making a special place for music in my
heart. I have often times been struggling with depression, anxiety, decisions,
etc. and I hear a song that lifts me up and keeps me going. "I Hope
You Dance" by Lee Ann Womak is one of my very favorite songs. I remember
getting one of those cards where you open it and it sings from my dad quite a
few birthdays ago. As soon as the song came out of the card, tears
flowed down my cheeks. I don't know what it is, but something about this
beautiful song turns on the waterworks for me!
Another
reason I think I've always felt connected to this song is because I have been a
dancer for most of my life. However, now when I listen to the song there is a
sense of sadness. I have not been able to dance for about a year due to stress
fractures in both of my shins. I was planning to go back to dance for this
upcoming fall semester, but Heavenly Father has different plans in mind. I got
a bone scan and found out that the stress fractures are still there. It was a
blow to the heart. I remember my mom telling me after getting off the phone
call with the doctor. I froze, and thought, "No..no way. That's can't
be!" As the denial wore off I began to feel angry and frustrated with
Heavenly Father. Why didn't He heal my legs? Does He not want me to dance? Why
would He take away something I love so much? I'm sure many of you have often
felt like this too. It's difficult to see the big picture with our mortal
minds. We have a plan, a vision for how our life should be. And yet, most
often, that is not God's plan for us. We must except His plan for us.
But
how do we do that? It's easy to say, but so hard to do!
In
his 2007 General Conference talk "A Broken Heart and Contrite Spirit",
Elder Porter ( a member of the Seventy) said, "Those who have a
broken heart and a contrite spirit are willing to do anything and everything
that God asks of them." The answer is humility and sacrifice. When I think
of humility and sacrifice, I automatically think of our Savior Jesus Christ's
infinite Atonement. His actions in the Garden of Gethsamene are the ultimate
example of doing the Father's will. We know from the Bible that Christ asked
the Father, "if it be possible, let this cup pass from me:
nevertheless, not as I will, but as though wilt" (Matt. 26:39). How
grateful I am that He drank the bitter cup. How grateful I am that He knows my
sorrows, my pains, my joys, my stress, and so much more.
It's
taken me a while to accept this new plan God has for me, but through prayer and
fasting, I have come to trust in my God. Pray for humility, patience, and
courage to accept God's will. Prayer is a powerful tool. It can change your
whole outlook and attitude. Rather than being angry that I still have stress
fractures, I have viewed it as an opportunity. "Whenever one door closes,
I hope one door opens". I love that line in Lee Ann Wokem's song. I have
no idea if my dancing days are done in this mortal life, but I know that right
now, that door is closed. But other doors are opening. And although stepping
out into the darkness is scary and nerve-racking, it is so important. Sometimes
we get to the threshold and then decide we better not "dance". We
might not get the answer we wanted or any specific answer at all, and so we
decide to "sit it out" and wait for the answer. But that's not what
this life is about!! Most of the time in my life, Heavenly Father doesn't tell
me exactly what direction to go in, but that doesn't mean I am going to sit
around and wait forever. We need to step off the threshold into the darkness in
order to see the light. That light then is so much the sweeter because we
trusted in God and He trusted us to take that first step!
Trust
in God. "Give faith a fighting chance". Keep an Eternal Perspective
and have faith that everything will work out, because it will! Heavenly Father
has already won the war over Satan! I am eternally grateful that my Plan is not
left up to me, and that the one with the whole picture is directing my life.
Take courage and live worthy of the Holy Ghost!
Simply,
Kenzie
M
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