So this morning I went over to help the ward do some yard work for a family in the neighborhood. They (and I don't know who THEY is, only that Scott got it) sent a text to everyone saying this family needed emergency help on the yard, and asked everyone to come.
Turns out, the family had a couple sprinklers burst and it caused some big issues in the yard. But the ward decided not to stop at the sprinklers. We weeded, pruned trees, swept, dug, and even planted flowers someone donated. (They had bought them for their own yard, but decided that since no one would see them in the back yard, they would donate them to this family instead.) Several men fixed the sprinklers, which included a lot of hard digging and lots of very involved work. I found out about halfway through the job that this family wasn't even home. They had NO idea we were helping with their yard. They went out of town and while they were gone, a friend noticed the sprinklers were flooding everything and so the ward went over and just took care of it for them. I tried to imagine what it would be like to go home to that- your sprinklers fixed and your yard beautified- all done by friends who love you. I bet it will be an amazing thing for them when they come home.
But what really struck me while doing this project was how much fun everyone was having. One of the younger girls (I think about 10?) commented on how fun it was. I realized I was having fun, too. Then I realized something else- I hate yard work, and procrastinate a ton at my own house. Why was this fun?
The first thing that came to me was that it was with friends. Everyone was working together and talking and laughing while working. Many hands make light work is the phrase that comes to mind. Things are always more fun when we do them with people. I think the Savior meant for us to work together. He sent his disciples out in pairs- not alone. He wants us to work together for a good cause.
I realized another aspect that made today's project fun, though. Charity. Charity is the pure love of Christ. When we have charity, it means God has given us His love for other people. When you do something out of love, you do it happily. A gift given begrudgingly is not given out of love. When a gift (or service) is given out of love, it is given happily. That makes it fun to do.
Let's always try to have charity for others. I bet we'd all be much happier in all aspects of our lives if we did things with charity. Just a thought.
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Parable of the Sower
Today we had stake conference. (For anyone who doesn't know, that's a Sunday meeting where more than just one ward (or congregation) meets together.) Our stake president talked a little about the parable of the sower.
The parable of the sower can be summarized as follows: A man was sowing seeds. Some of the seeds fall in stony ground. The plants grow a little, but don't develop roots. When the sun comes out, the plants shrivel up because they had no root. Some of the seeds fell among weeds. When the plants and weeds grew, the weeds choked the plants. Some of the seeds fell in good soil and grew well and there was great fruit enjoyed from the plants.
The types of ground are like different people. The stony ground was the hard-hearted people who heard the word of the Lord but never developed a testimony of it. When trials came, they left the church because they had no testimony of the gospel. The weeded areas were people who let themselves be too worried about what others thought, as well as other worries and fears, etc. They began to develop testimonies, but the worries and fears choked it. They also left the church. However, the good soil was the good people who accepted the gospel of the Lord, developed testimonies, and stayed in the church, no matter what happened. The good fruit was the good things they did and the blessings they enjoyed.
After Pres. Barney talked about this today, I had a little epiphany about this parable. The different types of ground represent different types of people. However, there is nothing written that doesn't say we can't all be the different types of ground at different parts of our lives. But there is a great gift we have all been given- the Atonement. We can repent. We can change. We can be converted.
Yesterday I planted my garden. This was the culmination of a several week project. (That will then continue on all summer...) First, I started the seeds in pots. Then, we selected an area in our yard for the garden. I turned the soil. I removed rocks and sticks. I pulled weeds from the garden area. I removed ivy from areas surrounding the garden area so it wouldn't overgrow its bounds and choke my garden. When my seedlings were big enough to survive in the real garden and not just on my windowsill and countertops, we purchased garden soil, spread it on top of the existing nutrient-dead soil, and transplanted the seedlings into the garden. Then we gave the garden lots of water. Throughout the summer, watering and weeding will be a constant task if we are to harvest anything later in the season.
My garden project is like the parable of the sower. When we first hear the word of the Lord, or the gospel, we start out in a 'safe' environment. We meet with others who believe in Christ. We learn the teachings of the Lord. There is a honeymoon period of learning the gospel. This is our time in the pots on the counters and windowsills of the gospel.
However, we all have to leave the pots. When our seedling testimonies grow big enough, we are transplanted into the garden of the 'real' world. Our testimonies are tried by the transplant, by the weather and soil that is no longer a controlled environment. If we do not watch continuously, as directed in the scriptures, weeds will grow. These can be weeds of sin or temptation. If we do not pull the weeds quickly, they will eventually grow large. The larger they grow, the harder they are to pull. If they are never removed, they will eventually overtake the garden and we will never harvest the good fruits of the gospel.
