"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding" (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Day #14

I have wanted to post this scripture from the beginning. Today is the day I will share it.

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths." 

(Proverbs 3:5-6)

Sometimes, I have wanted to do things my way. I have wanted to have everything work out "perfectly". Well, when I suffer, and I see suffering, sometimes I think, why? Why do I have to go through this? It's in those moments of thinking, "I know what is up", or I know better", that I can't see through the dark. That's when it becomes even harder because fear takes over.

But- when I put my trust and faith in the Lord (even though situations may not change, or I may have to endure suffering for an unspecified time) that is when He makes so much more out of my life. 

When I put my trust in Him and quit trying to solve everything "right this instant", that's when godly peace comes and fills my soul. I know I don't have to be afraid anymore.

When I put my trust in Him- that is when I am able to know things will work out for the very best, because God's ways are higher (see Isaiah 55:8-9) and better than my way of doing things. He will "direct my path" so I will have joy. His goal for me is eternal life, not just relief from pain or sorrow. He comprehends all things (see D&C 88:41) and will lead us through all things (see D&C 78:18)  even to a better life. This I testify.

God is making so much more of our life when we put our trust in Him.

"To others it is given to believe on their words" ( D&C 46:14)

Drafting is a wonderful way to ride a bike. It saves energy, shares the burden of riding long distances, enables one to be social and talk with other riders. It is a great way to travel long distances. Every rider has an opportunity to be the leader. But, if you are learning to draft or need to save your strength, you can usually hang out in the middle of the pack and rely on the strength of those in front of you. Now that I ride a trike, I can no longer draft off other riders. On long distant rides I must rely upon my own strength and be okay with being by myself at times. This image of drafting keeps coming to mind as I ponder the responsibility I have as a parent to teach my children the gospel and how to live it.

Watching riders draft in the middle of the pack- Tour of Utah

As a leader in our home I have the responsibility to teach our children truth and where and how to find it (see D&C 68:25). As our children learn for themselves they are welcome to "draft" off my strength and testimony of what I know to be true. At times, we all "draft" off of one another when perhaps our faith and knowledge aren't as strong as we hoped or would like them to be. To believe on the words of others is a spiritual gift. In the Doctrine and Covenants we read: "To others it is given to believe on their words, that they also might have eternal life if they continue faithful" ( D&C 46:14). It is not weakness when we need to rely on the testimony or strength of others, rather we are given a gift to believe on the words of others when we seek help from the Lord. It is a great blessing to be able to lead and guide as others "draft" and we become stronger ourselves. We have a responsibility to share our testimonies and what we know so that those who have this gift to believe with be strengthened. Elder Dallin H. Oaks said it this way: "Where it is given to some to know and to others to believe on their words, those who know must be responsible for sharing their testimonies. Only in this way can they give those who have the gift of believing on their words something to lean upon as they, too, move toward eternal life" (Spiritual Gifts).

As I ponder this drafting, especially now that I ride a trike and wish I could still draft, I realize there is another principle of the gospel that we need to apply at some point in our lives. That is when we become the leader, we become the grown up and need to be responsible for our own choices, actions, direction, and path we choose. When this happens, we can no longer "draft" or blame or point fingers when things go wrong. When I am out there on a really long ride, all alone, I cannot blame my parents for my lack of preparation, or lack or nutrition or water. It is time for me to "perform [my] labors", a time to "prove all things; [and] hold fast to that which is good" (Alma 34:32; 1 Thessalonians 5:21).

Notice the leader at the head of the draft pack

When we become the leader, we get the opportunity to practice what we have been preparing. We are told: "If ye are prepared ye shall not fear" (D&C 38:30). When I have sufficiently prepared for a long ride I find that I have enough strength to endure to the end. I find that I rely upon the Lord when I am alone on these long rides. He is the One I can draft off, always. When I find that I am alone, not only on trike rides, but any time in life, I can seek for that gift "to believe on their words", and I am strengthened by the words of Christ. I have learned to trust in the Lord.

I love this scripture: "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths" (Proverbs 3:5-6). This is the way a solo rider can draft, by relying upon the Lord. He will direct our path when we follow His lead (see D&C 78:18). Sometimes, no matter how much I have prepared, I am taken by surprise by weather, hill climbs, flat tires, or other unforeseen events. But I endure because I trust in the Lord. I know that all who "seek this Jesus" will also be able to "perform their labors" (Ether 12:41; Alma 34:32) no matter if they are in the middle, the leader, or a solo rider. This I testify.

