Comfort and Simplicity

This morning I've sat and enjoyed watching and listening and smelling the rain. I remember my first summer home from college I even tried to record the sound of the rain and thunder because I had missed it so much. Watching the drops wash away the dust that has accumulated over the last month and intensify the color of the leaves and flowers has reminded me of what we've been reading (2 Nephi 6-10) this past week. Just like the rain has cleaned away the dust and quenched the water starved ground and foliage, so does the infinite atonement of the Savior cleanse our lives and quench our parched souls when we use our agency to choose it. And just as Isaiah symbolically describes, the Lord will take the personal waste places, wildernesses, and deserts of our lives and turn them into Edens when we turn to Him.

Want some beautifully simple advice on how to live your life? "Wherefore, do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor for that which cannot satisfy."

No Whining

This week as I have studied 1 Nephi 16-22 I have really been struck by Nephi's unyeilding faith and determination. He and his family continue their journey, he breaks his bow, they're starving and everyone starts complaining, A LOT, "even unto complaining against the Lord their God." His response is exactly who I want to be...he goes out and finds the materials to make a new bow and arrow. He arms himself with his newly made weapon and with a sling and stones and says in essence which way do I go to hunt? While everyone else is wasting energy whining, he gets up and does something about it. I LOVE THAT! The Lord tells him to build a ship, he doesn't even say "You want me to do what? Are you sure? I mean, I'm a landlubber, I've never made a ship before. Are you sure you want me to do this?" He doesn't question or whine or say "but do you know how long it's going to take to build a ship?", he simply responds with inquiries of where he can go to get the stuff to make tools suitable for the job. His brothers mock him, threaten to murder him, and still he doesn't lose faith. He completes the task (and I love that even Laman and Lemuel comment that it turns out to be better than a very good ship), they embark on their trip across the ocean and Nephi is tied up and left to die. After four days of being tied up and left to die in a raging storm his brothers come to their senses and let him go. He doesn't even complain! He prays expressing his gratitude and then immediately does what...goes back to work. In all these instances Nephi never whines, he just trusts in the Lord and goes to work. I want to be like Nephi!