One Step at a Time

As you sit and think from day to day and really try to ponder what life is really about, what do you think of? I think of the many trials that I have gone through and the many that are to come. I also think of the many blessings that our Father in Heaven has given to me. I look at this life here on Earth as a time of trials and tests. I mean we all go through them, no one persons life is perfect. We go through so many different struggles on a daily basis, some more extreme then others. Some that seem like they will never seem to go away. That's why I am so thankful that we have a loving Heavenly Father that is watching us from day to day. He is willing to help us with anything that we need. All we need to do is ask him and truely believe that he is going to help us.

                                                                                     One of my favorite pictures that always reminds me of the love that our  Heavenly Father has for us is the drawing that Micheal Angelo did in the Sistine Chapel. It shows how God is stretching his arm out all he can and it shows how man is lazy and barely putting forth an effort to reach out to him. I've seen in my own life how sometimes we can forget to rely on God and try to do everything our selves. When we put forth that effort and give it all we can, our Father in Heaven has promised us that he will help us in times of need. So when you feel like there is not other option or other way to go, know that you can always turn to your Father in Heaven for the guidance that you need in you life.

Our relationship to our Heavenly Father is just as our relationship to our Fathers and Mothers here on this Earth. When we are still infants and are learning to walk and do things on our own, our parents don't just leave us be and say oh your good! They are there for us and are watching at all times to help us in times of need. They have their arms stretched out and ready to catch us when we fall. At times when we need them to help us to they are there. Our parents are with us at all times through out our lives. No matter what goes on in our lives or where we are at our parents will always love us. The same goes with our Heavenly Father. He has been there for us in every step of our lives. No matter what is going and what has happened in our lives he will always love us and be there with his arms stretched out to catch us. I know that he loves each one of his children here on Earth. As long as we rely on him in our times of need we can get through anything.

A little dirt can hurt

So lately I have been thinking a lot about the Atonement, or the great sacrifice that our Savior made for us on the cross. That great sacrifice that he made for us was pure love. That love he had was for each one of his brothers and sisters here on the Earth, meaning you and me. He has felt what each one of us goes through on a daily basis. It doesn't matter the trial, whether it's from a life changing decesion to a chronic illness that is almost unbearable. Jesus Christ will always be the one to be there for us. No matter what!

Which brings me to want to talk on the Atonement a little bit more. Since I love cars so much I'll compare the Atonement to a car motor. Most of us at one point will either own or drive a car. Most of us will be told by someone at one point to change the oil every 3,000 miles. Do most of us know why this is so important though? Well the reason being is because having dirty oil in you motor is not good at all. If you leave it in long enough it will eventually start to do damage. Such damage could be to the connecting rods which connect the pistons to the crankshaft and pushes them up or down. Dirty oil wille eventually damage the connecting rod bearings and could cause you to throw a bearing. Which is where the connecting rod is blown off the bearing. That can cause major damage to the internals of you motor and it wont run properly. So its always good to make sure you change your oil frequently!

We can see how not keeping our motor full of clean oil can mean some pretty big damage! I look at this and see how we can use the atonement in our everyday lives. We can use the Atonement just like an oil change! After a while we start to get dirt in our oil. Sometimes we can have really dirty oil from a long period of time with out a change. When we use that oil change or Atonement we see how much better our lives can be or how much better our motors will run. So the more we rely on our Savior the happier our lives will be and the stronger our motors will run!

A kid and a row boat

In our everyday lives we try our hardest to reach our full potential in life. We have to in turn try our hardest in our spirtual side to become the best can and as much like our savior as possible. This at times can be a very hard thing. I recently read a story about a man who hired a young boy to row him across a lake in his fathers boat. A little time after they began the man noticed that something on the paddles. One of the paddles had a "W" on it and the other had a "F" on it. The man asked the young boy what the letters on the paddles meant. The young boy then responded, the "F" stands for faith and the "W" stands for works. If you only use faith then you just go in circles to the left. If you only use works then you just go in circles to the right. If you use both use both faith and works then you can paddle where you want to go. I think that this is a great example for our everyday lives! We can see a great example of this in the scriptures. In James chapter 1: 22-24 which states,

"22: but ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, decieving your own selves 23: for if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass. 24: for he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was."

We see here from James that we must be doers of the word and not just hearers. One of the best examples of this is our Savior Jesus Christ. He not only lived on this earth as a mortal but he led by example. He preached the word of the father and lived it! We need to work everyday to not only have strong faith but we need to show that faith by our actions. Jesus didn't go to the people who were set and had proper provisions. He went to the people who were low in heart and were the outcasts. One of the best things that we can do in this life is to follow the example of our Savior! Each day as we strive to live more like him and render our services to those that need it, we will see the blessings pour out from Heaven and feel the love of our Heavenly Father.