Is it Good or Bad?

My institute teacher shared this Chinese proverb that I have been thinking about a bit and I need to remind myself of it more...

A farmer and his son had a beloved stallion who helped the family earn a living. One day, the horse ran away and their neighbors exclaimed, “Your horse ran away, what terrible luck!” The farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”

A few days later, the horse returned home, leading a few wild mares back to the farm as well. The neighbors shouted out, “Your horse has returned, and brought several horses home with him. What great luck!” The farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”

Later that week, the farmer’s son was trying to break one of the mares and she threw him to the ground, breaking his leg. The villagers cried, “Your son broke his leg, what terrible luck!” The farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”

A few weeks later, soldiers from the national army marched through town, recruiting all the able-bodied boys for the army. They did not take the farmer’s son, still recovering from his injury. Friends shouted, “Your boy is spared, what tremendous luck!” To which the farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”

Sometimes we have a tendency to want to judge everything as it happens to us. In our limited view we ask, "Why is this happening to me?" or "Why is God doing this to me?" It is like when my mom reminds me that her cat has a pea brain and we need to be understanding when she doesn't seem to understand the world around her. It just doesn't make sense for us to get all worked up about things we have judged to be good or bad if we trust God. Even at the end of our lives I am sure there are going to be things that we don't understand. I like to believe that when this life is over we will see clearly why everything happed in our lives.

I can think of a couple of times when I was so frustrated that things didn't go my way. One example was when I finished beauty school I got a job 70 minutes from my home at the Aveda Spa. I couldn't find a place to live in that small town, so I ended up quitting the job before winter came. In the end I was glad I didn't find an apartment because it probably would have kept me from serving my mission. Because of many similar examples like this, when things fall into place in my life, I often feel like God has had his hand in it.

I also think about how poor we were growing up. I was always embarrassed about the clothes I wore, the holes in my socks, the car we drove and how cool I wasn't. Now I look back and think about how grateful it has made me for the things I have now. It has also made me work hard for the things that I have and not take them for granted.

The main question at hand is do we trust God and believe that he wants the best for us? If we believe this then we should be able to live in peace. This peace doesn't mean that everything will work out now, but it means that if we trust him, everything will work out in the end. I believe that this trust and our faith in him will be tested throughout our lives to great degrees. In the mean time, I'll just try to keep singing, "peace be still, peace be still."

Making the World a Better Place

Although it has been about a month, I keep thinking about something that was said in sacrament meeting in my mom's ward. The bishop got up to say a few words after the previous two speakers had spoken about doing service for others. He said that he was reading the parable of the talents in the New Testament and this time he was really surprised by how angry the Lord was at the man who did nothing with his talent. His reaction seemed to him stronger than warranted, so he just kept thinking about why the Lord was so angry.

The conclusion he finally reached was that the Lord wants us to make a difference in this world. That is what we are here for. We have been given this time on earth to grow and progress and make a difference. If we don't accomplish these things then our being here has no meaning for ourselves or for others.

Since I have been pondering his words, I have thought a lot about good old George Bailey from the movie, "It's a Wonderful Life". That movie always brings me to tears in the end. To see a man who thought his life didn't matter, to see a man who thought he was worth more dead than alive, to see a man who wanted a very different life from the one he had. We see that our thoughts can be very powerful and sometimes they can be very wrong. He had started to believe the words of Mr. Potter who's selfishness had great power to do a lot of destruction in the community.

Then in the end to see George realize that he not only mattered but that he had affected the lives of so many. He realized that he had been given the love of a wonderful family and to see that his life mattered to the whole community. He not only saw that he mattered to them but he saw that his friends and family would go to great lengths to help him out in his time of need. What had really changed in this story? George was able to see the real story and see the real truth, his life mattered and he did a great deal to make the world a better place.

One of the reasons I love that movie is that I feel like I can relate in so many ways. I want to be able to travel and see the world. I want to live in Hawaii, or at least somewhere sunny and warm. I want to be free from cares and responsibilities. I have a different plan for my life than God does and sometimes I wonder why he just can't see things my way.

Then I ask myself have I made a difference in the world? Well perhaps my life hasn't made as much of a difference as George Bailey's but I still wonder how I have made a difference. Has a talk I have given or a lesson at church made a difference to someone? Have I helped anyone to be a better person? How did my mission affect the lives of those I interacted with? How has my serving in church callings made a difference?  How have my friendships mattered to my friends? What about my family? How has my life mattered to them? How has my job affected the lives of seminary students around the world? Perhaps someday I will know and see what my life has meant. Too bad I can't be given George Bailey's gift and see what the world would be like if I was never born. Sometimes you just wonder.

In the mean time I will just be thinking of ways that I can make a difference in the lives of others. Like this man in this video...

Or thinking about the good people are doing all around me like moms...

I guess I will just have to continue to think about how I can leave my mark on this world in positive ways. :)