When I set aside sacred connecting time for God to fill me with His truth, that is when I feel the most like myself. That is when I feel the greatest peace and purpose.
I am writing about an experience I am currently still immersed in. Sometimes, it’s nice to reflect on lessons from the past and record those thoughts with 20/20 hindsight vision. Other times though, I am grateful to record lessons while in the midst of the crucible of that learning. I am taught so much when I take time to reflect and then express. In my experience, the process of sharing what I am learning helps those teachings become written more deeply upon my heart.
Our family recently packed up our belongings, sold our house, and moved across the country. All in a matter of about two months. Although this was a welcome and guided move, this change has been a proving ground for my heart.
I was once counseled that as I face challenges in my life, to think of who I am and who I may become. Part of this counsel, has meant that during these times of transition and trial, I need to remember who I am eternally: a child of God.
I’ve recently been reflecting on a quote by Donald Hallstrom, “When difficult things occur in our lives, what is our immediate response? Is it confusion or doubt or spiritual withdrawal? Is it a blow to our faith? Do we blame God or others for our circumstances? Or is our first response to remember who we are—that we are children of a loving God? Is that coupled with an absolute trust that He allows some earthly suffering because He knows it will bless us, like a refiner’s fire, to become like Him and to gain our eternal inheritance?” (I Am a Child of God)
I have spent some time on my knees lately, asking the Lord to help me feel in my heart who I am to Him and how He feels about me. To be reminded that “[I] am a child of a loving God”. I know that knowing and feeling this, is what will anchor me through any storm of life.
I would like to share a few valuable lessons being imprinted more deeply upon my heart right now through my current wrestles. These principles are helping me to better feel of God’s love and remind me of who I truly am.
Make Time for Truth
“Truth liberates our minds for new possibilities, new values, new truths…Thus truth frees us from past errors and opens wide the gates to future progress.” -Obert C. Tanner
Christ stated, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). Christ is the source of pure truth. By coming to know Christ, we come to know our true selves. By learning of Him, we receive rest to our souls. I love coming to know Christ through immersing myself in His words. His living word (personal revelation), spoken word (words of prophets), and written word (scripture) are where I seek to be filled with His truth which heals the wounded soul.
When I feel my heart wondering and distraction, doubt, and fear start to creep in, I know it’s time to buckle down, and seek Him with greater intent to fill my heart and mind with truth.
Patricia Holland said it so beautifully this way, “Often when I face difficulties, I need to turn off the phone, lock the door, kneel in earnest prayer, and then curl up in a chair and meditate, contemplate, search the scriptures, and cry out again and again in my heart, completely focusing my mind on the mind and will and presence of God until I can see a clear picture of him. I like to think of him with loving, outstretched arms. With such a loving image, I begin to feel my connection with him and confirmation of his love. Sometimes I may have to work at this for hours, for a significant portion of the day, or for several days… The price to be paid for this kind of communion is time and your best powers of concentration, but by that investment you may offset untold hours, days, weeks and months of struggle or sorrow or pain.” (A Quiet Heart, pg. 6, 8)
When I set aside sacred connecting time for God to fill me with His truth, that is when I feel the most like myself. That is when I feel the greatest peace and purpose.
Pour out Your Heart in Prayer
“Calling on the name of the Lord daily” (Mosiah 4:11) has been a lifeline for me. I have recently felt to ask very specific questions about the troubles in my heart. I have used the classroom of prayer to teach me some truths I can learn no other way. Two of these questions have been: “How do you feel about me?” and “How should I feel about myself?”
Recently, President Russell M. Nelson explained, that “When you reach up for the Lord’s power in your life with the same intensity that a drowning person has when grasping and gasping for air, power from Jesus Christ will be yours. When the Savior knows you truly want to reach up to Him—when He can feel that the greatest desire of your heart is to draw His power into your life—you will be led by the Holy Ghost to know exactly what you should do. When you spiritually stretch beyond anything you have ever done before, then His power will flow into you.” (Drawing the Power of Jesus Christ into Our Lives)
I have found that one way I reach to Him is through prayer. When my reaching is with that great intensity described above, I have been blessed to receive wonderful healing truths about who I am, why I am here, and what I need to learn from certain circumstances.
Reach out to Others in Love
One of our basic human needs is to connect. When a change happens in our lives, it can create feelings of isolation. That feeling may be because you don’t know the people physically surrounding you or perhaps because you feel like nobody understands what you’re going through. Whatever the reason, it’s hard to feel alone.
A thought that continues to come to my mind though, when feelings of loneliness or isolation come, is to reach out. It can be so hard to do, but it’s the best antidote to loneliness. I remember a time in my life while serving as a missionary for the LDS church, that for a year and a half, my days were entirely focused on helping others come closer to Christ. Having my focus be on another person instead of myself helped me to grow and experience joy in wonderful ways.
I love Christ’s teaching that “whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” (Matthew 16:25) President Spencer W. Kimball expounded upon that teaching by saying, “Not only do we “find” ourselves in terms of acknowledging guidance in our lives, but the more we serve our fellowmen in appropriate ways, the more substance there is to our souls. We become more significant individuals as we serve others. We become more substantive as we serve others—indeed, it is easier to “find” ourselves because there is so much more of us to find!” (Small Acts of Service)
My invitation to you is to identify one way to better come to know who you are in terms of your eternal identity. Record what you learn and build upon that knowledge to help you in a current challenge or for a future day.
Please share your voice below!
Photo by Timothy Eberly on Unsplash
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