"Take Counsel From His Hand"

Dear Sisters,

Hope you are having a good week with all these “April Showers” and the beautiful green that follows.

I have been thinking about how sometimes the answers to our prayers may come through a different process than we expect.  My husband, Douglas and I were talking about this, and he shared a profound example of this found in the Book of Mormon when poor Nephi was bound with strong cords by his older brothers: (1 Ne 7:16-18)

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 16 And it came to pass that when I, Nephi, had spoken these words unto my brethren, they were angry with me. And it came to pass that they did lay their hands upon me, for behold, they were exceedingly wroth, and they did bind me with cords, for they sought to take away my life, that they might leave me in the wilderness to be devoured by wild beasts.

 17 But it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord, saying: O Lord, according to my faith which is in thee, wilt thou deliver me from the hands of my brethren; yea, even give me strength that I may burst these bands with which I am bound.

 18 And it came to pass that when I had said these words, behold, the bands were loosed from off my hands and feet, and I stood before my brethren, and I spake unto them again.

Nephi’s righteous desire, expressed through faith-filled prayer was a plea that the Lord would deliver him from the hands of his brothers.  His idea was that the Lord would strengthen him, and he would be able to physically break the bands.  Honestly, I have always pictured that that is exactly what happened, but as you read closely in verse 18, as he turned to the Lord in faith, the bands were not broken, but “loosed”, not necessarily because Nephi broke them with his strength, but because the Lord loosened them as a result of Nephi’s faith.

Sometimes, we have a vision, and a plan that makes sense in our mind of how we will achieve it, and I really feel that the Lord blesses us with the righteous desires of our hearts; however, the time-table and the process of achieving our desires may be quite different than what we planned.  We are blessed as we listen to the promptings of the spirit, and allow the Lord to direct our lives.

 10 Wherefore, brethren, seek not to counsel the Lord, but to take counsel from his hand. For behold, ye yourselves know that he counseleth in wisdom, and in justice, and in great mercy, over all his works.

From time to time, I catch myself giving the Lord “my agenda” in my prayers, and I forget he is and should be at the helm, directing my life for good.  He’s the master creator and he knows what is best for me.  I’m going to work on taking counsel from Him, because He truly is wise, merciful, and just.

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Hope you have a lovely day!

Sincerely,

Lydia

Service with a Smile

Dear Sisters,

Service has been on my mind lately.  My mother is a great example of tirelessly serving anyone in need… and even anyone not. J 

She is pretty special.  She just had a birthday, and this year, my siblings and I decided to serve with a smile the way she would that day and tell her about it.  I have discovered that finding opportunities to serve with this calling take little or no effort; however, from time to time, my heart is not in the right place. J That day, as predicted, the service opportunities came to me, but I was amazed at how much more enjoyable the experiences were when I adjusted my attitude.  I even felt the special gift of love that comes with charity.

Let’s not forget King Benjamin’s famous worlds:

“And behold I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom, that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God.”

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I was also on the receiving end of special service this week, as well, as a sister shared her talents with me.  She was an answer to my prayers, and I was humbled to watch her be an instrument in the Lord’s hands to touch my life.  I felt the Lord’s love for me through her kind act.  (Pretty much, this happens daily—you sisters are so very loving and giving and special.  Your support humbles me and keeps me going.)

I urge each of you to reach out to your neighbor, friend, or Relief Society sister and offer service with a smile, so you can feel the Saviors love for them and for you.  Be a missionary.  Strengthen our Ward.  Contribute.  There is a place for you in our Relief Society.  We need you.  Don’t wait any longer to be active and happy in the gospel.  It will bring you peace and joy that you will find in no other place, because it is true and we are blessed with the fullness of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.  I know he loves each of you and is mindful of your path.  He calls with open arms to “come unto him.”  May we have ears to hear.

Sincerely,

Lydia

Too Blessed to be Stressed

Dear Sisters,

Between three family birthdays in a week, and an impromptu spring break road trip, I missed a week, but you have been in my thoughts and prayers.  Hope you are enjoying the beautiful spring blossoms popping up everywhere.

While I was traveling home yesterday, I got stuck, for quite a while, behind a rusty old potato truck with the words painted on the back “Too Blessed to be Stressed.”  I felt pretty sure that the universe was sending me a message.  

As I crawled along the freeway behind that rusty truck, I began reflecting on how good my life is and how truly blessed I am.  It is sad that sometimes I allow myself to get so stressed, that I forget my blessings.  Our Heavenly Father is so generous with us.  We would do well to remember it.

“We can lift ourselves and others as well when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude.”                         -Pres. Monson

I know there are many people in our ward going through some difficult challenges in life right now, and sometimes it’s easy to feel picked-on, but if we try to cultivate an attitude of gratitude for our blessings, I know the Lord with guide us along, and it will all be for our good.

“When we encounter challenges and problems in our lives, it is often difficult for us to focus on our blessings. However, if we reach deep enough and look hard enough, we will be able to feel and recognize just how much we have been given.”                 -Pres. Monson

 

I would urge each of us to “count our many blessings” and keep the commandments, because obedience opens the door to more of the blessings we are seeking.

“The knowledge which we seek, the answers for which we yearn, and the strength which we desire today to meet the challenges of a complex and changing world can be ours when we willingly obey the Lord’s commandments.”          -Pres. Monson

Hope you have a lovely, happy, "gratitude-filled" week and know you are one of my greatest blessings!

Sincerely,

Lydia