Take my yoke upon you...

Mathew 11:28-30

28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

This scripture has so many deeper messages. Let’s break it down:

1)     Come unto me. Requires action. Requires us to be humble and to live our lives in accordance with His will and teachings so that we are worthy of His Spirit.

2)     All ye that labour. The first line sets it up for all people who are working/laboring in the Lord’s Kingdom or simply life, to the best of our ability, doing what we can to keep His commandments and do His will.

3)     And are heavy laden. This is the same group of people as group 2, but more specifically those people who are having a hard time dealing with the stresses of laboring. Those who are tired of working, which happens to all of us because we are human. We just need to take a step back and remember the Lord so that…

4)     [He] will give you rest. This also requires a little action on our part. He will give us rest, but we have to allow it and accept it. It goes back to #1, we have to come unto Him. Not just pray and seek Him, but give Him our labours and burdens. Offer them up to Him. Allow the enabling and strengthening power of the atonement to work in us.

5)     Take my yoke upon you. A yoke is equally set so that two oxen have an equal share of the load. Carrying the Lord’s burden implies that we will give Him our load. Basically we will switch places, if you will. We will carry His and He will carry ours.

6)     And learn of me. As we learn of the Lord, we will learn how to be like Him. We will gain a greater relationship with Him. It will be easier for us to give Him our burdens/yoke. We will also learn how He served and how we must serve (see #9).

7)     For I am meek and lowly in heart. As we learn of Him, we will learn how to be meek and lowly in heart. These are gifts that will help us and are essential for us to serve His children. To forget ourselves and go to work.

8)     And ye shall find rest in me. Again, he tells us the previous facts as how-to’s to find rest. By being meek and lowly of heart (broken heart and contrite spirit), we become more like Heavenly Father, we turn to Him more, we rely on Him more fully and forget ourselves, we have a greater perspective of His plan and it will help us to accept the rest we so desperately want and that He is so willing to give us.

9)     For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Basically, as we do His work, serve His children, focus on the needs and desires of others, our own burden’s will not be felt. We will not realize they are there. (see Mosiah 24:15) The Lord will help us in whatever it is we are struggling with and we will be stronger to withstand the temptations of Satan and our own weaknesses.

The Hand of the Lord

The last few months have been very interesting for me. I really wanted to move to Seattle, but the Lord told me multiple times that it is not right for me now. So, I looked forward to a job opening at work and then things were moved around and it appeared that the counseling position I was looking for (and really wanted since I started working there) was filled. The Lord really humbled me the week I found all this out and I realized that He has a greater plan than I do and apparently everything I have been planning is not in His plan. Then, a few days after I came to this realization, there were two counselor positions opened. I didn't know if the Lord wanted to humble me to teach me to trust Him more, but the counselor position is still in His plan, or if the Lord was preparing me to not get the job.

In addition, my car is really old and I was planning on getting a car with the increase in pay if I were to get the counselor job. Well, last week, I went to get a trip-check on my car before going up to Idaho and he found that my timing belt was next to dead and the distributor should be replaced. He said he thought just the coil could be replaced just fine (only $75) instead of the whole thing ($300). So, I had him just do the coil. In the process of getting all these fixed on my car, I realized it was worth it to put money in my car because I could sell it now for probably $2000 still with its mileage, etc. I decided I didn't need to get a car if I were to get the job. On the same hand, I also realized it could very well be the Lord's way of preparing me to not get this job because I won't need it to get a car.

Well, I was right. I didn't get the job. It was amazing how the Lord prepared me though. I am so grateful for that. I am grateful for the small tender mercies.

It's not over. I went to Idaho to pick up my mom from visiting my grandparents and 20 miles from home my car completely died again. It was funny because I was just thinking that I wish my mom could meet Maddie and Benjamin (my pseudo niece and nephew). Well, I think the Lord has a sense of humor. My car died two exits from their house. I am so blessed with good friends. They had an extra car they didn't need and were able to loan it to me until my car was fixed. Oh, the rest of the distributor died, so I should have paid the $300 initially. Oh well.

In the process of all of this, I was talking to a friend and he was talking about his graduate program. I have not had a desire to get my graduate degree at this point, but for some reason, the desire is slowly beginning to grow. I have thought about what I wanted to do my senior year in college and am looking into these programs. The Lord has confirmed that these thoughts and desires are directed from Him and so I am going for it. We'll see where it leads me. I am grateful for His hand in my life and the way He just makes it all work out. Even though I don't know where He is leading me exactly, He always comes through and I see where He is sending me eventually.

