About this time every year I start to experience the winter blues. I don't know about you, but daydreams of sitting on the beach and soaking up the sun often enter my mind. I long for getting out instead of hibernating indoors and my mood tends to turn from gloom to doom pretty quickly. I become overwhelmed with all the things on my to do list that still don't seem to get accomplished and I feel like I'm just going through the motions of the same daily routine of mundane tasks.
"Today I have been asked to speak about something I learned from conference. As I listened to the talks again this week I found myself continually coming back to Elder D. Todd Christofferson’s talk entitled “Reflections on a Consecrated Life”. It is my prayer that you might learn something today as I share this with you…
Elder Evans said: “Life offers you two precious gifts- one is TIME, the other freedom of choice, the freedom to buy with your time what you will. You are free to exchange your allotment of time for thrills. You may trade it for base desires. You may invest it in greed….
“Yours is the freedom to choose. But these are no bargains, for in them you find no lasting satisfaction.
“Every day, every hour, every minute of your span of mortal years must sometime be accounted for. And it is in this life that you walk by faith and prove yourself able to choose good over evil, right over wrong, enduring happiness over mere amusement. And your eternal reward will be according to your choosing.”
After Gavin joined our family I was finding myself with less and less, what I would call “free” time, and spending most of my time meeting the basic needs of both my small children. Between cooking, feedings, laundry, household chores, toilet training, diaper changing, errands, doctor visits, and other tasks required in running a household my time seemed less my own. The basic tasks of every day life were consuming me and I found myself wishing for more time in my day to accomplish other things on my “to do” list that I could never seem to accomplish. As a result I noticed my days were losing a sense of purpose and meaning.
After hearing Elder Christofferson’s talk I started to think about what I was spending my time doing besides the routine and daily tasks? As a member of the church with a knowledge of God’s eternal plan we have a stewardship over the time our Creator has granted us. This stewardship of time can be linked to the law of consecration, not in the economic sense, but in relation to the present, the here and now. Our ultimate consecration is the yielding up of one’s self to God.
Elder Christofferson states, “To consecrate is to set apart or dedicate something as sacred, devoted to holy purposes. True success in this life comes in consecrating our lives—that is, our time AND choices—to God’s purposes.”
Every choice we make will either bring us closer to our Heavenly Father’s will or distance us from fulfilling His will for us. As important as it is for me to accomplish my normal daily tasks it is also important for me to choose to participate in other things relating to serving God in my thoughts, words, and deeds.
Elder Christofferson gives us 5 elements of living a consecrated life to help us use our time wisely while we are on the Earth.
1. To live a consecrated life we must first seek to live a pure life.
a. Elder Neal A. Maxwell said,
“Everything depends- initially and finally- on our desires. These shape our thought patterns. Our desires thus precede our deeds and lie at the very cores of our souls, tilting us toward or away from God.”
When we think of living a pure life we should first ask ourselves what we truly desire in our hearts. When we know what we want out of life we realize the reasons for how we are spending our time.
b. Living a pure life also involves repentance.
3 Nephi 27:20 states:
“Repent all ye ends of the earth and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day.”
As we repent we turn away from sin, selfishness, stubbornness, and rationalization allowing us to become more submissive to the Lord’s will. Our feelings, thoughts, words, and actions can then be turned toward acceptance of all the Lord asks of us. As we have this change of heart we can dedicate our time more fully to pursuing the things of God.
The second element in living a consecrated life is work.
Elder Christofferson commented, “By work we sustain and enrich life. It enables us to survive the disappointments and tragedies of the mortal experience. Hard-earned achievement brings a sense of self-worth. Work builds and refines character creates beauty, and is the instrument of our service to one another and to God.”
When I think of work I mainly think of something we do for monetary gain. That is not the only work we perform on this earth. Missionaries perform work by preaching the gospel. Mothers and fathers perform work by raising and nurturing their children. Many work a job in society. Many perform work by serving in the church. Many volunteer in their communities.
Let’s face it some work is repetitive. Some work may seem menial or mundane or routine. No matter what kind of work we do, as long as it is HONEST WORK it has worth.
Life is not always about work. Elder Christofferson states, “Wholesome recreation is the friend and steadying companion of work. Music, literature, art, dance, drama, athletics—all provide entertainment to enrich one’s life and further consecrate it.”