Riding solo on a century ride, both of us unable to draft of each other and must rely on our own preparation.

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Philippians 4:13)

I mentioned that I have been going to physical therapy (read here). I now go twice a week. It is so painful at times and yet I know I need to the help to be stretched and strengthened. My physical therapist, George Shirley, the owner of Fast Track Physical Therapy, knows exactly what he is doing. He has a masters degree in athletic training and a doctorate in physical therapy. He is smart, kind, funny, honest and encouraging. It is so nice to be able to trust in his ability to help me get my full range of motion back. I really have to trust him. He will hold my arm and I must completely relax it in order for him to stretch it and move it so that I can get improved range of motion. Trust in George's knowledge and ability is paramount especially when he stretches my arm and it hurts- not sharp pain, but the kind of pain I know will give me improved movement and stability. I have to trust that he knows how much weight I should add or what exercises I should be doing on my own so that progression will take place...even when there is pain. I must "trust and then go and do" (see Trust in the Lord, Then Go and Do).

Of course doing physical therapy twice a week has led me to pondering about trust, trusting in the Lord to guide us and lead us along, even when it's painful. He knows exactly how far to stretch and push us so that we will get stronger. He knows how much weight we can bare. "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths" (Proverbs 3:5-6). Just as I must trust George to stretch my arm just the right amount and not too much, we must also trust the Lord that He will stretch us and give us the right load to bare so that we may become stronger. "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Philippians 4:13). We become stronger with the help of Christ! Even when there is pain, we increase in strength, ability to reach, and range of motion- both literally and symbolically.

Me with my PT- George Shirley

Elder Henry B. Eyring said this about trusting in the Lord: "You show your trust in Him when you listen with the intent to learn and repent and then you go and do whatever He asks. If you trust God enough to listen for His message in every sermon, song, and prayer...you will find it. And if you then go and do what He would have you do, your power to trust Him will grow, and in time you will be overwhelmed with gratitude to find that He has come to trust you". (Trust in the Lord, Then Go and Do). 

As we "trust in the Lord" with all our hearts, he will strengthen us and shall receive "full range of motion". "For with God nothing shall is impossible" (Luke 1:37).

I can lift my arm! Each time I go, trust George, endure, and do the exercises on my own I can raise them higher each time!

Here a just a couple of scriptures that come to mind on this topic that may aide you in your own study of trusting in the Lord:

"Blessed are they that put their trust in Him" (Ps. 2:12)

"The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high power" (Ps. 18:2).

"Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also has become my salvation" (2 Nephi 22:2; Isaiah 12:2). 

"God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect" (2 Samuel 22:33)

"But behold, he did deliver them because they did humble themselves before him; and because they cried mightily unto him he did deliver them out of bondage; and thus doth the Lord work with his power in all cases among the children of men, extending the arm of mercy towards them that put their trust in him" (Mosiah 29:20).

Know you are loved!!!

"The Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7)

Whenever people come to visit my house and I get self conscience of how clean or dirty it may or may not be, I always think to myself, and may even say to the person coming to visit, “Just so you know, we don’t live in a magazine, we live in our house”. As I have pondered living in a magazine I have come to the conclusion that we do the same with our bodies. We don't live in "magazine bodies", we live in our physical bodies that have aches and pains, bruises, scars, weight, height, and health issues. The world would have us believe we need to have a “magazine body". That there is the “perfect shape” or “condition”, but it’s always changing with new fads and fashions that come and go so we never know what really is the "perfect magazine" shape.

As a teenager I had cystic acne, this is not your normal teenage acne of one or two zits, but cysts that cover your face. It was so painful I couldn’t even have my hair touch my face and I felt incredibly unattractive. At my age, even now, I have scars from this wonderful gift that I was given. I look back and realize that it was a gift. It has helped me see with different eyes. Eyes of compassion and caring, understanding and love. It wasn’t a “magazine face”. I share this with you because I believe that we all have challenges with our bodies, whether it is shape, size, color, hair, scars, age, height, weight, health, whatever it may be, each tailored to help us grow, appreciate, and understand our true worth. "Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God" (D&C 18:10). Each of us have been given “gifts” to help us come to know our Creator, Jesus Christ, who knows what we really look like. "The Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7).

