That which fosters confidence in God’s will for us, love for us, and plans for us. Those things that inspire a trust that God really does know best, and will be an active part in helping us to achieve the best if we will allow Him into our lives.
This is the 3rd psalm of Thanksgiving….I think I missed a day. Yesterday I was feeling a bit down, you know, when everything goes wrong, and you can’t seem to focus on anything, and you don’t feel like doing anything, and you feel guilty for it?
And I thought about gratitude and knew that was the gateway out of my depression…But….Knowing something and doing it are 2 very different things. It’s easy to be grateful when you feel good. Tell me what you do to be grateful when you don’t especially feel like it?
Let us try giving thanks when life burns and stings.
Through many kinds of emotions, God's hope gives us wings,
To fly above life's turmoil and feel God's healing Son,
And warm us & friends, as we grow and live as one.
Gratitude strengthens each soul's attitude, when we sincerely do our part.
Envy, self pity & pride, tear gratitude from our heart.
Gratitude is the clear key, that opens God's true way,
As our Lord's pure understanding chases Satan from our day.
This is the first of 5 psalms of Thanksgiving, one to be posted each day for the next 5 days.
Gratitude is the gateway for all who truly see.
Grateful eyes see past life's woes into eternity.
When we see & hear through all life's trials, with all our soul & heart,
We do become more clear & true, as gratitude becomes a practiced art.
The true joy & gratitude are found in the simple things of life.
The countdown to Thanksgiving Day (November 26) ought to spark an attitude of gratitude and turn our hearts to reflect upon the blessings we enjoy, even though 2020 has been characterized as a year of disaster. We have been conditioned to almost expect unfortunate events–to the point that we fail to recognize the ‘good’…the things all around us that bless our lives.
Yesterday I was swept away with the spirit of decorating for Christmas as I saw neighbors and family doing this in abundance. As I opened boxes and once again beheld items of sentimental importance…little things: a train, a string of bubble lights, miniature houses and battery lighted tiny trees…all, exactly the same as I left them last year. There was a ‘sameness’ that brought great joy and comfort. Despite the 2020 disastrous events, there was still happiness, just as it always has been, and, for a few short hours of decorating, I forgot the dark 2020 world outside, and all was well.
Gratitude = attitude in all we strive to do.
If we're caught in Covid-19, this title still holds true.
Some see this pandemic through sorrows and swollen eyes.
Our prayers are for all who mourn. Our hearts feel your cries.
We are an older couple. We strive to live each day.
We call and text our loved ones and help in our own way.
Jeanne decorates for Christmas as we prepare for family,
In hope and prayer that all are well to join us. We will see?
We stay at home the best we can to keep us virus free.
We read the scriptures every day to keep our sanity.
We work together on some chores. On some dreams, we work alone,
But help each other when we're asked, to make our house a home.
We pray each dawn and eve and over every meal.
We feel God's love and comfort as Christ becomes more real.
Gratitude = attitude. Thank Thee Lord for good and bad,
For all life's experience with each lesson, happy or sad.
#GiveThanks
Just some thoughts today…Once you think about it–it just might seem to get worse.
A health crisis is upon us. Cases are on a sharp rise. Hospital beds are at capacity. Wearing a mask and washing your hands is easy-peasy, but some other aspects are not…over time:
Staying at home, as we are asked to do…when we need grocery items (all the time)…When we crave a burger and fries that we haven’t cooked….When we need to prepare for Christmas and shop as we have always done in the past…When we are asked to limit physical contact and who we ought to be around…when we just want to take all day and stroll through a store and just ‘look’.
So, you begin to feel BOXED IN, and the walls seem to squeeze you, and
..that only makes all the things you want to or need to do seem bigger and bigger…and the box gets smaller and smaller and pushes all those ‘things’ against you–in your face, and you can’t see anything else. And there just isn’t room anymore.
And a thousand things are undone…then, none of them are even appealing, in fact, nothing seems appealing. You don’t want to do anything, but you feel ‘driven’ to do something, but what? You can’t see any answers because all your problems have wrapped themselves around your face, and blocked off everything. Sometimes you feel you can’t breathe. Sometimes you feel the whole world is against you, and any joy that used to be vivid is now muted and dull.
And in that closing box, even vision is now limited to not even beyond your nose.
I CALL THIS DEPRESSION !
