The petal of President Uchtdorf's talk that hit home the most for me was "Forget not to be happy now". All too often I spend time thinking of what's coming next and preparing for something later. Yes, preparation is important. However, it's been on my mind lately that when I spend all my time practicing or studying for something later I miss what's going on now. Finishing my graduate degree and preparing to get a job seems to be all I can think about...I'm talking about my spare time. It is difficult for me to sit still and enjoy the now. But I know that the Lord would have me enjoy things today that I have already worked on in the past to get to where I am. I'm selling myself short if I spend all my time thinking of the future (e.g. using all my free time to finish developing a board game for future financial gain) instead of taking some time to talk to my wife just catching up on life or playing with my kids before dinner and bedtime. Multiply this scenario by about 5-10 times and that's how much I try to cram into my schedule.
I'm trying to figure out how to put the most important things into my schedule and to not over extend myself, which is easy for me to do. I have told myself many times that I am willing to go, go, go all the time. King Benjamin taught me that it is not required to do more than I have the strength to do (Mos 4:27). I really feel that I have to cut back on how much I try to do because I'm just a man. Not Superman. I tend toward overexertion, rather than laziness, and I see that I need to change my priorities because I just cannot do everything I want to do. The Lord must come first and my family must come second...that much I know. We live in a busy world and so many things seem fun or worthy of my time. The trap I keep falling into is cramming all of it into my schedule. I push and pull, squish and twist my schedule until it's really packed full. I do that for as long as possible. Then, after I stress out and crash, I realize that I have to cut back and try again. But be smarter about it the next time. No, not smarter. Wiser.
The comparison of Willy Wonka's Golden Ticket was so good. Eating chocolate used to be a reward in and of itself. Now, the chocolate is meaningless if there's no winning ticket inside. Sad.
What was your favorite petal of the forget-me-not? and why?
Mine was pretty much the same as yours + "forget not the difference between a good sacrifice and a foolish sacrifice - of my time I would add. It's always about Time, isn't it? Time is my enemy and my good friend at the same time. That's why there's always such tension around it. But many times I can see that it is me who is creating this tension. When I look at my calendar I don't see a Saturday without either a church program or a school program or a kindergarten activity. But do we need to attend all of these programs (just because I am a RS councilor and a "mandate" in my kids' schools)? In my head I do know the answer already, now I just have to learn to act accordingly. :) Thank you Brett for your GOOD sacrifice to run this blog. Keep up the good work. :)
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