It is destructive to us when we focus on the outward appearance and become "[preoccupied] with self and [have] a fixation on the physical, this is more than social insanity; it is spiritually destructive, and it accounts for much of the unhappiness women, including young women, face in the modern world. And if adults are preoccupied with appearance-tucking and nipping and implanting and remodeling everything that can be remodeled- those pressures and anxieties will certainly seep through to children" (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland). We must be careful where we focus our attention. Our children pick up on what we worry about whether it is our looks, our likes and dislikes, our health, or even our hearts. Christ came to help us with all of it, but our heart is what we can decide whether or not we want to change and will have an eternal effect upon us, not just physically, but spiritually. Christ is there, waiting to help us with this change. "They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. ....I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (Matthew 9:12-13). We all need  the Physician because we all sin and make mistakes and none of us have a "magazine body". Christ is the Physician and our hearts are healed as we turn/return to Him and He helps us see the true value, the "worth" of our entire selves, not just how we look to the world. We don't need to suffer unnecessarily. "[Christ] suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come unto Him" (D&C 18:11).When we focus on physical impairments, such as my scars, I am suffering unnecessarily and need to repent, need to turn to Him and see ourselves for who we really are. We are more than our bodies, even though the world would have us believe otherwise. "...Ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you" (1 Corinthians 3:16)!

He knows what we suffer physically as well as spiritually because He suffered for everyone. He wants us to know who we are, that is part of why we have physical challenges, some being greater than others. Some challenges can be as simple as growing older and dealing with wrinkles, grey hair, missing teeth, weight and and eye sight changes. Others can be quite severe such as cancer, Muscular Dystrophy, diabetes, mental illness, learning disabilities, to name just a few.  I have wondered at times why I must go through things and why a miracle can't take place and have the "scars" taken away. (I was told the other day that my acne scars could be removed, which I knew could be done, but I don't notice them. They don't inhibit my life, because I am not my scars. I am not defined by my scars.) I have come to know for myself that sometimes, " though [we] have all faith, so that [we] could remove mountains" (1 Corinthians 13:2) the mountains aren't suppose to be removed. Sometimes, we must be as Caleb in the Old Testament and say, "Give me the mountain" (Joshua 14:12) and climb up it faithfully, trusting that the Lord's plan for us to age, to have these physical challenges, are for a reason, most often to help us "come to ourselves" (see Luke 15:17). He wants us to know our "worth", because He already knows how "precious" we are (see Isaiah 43:4).

He wants us to know who we really are and this comes from "looking up [to God], having the image of God engraven upon [our] countenances" (Alma 1:27) as we put Him first in our lives rather than worrying about every wrinkle or grey hair or change in our body that is going to come our way. We need to be "neat and comely" (Alma 1:27), comely meaning "pleasing and wholesome in appearance; attractive (The Free Dictionary) and more concerned about having His image in our countenance than we are about the image in the mirror. The way to have His image engraven upon our countenance isn't to take away "the scar", but to trust that He will heal us physically and spiritually through our faith in Him, for all things are spiritual unto Him (see D&C 29:34). Physical challenges are spiritual challenges. If we allow them to be, they are some of the greatest blessings in our lives. I always think of this saying that is on my laundry room wall: "When life is more that you can stand, kneel". I believe this is the proper way to look to God, even if we are in the middle of a crowd and we can only do so mentally. We must "look to God, and live" (Alma 37:47).

In this time when the world would have us think we are "magazine people" rather than "children of God" (see Romans 9:8) we must "be women (and men) of Christ. (We must) cherish [our] esteemed place in the sight of God. He needs [us]" (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland). We can and we must "trust in the Lord with all [our] heart; and lean not unto [our] own understanding. In all [our] ways acknowledge Him, and he shall direct [our] paths" ( Proverbs 3:5-6). He knows whether or not the mountain must be removed or if we will get stronger by climbing it. We don't get stronger by sitting around reading a magazine that tells us we aren't "magazine shape". We can trust the Savior, our Creator, who knows all things (see Mosiah 4:9), that He knew and still knows what is exactly right for us, so that we may know for ourselves who we really are. This is how we must define ourselves, by Him who knows us best, and thus have His image engraven upon your countenance, reflecting who you really are. For we are, this I testify, "children of the Most High" (Psalms 82:6).