It’s a very ugly thing. See it for what it is, and get out of that box!
getting out of the box will make the walls of your home seem even expansive! And your sight will lengthen out and discover the many things inside your new expanded space–the things that you CAN DO without even leaving the house. And you are so busy thinking of those things that you no longer notice what it was that you CAN’T DO.
That’s the trick…get out of the box
Sometimes, just knowing you’re in a little box is all it takes to step out and re-focus…but, we’re lucky if it ends up being that easy.
Sometimes we sit in the box, and we know we are in the box, and we want to be out, but we can’t break away.
Friends and family may help if we want them to. Call them. Doctors can help if we need them to. Call them. Jesus Christ will help is we pray him to. Pray.
Just get out of that tiny box!
I think it must also be dark in the box. Watch this to see images of light..
To ponder is to meditate upon some special thing
Like a death or our Mother, or a psalm we read or sing.
Our pondering helps magnify the longings of one's heart,
As we choose to ponder, sacred feelings in us start.
If we ponder through deep sorrows, we can understand how to cope.
To ponder on the life of Christ, lifts us up and gives us hope.
Our Lord helps us to ponder if we strive through humble prayer,
We can grow through deeper feelings if we pray to learn and care.
We each can choose to meditate on each sacred day,
As we learnt to place importance upon our Lord's sacred way.
As we study God's true Son and overcome all worldly fear,
We will find more inner peace as we grow from year to year.
May we learn to truly ponder, as Mary did on her son, our Lord, Christ.
Then by true meditation, pure peace will lessen strife.
Lord, help us learn to ponder with a humble, searching soul,
For Thou art our greatest teacher. Help us ponder, trust and grow.
This phrase, “..And Mary pondered these things in her heart.”, are repeated several times in the New Testament, in speaking of Mary, the Mother of Jesus. We define ‘ponder’ as to weigh or consider carefully. In our world, there is much competition for our attention, and we typically find ourselves busy, with our thoughts occupied with a task at hand… And, somehow have come to think of being busy as being a good thing, even a sort of badge of importance. We feel that we are lazy if we should sit for a few minutes and do NOTHING. Pondering is a quiet thing. It not only gives our mind a chance to connect with our heart, but also gives heaven a chance to connect with our heart too.
This image is a watercolor I created from an illustration in one of my beloved Babar kids books (Babar the King). In the story, Celestville, the city of the elephants has an unusual number of stressful occurances (snake bite and house fire). These, like many things we worry about and stress over, caused Babar to fall prey to fear, but, in his dreams he envisioned winged elephants (hope, love, faith, patience, etc.) driving misfortune away.
These are troubled times. We read in the book of Kings about the prophet, Elisha, who finds himself and the city surrounded by the innumerable enemy. His young companion, upon seeing this asked what they could possibly do. (2 Kings 6:16) “And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them….And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about …”
And Joshua is promised, “..Be strong and of a good courage: be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest.” (Joshua 1:9)
Rudyard Kipling wrote, from his poem, An astrologer’s Song:
Though terrors o'ertake us
We'll not be afraid.
No Power can unmake us
Save that which has made:
Nor yet beyond reason
Or hope shall we fall--
All things have their season,
And Mercy crowns all!
Then, doubt not, ye fearful--
The Eternal is King--
Up, heart, and be cheerful,
And lustily sing:--
What chariots, what horses,
Against us shall bide
While the Stars in their courses
Do fight on our side?
I don’t know what you do to reduce anxiety, but these verses of scripture and poetry really do open up a pathway for me, and, like the winged elephants, really do help chase away the grip of misfortune.
What do you do? What helps you? Your comments are so welcomed.
Last week my Grandson handed me a game controller, logged on to Minecraft, giving rapid instructions on how to run, fly and navigate the scene. His figure skillfully raced through the countryside while mine bumped, bumped, fell, and stumbled aimlessly without direction or goal! I’m sure with practice, I’d have done much better.
I have been the spectator of many Zelda episodes of triumph and defeat, and have been fascinated at the not-so-obvious “drops” that yield a plethora of weapons, potions, boosts, gear, collectibles, and even a diamond pickaxe, all very useful and necessary to ‘win’ the game.
I watched you play the game today,
So skillfully....I'm proud to say.
You're little figure tramping about the countryside,
Seeking potions both far and wide.
With passion you searched, and you received
The gear to help you on your quest--the things you need.
