Sunday, February 7, 2010

Let's make lemonade

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade! This has been a pretty fun week. Travis and I were walking home from class one day and through the massive parking lot to which at the end is our apartment and we got to thinking about which way to walk through the parking lot is faster. The entrance to walk through if you are walking from campus is at the top right hand corner, and the exit is at the bottom left hand. If one walks in a straight and diagonal line, they'll obviously get there faster. Well, this parking lot is often packed with cars. There are three rows of cars that span the length of the lot and are in the way of walking in a straight line. And so that was our question, which row is it best to walk down? So we decided that we would establish an equal walking pace and then start down separate rows to see which one would allow us to get to the exit quickest. I walked down the one farthest to the right, and Travis did up the middle. We concluded that the middle row is the best one to walk down. So there ya have it.

Today I taught Elder's Quorum. I had been preparing the lesson for two weeks and spent a few hours on it yesterday. I really like teaching. I miss doing it from my mission a lot. I really like my calling too. It has helped me transition from missionary to student. Now that my lesson is done with, it feels kind of weird--perhaps a little empty. But it's ok. I really enjoyed teaching the lesson. There was great participation coming from the quorum and some people were right on with their comments and insights. I taught about the laws of Justice and Mercy and the affect the Atonement can have on our lives. We talked about agency and how we have to have opposites placed before us in order to help us choose effectively. One of the points that I enjoyed discussing the most is considering the fact that all of us have sins and are all stained. Even if an individual had just one stain, they would be unfit to enter God's kingdom. What then, does that discount us from entering in? What other option exists? The atonement becomes real to us not based on how far up we are on the scale of righteousness, but rather the direction we're facing. If we are at the bottom of the staircase but still facing upwards, we will still make it if we continue onward in that direction. Heavenly Father looks after all of us and knows our circumstances and the challenges that we have. He requires our hearts. He requires our humility. There is no other attribute that produces strength more than humility does. A humble person realizes their dependence on the Savior and his atonement and can thereby move forward and face anything.

Welp, I think I've talked long enough so I bid a very fond farewell. Que tenga un buen dia y adios.