Custom-made trials

The Lord has given us all specific and individualized trials for specific times in our lives. My roommates cousin has been going through something that no one volunteers for and she has been such a strength through it all. Her daughter, Maddie was in an accident and she has been in recovery. I have been following on their blog (which is not normal behavior for me), but for some reason, every time I read her blog, it touches my heart and gives me strength to endure my trials. I love the perspective of Beverly and John. Their eternal perspective and optimism really helps.

I have also learned through life that the Lord places people in our lives who have gone through certain trials to help us in ours. My roommate has been going through some hard times the last few months and it's been amazing how much what she has been going through mirrors what I have been going through. They are different, that's for sure, but there are moments when we both need the same prayers because they are that similar. I am grateful for the small tender mercies that the Lord sends my way all the time. Yesterday, for example, I was having a hard time at work with non-work-related issues and went for a quick walk to clear my head. When I got back to my desk my visiting teacher had stopped by and brought me a flower. I nearly burst out in tears because I knew it had come directly from the Lord's promptings. He knew I needed that little reassurance that He is there and knows what I'm feeling. It is amazing how many blessings come my way when I am doing what I know I need to live a righteous life. It is not easy sometimes, but the pleadings of my heart have been answered so many times as I have been praying, reading the Book of Mormon, attending the temple, and being around others who strengthen me. The Lord truly does keep His promises.

"And now, my brethren (and sisters), I would that ye should do as ye have hitherto done. As ye have kept my commandments, and also the commandments of my father, and have prospered, and have been kept from falling into the hands of your enemies, even so if ye shall keep the commandments of my son, or the commandments of God which shall be delivered unto you by him, ye shall prosper in the land, and your enemies shall have no power over you." ~ Mosiah 2:31

Give me a Break

I find it very interesting how the Lord gives us "breaks" sometimes, but they are not permanent. The last few weeks have been really happy for me. I have felt the Lord's love very strongly and I have been really content with my life. I started taking an art class and will take a painting class that will start in a month. I am really enjoying drawing! Who would have thought it would be so therapeutic? The last few days, my thoughts have been consumed with my friends and loved ones who are struggling. Many prayers have been offered up to Heaven in their behalf. I started realizing that my "break" is about to be over. The Lord has given me a lot of strength and I feel the application of that strength being called into play. I am actually grateful for my trials. I know they are hard, but I know that I grow the most in those trials. I grow closer to the Lord, I see what I am really made of, and through my trials, I am usually able to help others. It's amazing how orchestrated it all is.

Even there are so many unknowns in my life right now, there is one thing that I know for sure. The Lord is aware of me. He has a lot in store for me and is preparing the way for me to receive these blessings. I have been struggling with the wording in this posting because I am not very eloquent with words, but I felt like I needed to get this out there.

The Lord loves and is VERY aware of all of His children

I have been in awe the last two weeks about how much the Lord loves His children and how much he is involved in our lives. Last week was a really hard week as I was healing from a hurt heart. The Lord blessed me with a quick "recovery" (or so I thought) on Sunday. I realize now that it was just a Band-Aid because the Lord needed me to be emotionally available for some of my dear friends who were going through really difficult times. Once they were more okay, the Lord took off the Band-Aid and is now letting me heal again.

Last night I was directed to listen to a talk that Elder Neal A. Maxwell gave in 1974, "But For A Small Moment". It was exactly what I needed to hear. He talked about the atonement of our Savior and how He, being a supreme being, was so overwhelmed by the trial He was going through that He said, "if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." At times we want to pray to have our trials taken away from us, but if we do that, we will be missing out on blessings and growth that we will need. In fact, we may be taking a step back if we do not allow the Lord to give us opportunities we need. So, the take home message to that thought: Keep going!

Elder Maxwell also said that, "the cavity which suffering carves into our souls will one day also be the receptacle of joy, how infinitely greater Jesus’ capacity for joy, when he said, after his resurrection, 'Behold, my joy is full.' How very, very full, indeed, his joy must have been!" The take home message to this thought: Keep going! You will be happy!

My final thoughts. Today the Lord blessed me with direct answers to my prayers. Twice. Both of which were answered through other people. Take home message for today and the past two weeks: The Lord is very aware of all his children. He loves us all! He is constantly putting people in our path to help us get through our struggles. He put me in the path of my friends so I could be an instrument in His hands. He put others in my path when I needed them. He knows.