As I think about the kinds of recreational activities I spend my time doing I am often reminded of the talk by Dallin H. Oaks entitled good, better, best. In this talk Dallin H. Oaks states that as we consider various choices, we should remember that it is not enough that something is good. Other choices are better, and still others are best.” I think this is a great way to think of how we spend our recreational time. Now that I have children I am more cautious and selective of the entertainment we allow in our home. So much of today’s entertainment seems wasteful. I try to ask myself if the activities I am selecting invites the spirit or enriches my soul. If not, it’s not worth my time.
It is also important to remember that our recreational activities are balanced with our family time spent on family prayer, family scripture study, family home evening, and other family time that binds the family together in things of eternal worth rather than mere amusement.
The third element in living a consecrated life is the care and respect for our physical bodies.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 reads
“What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit which are God’s”
Since our bodies house our spirit’s it is important we take proper care by treating it as we would treat a temple of the Lord. Relating this back to time, if we don’t spend time taking care of our bodies we will not have the proper ability to receive the guidance of the Holy Ghost.
A simple example of this element in my own life involves the demands required of an infant. Since Gavin was born I have not had a real night’s sleep. As many mothers’ can relate this has a huge impact on my mood, patience, and ability to function on a daily basis. When I’m tired I tend to be easily frustrated and impatient resulting in an inability to receive and respond to the promptings of the Holy Ghost. In order to be alert to the whisperings of the spirit it is important for me to get proper rest.
As we take care of our physical bodies we can more fully consecrate our bodies powers to serve our families and further the work of Christ.
Fourth, Living a consecrated life involves serving others.
There are many times in my life where I have felt inadequate, frustrated by my circumstances, or resentful of my trials. One of my friends once told me during a particularly difficult time in my life that I needed to seek out and serve someone else. As I followed her advice I soon realized my selfishness and ingratitude.
As I serve others I become more aware of God’s blessings. I then become more willing to follow God’s plan for me.
Right now the main service I render is to my small children and my husband. No one else can fulfill this calling. The Lord has entrusted Xavier and Gavin to me and Tim. In this I have re-discovered my main purpose and meaning in my days. It’s not just about completing tasks but providing a life filled with love and the Spirit so that my children know Christ and the kind of people we should be.
We are all in different stages of life. Whatever our situation there are always opportunities to serve whether it be our families, friends, neighbors, co-workers, or a perfect stranger. We can pray to our Heavenly Father to determine what service is the best use of our time given our circumstances, our abilities, and our resources.
In D&C 4:2 it reads, “Therefore, o ye that embark in the service of God see that ye serve with all your heart, might, mind, and strength that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day.”
The last element of living a consecrated life is living a life of integrity. I won’t spend very much time discussing this point, but when I think of integrity I am often reminded of the 2,000 stripling warriors.
In Alma 53:20 we learn that “they were all young men and they were exceedingly valiant for courage, and also for strength and activity; but behold, this was not all- they were men who were true at all times in all whatsoever they were entrusted.”
As we repent, as our desires align more with God’s plan, and when we are honest in all that we do we will build a character of integrity.
By living a consecrated life we can be an influence for good in our homes, in our workplaces, in our neighborhoods, and in our communities. Living a life dedicated to service, to love and harmony in the home, performing work with integrity, and obeying the commandments of the Gospel of Jesus Christ we will experience true happiness; eternal happiness.
For myself, I desire to live a life dedicated more fully to God so that I can provide that example to my children. Hopefully one day they will be able to go out into the world and provide that example to others. I pray that we can all ponder how we spend our time and choose the best uses for the precious gift of time that God has given each of us.
I’d like to close with one final scripture that has a beautiful promise of the blessings of living a life dedicated to the Lord found in Luke 9:24
“For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.”
2 comments:
I'm so sorry you are having the winter blues...the winter I get that way too when you're cooped up in the house so much and the weather is gloomy.
I also LOVED Elder Christopherson's talk. I loved yours, too! I can totally relate to so much of what you talked about. I often feel like there is so much to get done in each and every day and find myself feeling like a lot of what I do is empty. It's a great reminder that we really do need to be mindful of how our time is spent, especially when it comes to our homes. It's not easy, but I'm learning how to let the less-important stuff go so I have time for the more important and "best" stuff! Thanks for sharing!!!
Well said, sweet girl. Each period of life brings it's own challenges, and it's unique joys.Remember that your work as a mother and wife is the most meaningful you could choose. You are doing a spendid job of "magnifying your calling". Spring will come...
Love you, Mom R.
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