Wow, apparently I haven't posted anything since November! How time flies. I break my non-blogging streak today as my second 1060 class takes their test. I've been filling the time by shopping for climbing shoes and reading the Ensign for this month. Test days are so exciting like that...
Lately the Ensign has been having an article or two specifically for the young adults. I'm really glad that they do that. Sometimes I feel like we could almost have our own magazine like the Friend (and it would probably include a cartoon strip and search and find pictures in it too). At the end of one of these articles in this month's Ensign they had a side bar with a quote from Pres. Uchtdorf: “[Heavenly Father] didn’t send you on this journey only to wander aimlessly on your own. He wants you to come home to Him..." only when I read it my brain read "He wants you to come unto Him..." both good. I'm going to talk about the second one...
I've been feeling a little adrift these last few years, like it didn't matter what I did or where I went- as long as I wasn't getting into trouble. It's hard to sit in church and have people talk about how they've been specifically guided as to where to go or what to do in their lives. It's sometimes hard to hear the promises of leaders and in talks that 'If you only ask the Lord will show you what He wants of you" and feel like you're just getting left alone. Sometimes the things people say can mess with your head, honestly. You start thinking "Well, maybe I'm just not being faithful enough", or "Well, maybe it really doesn't matter what I do with my life. Maybe there is no plan for me" or whatever. I think that's why Pres. Uchtdorf's words meant so much to me as I read them. No matter whether there is a best place for me to be right now, or best thing for me to be doing, or if this is just burning time for a while- no matter what I always have a purpose and direction. That is to come closer to Christ and my Father in Heaven. That is always a cause to be actively pursuing.
When I first started rock climbing I mainly went with my friend Mark. I would get part way up the climb, far enough that the holds and best route aren't really visible from the ground, and I'd get stuck. I wasn't very trusting in my shoes yet, and I was inexperienced in falling (it's really not bad. That's what the rope and harness are for...) and so I would stand on whatever footing I had and feel around for something big enough to hold onto or step on. Eventually I would call down to Mark "Where do I go?" His response was always the same "Up!". Not really what I was looking for, but exactly right. It doesn't matter what holds I use or route I take, as long as I'm going up I'm closer to my goal. When you move side to side it can become more dangerous the farther you go. Now when I take people climbing and they ask that to me I answer happily, "Up!" (And then laugh inside at their dismay, cuz I've totally been there.)
Similarly, when we get stuck in life often times we want a specific answer- go here, do this, don't do that. We will receive those as needed, but most often I think the answer is just "Up." Do what you need to do to learn of Christ, teach of Christ, follow his teachings, and come to know him better. Repent, make better habits, try harder to spend more time or better quality time with Him and his words. If we're doing that then we will not be lost, rather we'll have an assurance that we are on the right path in the part that matters most. And, then when those specific directions are in order we'll be in tune to understand them and have the faith to follow.
