It's Not Pushing Buttons

I have chosen to write about kind of an interesting verse of scripture today. It is a very simple verse, yet something that Brother Griffin said about it sparked my pondering. In 3 Nephi 1:3 in the Book of Mormon, it reads, "then he departed out of the land, and whither he went, no man knoweth...". I read this just like a regular verse until Brother Griffin began talking about the tender mercies of the Lord, and how he likes to think of this verse as one of them. Nephi had done his part, and then, after he had, he was just gone, hopefully to return back with our Father in Heaven again after a lifetime of trial and doing the Lord's will. He then followed up later with a quote which reads, "prayer is not about pushing buttons-- it's about pushing yourself." I began thinking back on my life and am so clearly able to recognize countless tender mercies from the Lord. But how often do I return the favor? How often am I willing to submit to His will, even when it may not be what I want? I thought back on some of my prayers, and how I definitely think I can do some changing. Sometimes we get so caught up in life and the fast pace of it, that we feel as though we need things right now. However, that is not always how God works. In fact, God is always there, but He stretches you-- he tests you, and he teaches you. In times of complete trial and adversity, it seems as though we are alone, but if we keep enduring and putting our faith in Him, He will stretch us until we have been molded from that trial. Until we have learned and grown and some times even still we have them, for what ever reason. But it is His will, to help bless our lives and to also bless the lives of others. My dear brothers and sisters, as we pray and rely on the Lord, remember to be patient. Remember to be humble. Remember to have a soft heart and He will bless you. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Emmaline