You boldly and carefully made your way
Thru darkened night and treacherous day.
And as you did, you never missed
A chance to gain the loot you wished.
And when the foe with all it's power
Appeared. You did not cower,
But initialized your gifts so valiantly,
And battled bold to victory.
Your perilous path was wild and long.
You sometimes sang the victor's song.
Then, finally, when the quest did cease,
You reached the grand reward of peace.
Aren't we all in the 'game of life'?
We also face our foes and strife.
And need to collect the tools to aid,
Or else, we'll truly be afraid.
Then we can face each obstacle with power
That transforms us each day and hour.
This is a poor image of a painting I did from a beloved Babar book, illustrating some of the ‘tools, weapons, potions, or whatever, that we may need in our ‘game of life’.
On 14 January 2020, Michael T. Ringwood addressed a BYU devotional and spoke of “Gifts”, much like the ones spoken of above. I quote from a segment of his address:
“If you are familiar with classical stories, myths, and legends, you will remember that when a hero undertakes a quest, a mentor often gives him or her gifts for the journey. these gift could be special clothing, implements, food, healing medicine, or key information. Whatever the gift may be, they are essential to the hero’s success. They are the provisions to meet the challenges ahead—-to pass the test that transforms the hero, giving him or her strength to overcome hard things and do the work he or she is destined to do. And, in many cases, the importance of the gifts is not fully understood until they are needed and used.
And so it is with us. Our Heavenly Father has provided us with great and marvelous gifts for our journey here in mortality–and for the greatest quest of all: to come unto our Savior and gain eternal life. These gifts help us navigate the tests and tribulations of life: distresses, persecutions, famines (both temporal and spiritual), injuries, and even death. Without them, we cannot succeed. Yet with them, we are transformed–strengthened…”
Then, in his address, he lists 8 gifts: The Light of Christ, Agency, Commandments, Jesus Christ, Grace, the Holy Ghost, Living prophets, and happiness.
Don't rest too long, along life's song, or you may cease to grow.
Continue on, with heart and song; our Lord's light lifts our soul.
These are strange times, and often cause me great reflection. Most of the time, I feel very disconnected and isolated, and I sometimes wonder if I use the pandemic as a reason to retreat; an excuse to not reach out or communicate. In the beginning of it all, I reasoned that all of us could use this time to plan for a ‘new normal’ that would be ever-so-much better than the old one. We should do that, but as time has progressed, I see much more division and lack of unity and compassion. At first, we seemed eager to help each other out, but now that’s been replaced by a lot of anger and intolerance.
I don’t know for sure what all that means. I’m just trying to keep the family safe and free from the often devastating consequences of the virus. I try to keep fear at bay. I have contemplated ‘faith’ a lot lately, and have come to the conclusion that you can’t have real faith unless you have an eternal perspective, a real vision of who we really are and why we are here in the first place, and what is the purpose of all this….
I treasure your comments. I welcome them. I beg for them. Let’s connect.
I have found the best way to fortify faith is to read the Book of Mormon!
July 24 marked 173 years since the pioneers first arrived in the Salt Lake Valley. I think we can best commemorate and celebrate that by being pioneers ourselves.
To be an example. To be a leader.
As in a children’s song—“You don’t have to push a handcart, leave your family dear, or walk a thousand miles or so, to be a pioneer. You do have to have great courage. Faith to conquer fear, and fight with might for a cause that’s right, to be a pioneer.”…or something close to that.
There is a wealth of videos, thoughts, and positive helps in these troubled times by logging onto lds.org
So, like many of you, I’ve been feeling anxious about all this COVID-19 stuff: hospital capacities, new cases, schools starting, face masks, social distancing, etc. Everybody has an opinion, and the more I hear, the more anxious I become. One of my friends posted a comment on face book that helped. She said she expressed fears about the future of our nation, and, her friend responded that there is no sense in becoming frantic over situations that we have no control over; instead, focus on the good things around us, on the things we CAN control, like our love, and the happiness within our spere.
And then I listened to ‘Music and the Spoken Word’. It was a pre-recodred program commemorating 90 years of public broadcasting, and they opened the program by singing, “The Morning Breaks, the Shadow Flee”…
You can hear it (I can’t seem to post it) on thetabernaclechoir.org and choose #4739
Below is the script of today’s broadcast. I found it to be encouraging and comforting.
