Good morning and happy Wednesday to each of you, I pray that tank filling you did on Sunday is only half way gone and is enough to carry you through the remainder of the week! I have to say that in the sadness of yesterday's loss in our family there too was a birth in our family, odd how they say when one door closes another opens...the circle of life goes round and round. My nephew and his beautiful wife Megan had a baby girl yesterday, it was a long labor but the delivery was worth all of the pain, she is a beautiful little princess named Quinn Bailee and she is perfect.
As you know I sit here day in and day out, looking out the window in my little box apartment, watching as the neighbors come and go, watching the various pets that are being walked , looking at the Wasatch mountains just to the east of me, the different way the sun comes up over the mountains depending on the conditions of the sky, the beautiful colors that the Master artist paints for us from day to day and I give thanks for the beauty, I give thanks for the comfort of having a little home, I give thanks for the warmth that we had all winter and for the food that we have been able to have on our table each and every day. I thank God for the friends who call and write to say hello, for facebook so that I am able to keep up and stay connected with so many who have been so important in my life at one time or another. It is a wonderful feeling to know that there is so much love in the world, that there are so many caring people in the world and that there are angels all around me.
This morning in prayer as I sat in the silence of my little home I asked God.." what can I do for you today Father? Is there any one person that is in need of love, is there any one who needs encouragement, who needs a kick in the bum to get their faith back in line, is there anyone in need of a friend to listen, or just a body to sit quietly by to comfort them?" I ask this question each morning and lo and behold each and every day God sends someone my way who IS in need of prayer, who IS in need of a listening ear, who IS in need of support and encouragement. It is a beautiful thing to sit and watch the Master of my world answer my prayer so graciously..I feel very blesses and honored when people come to me asking that I lift them and their situation in prayer and with each prayer that I lift, I stand firm on my faith that it will be answered, I lay my faith out and know that God has a plan and that he will take care of the situation as he see fit. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he hears us, that he wills for us to win and that he loves us unconditionally. What an amazing feeling it is to be loved!!!
I have to confess that I have a character trait that is probably most undesirable to our Father in heaven, try as I may to be patient...I can't seem to master it. I do a lot of reading about patience and why we all need to be....I came across a very good read this morning and would like to share, I am standing on my faith that the more I read about being patient the more I will be patient!! If this is a problem with you as well, I pray that this read will help!
"Waiting can be hard. Children know it, and so do adults. We live in a world offering fast food, instant messaging, on-demand movies, and immediate answers to the most trivial or profound questions. We don’t like to wait. Some even feel their blood pressure rise when their line at the grocery store moves slower than those around them.
Patience—the ability to put our desires on hold for a time—is a precious and rare virtue. We want what we want, and we want it now. Therefore, the very idea of patience may seem unpleasant and, at times, bitter.
Nevertheless, without patience, we cannot please God; we cannot become perfect. Indeed, patience is a purifying process that refines understanding, deepens happiness, focuses action, and offers hope for peace.
As parents, we know how unwise it would be to indulge our children’s every desire. But children are not the only ones who spoil when showered with immediate gratification. Our Heavenly Father knows what good parents come to understand over time: if children are ever going to mature and reach their potential, they must learn to wait.
We must learn that in the Lord’s plan, our understanding comes “line upon line, precept upon precept.” In short, knowledge and understanding come at the price of patience.
Often the deep valleys of our present will be understood only by looking back on them from the mountains of our future experience. Often we can’t see the Lord’s hand in our lives until long after trials have passed. Often the most difficult times of our lives are essential building blocks that form the foundation of our character and pave the way to future opportunity, understanding, and happiness.
Patience is a godly attribute that can heal souls, unlock treasures of knowledge and understanding, and transform ordinary men and women into saints and angels. Patience is truly a fruit of the Spirit.
Patience means staying with something until the end. It means delaying immediate gratification for future blessings. It means reining in anger and holding back the unkind word. It means resisting evil, even when it appears to be making others rich.
Patience means accepting that which cannot be changed and facing it with courage, grace, and faith. It means being “willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon us, even as a child does submit to his father.” Ultimately, patience means being “firm and steadfast, and immovable in keeping the commandments of the Lord” every hour of every day, even when it is hard to do so. In the words of John the Revelator, “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and … faith in Jesus.”
Patience is a process of perfection. The Savior Himself said that in your patience you possess your souls. Or, to use another translation of the Greek text, in your patience you win mastery of your souls. Patience means to abide in faith, knowing that sometimes it is in the waiting rather than in the receiving that we grow the most. This was true in the time of the Savior. It is true in our time as well, for we are commanded in these latter days to “continue in patience until ye are perfected.”
The Lord Blesses Us for Our Patience
To paraphrase the Psalmist of old, if we wait patiently for the Lord, He will incline unto us. He will hear our cries. He will bring us out of a horrible pit and set our feet upon a solid rock. He will put a new song in our mouths, and we will praise our God. Many around us will see it, and they will trust in the Lord.
My dear friends, the work of patience boils down to this: keep the commandments; trust in God, our Heavenly Father; serve Him with meekness and Christlike love; exercise faith and hope in the Savior; and never give up. The lessons we learn from patience will cultivate our character, lift our lives, and heighten our happiness. They will help us to become worthy and faithful disciples of our Master, Jesus Christ.
It is my prayer that patience will be a defining characteristic of we who love and seek to be more Christlike; that we will courageously trust the Lord’s promises and His timing; that we will act toward others with the patience and compassion we seek for ourselves; and that we will continue in patience until we are perfected. In the holy name of Jesus Christ, amen."
DIETER F. UCHTDORF
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