The world also throws stones into our garden. Many of these had to be removed before our we transplanted our seedlings into the garden. Others will fall in. We will discover many that were there all along but that we didn't see. We need to remove the stones. We also need to be careful of our environment. Most of us do not purposely plant weeds in their gardens, but how many of us throw rocks into them? Sometimes we put them in the garden thinking they will be decorative. Or we surround our garden with them, thinking to keep things out. How many of these stones, or worries and fears, end up choking our seedlings, preventing us from harvesting our good fruits? How many testimonies are crushed by the weight of worries or fears that we brought with us on purpose?
It is a life long task to keep our gardens clear of weeds and stones, and to keep the soil good so our plants can grow. But if we do, we enjoy a bountiful harvest. We learn through service, we feel charity, and we will live with our Father in Heaven again. Let's all get gardening.
Just a thought. :)
The parable of the sower can be summarized as follows: A man was sowing seeds. Some of the seeds fall in stony ground. The plants grow a little, but don't develop roots. When the sun comes out, the plants shrivel up because they had no root. Some of the seeds fell among weeds. When the plants and weeds grew, the weeds choked the plants. Some of the seeds fell in good soil and grew well and there was great fruit enjoyed from the plants.
The types of ground are like different people. The stony ground was the hard-hearted people who heard the word of the Lord but never developed a testimony of it. When trials came, they left the church because they had no testimony of the gospel. The weeded areas were people who let themselves be too worried about what others thought, as well as other worries and fears, etc. They began to develop testimonies, but the worries and fears choked it. They also left the church. However, the good soil was the good people who accepted the gospel of the Lord, developed testimonies, and stayed in the church, no matter what happened. The good fruit was the good things they did and the blessings they enjoyed.
After Pres. Barney talked about this today, I had a little epiphany about this parable. The different types of ground represent different types of people. However, there is nothing written that doesn't say we can't all be the different types of ground at different parts of our lives. But there is a great gift we have all been given- the Atonement. We can repent. We can change. We can be converted.
Yesterday I planted my garden. This was the culmination of a several week project. (That will then continue on all summer...) First, I started the seeds in pots. Then, we selected an area in our yard for the garden. I turned the soil. I removed rocks and sticks. I pulled weeds from the garden area. I removed ivy from areas surrounding the garden area so it wouldn't overgrow its bounds and choke my garden. When my seedlings were big enough to survive in the real garden and not just on my windowsill and countertops, we purchased garden soil, spread it on top of the existing nutrient-dead soil, and transplanted the seedlings into the garden. Then we gave the garden lots of water. Throughout the summer, watering and weeding will be a constant task if we are to harvest anything later in the season.
My garden project is like the parable of the sower. When we first hear the word of the Lord, or the gospel, we start out in a 'safe' environment. We meet with others who believe in Christ. We learn the teachings of the Lord. There is a honeymoon period of learning the gospel. This is our time in the pots on the counters and windowsills of the gospel.
However, we all have to leave the pots. When our seedling testimonies grow big enough, we are transplanted into the garden of the 'real' world. Our testimonies are tried by the transplant, by the weather and soil that is no longer a controlled environment. If we do not watch continuously, as directed in the scriptures, weeds will grow. These can be weeds of sin or temptation. If we do not pull the weeds quickly, they will eventually grow large. The larger they grow, the harder they are to pull. If they are never removed, they will eventually overtake the garden and we will never harvest the good fruits of the gospel.
The world also throws stones into our garden. Many of these had to be removed before our we transplanted our seedlings into the garden. Others will fall in. We will discover many that were there all along but that we didn't see. We need to remove the stones. We also need to be careful of our environment. Most of us do not purposely plant weeds in their gardens, but how many of us throw rocks into them? Sometimes we put them in the garden thinking they will be decorative. Or we surround our garden with them, thinking to keep things out. How many of these stones, or worries and fears, end up choking our seedlings, preventing us from harvesting our good fruits? How many testimonies are crushed by the weight of worries or fears that we brought with us on purpose?
It is a life long task to keep our gardens clear of weeds and stones, and to keep the soil good so our plants can grow. But if we do, we enjoy a bountiful harvest. We learn through service, we feel charity, and we will live with our Father in Heaven again. Let's all get gardening.
Just a thought. :)
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