Honour, Help, Obey
Are you drifting?
One of the common traps of life is 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒇𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈.
From time to time, all of us are likely to drift.
It is easy to get caught up in the currents of life, outside influences and being carried along with the crowds.
Perhaps you are stuck on autopilot, aimlessly sleepwalking through each and every day, tossed to and fro like a piece of driftwood floating on the seas?
Are you drifting?
Do you know that feeling?
Drift: “to move slowly, especially as a result of outside forces, with no control over direction”
Is this what you really want from life, simply to drift?
At some point, just like the driftwood, you’ll be washed up on the shoreline, and may ask yourself, “how did I get here, why am I here, where am I going?”
Have you been washed up yet?
Is it time to take stock and find your purpose in life?
Are you looking for a light to help you navigate through the stormy waters of life?
Now What?
I recall at my father’s funeral, a male choir formed of sons, grandsons, and sons-in-law, sang for him his favourite song:
“Brightly beams our father’s mercy from his lighthouse evermore,
But to us he gives the keeping of the lights along the shore.
Chorus
Let the lower lights be burning; send a gleam across the wave;
Some poor fainting, struggling seaman you may rescue; you may save.
Dark the night of sin has settled; loud the angry billows roar.
Eager eyes are watching, longing, for the lights along the shore.
Chorus
Trim your feeble lamp, my brother; some poor sailor, tempest tossed,
Trying now to make the harbour, in the darkness may be lost.
Chorus
Jesus Christ can help you to stop drifting through life. He says in John 8:12 “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life”
The gospel will act as an anchor and stop your drift.
Is it time to stop drifting?
Disappointment
What did we learn?
Time
Improving!
“Wees niet bang om fouten te maken, iedereen die een nieuwe taal leert, maakt fouten!”
In other words, don’t be afraid to make mistakes, anyone who learns a new language makes mistakes!
After a few months in the Netherlands, words to that affect frequently run through my mind.
That said however, I had a funny experience at Schiphol Airport last week, whilst picking up the new arriving missionaries.
Whilst Monic and I, along with Elder Ornelas were waiting for the final missionary to arrive at Gate 2, I was approached by a complete stranger, looking for directions to the other arrival gates 3 & 4.
Having just come from gate 3, I gave him the directions in my best Dutch, pointing at the same time…
“Ga rechtdoor, dan rechtsaf, 100 meter rechtdoor en dan is het aan u rechterhand”
He thanked me and then headed off in that direction.
I turned back to Monic and Elder Ornelas, and it struck me that this was very similar to that moment when Elder Calhoun in the movie “The Best Two Years” directed a complete stranger at the railway station. For those of you who have seen the movie, you will recall that precise moment. If you haven’t see the movie – then watch it, it has to be one of the best movies about life in the mission field.
We laughed together as we talked about the movie and Elder Calhoun!
In that moment, I realised without thinking that my Dutch is improving!!
What is improving for you right now, that you may not have noticed?
Curiosity
Customs
What lies within us….
I love quotes! They are insightful, oftentimes intriguing and on many occasions inspiring! I found one such quote a few weeks ago now and posted it on my personal Facebook page. “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”
The words have rung in my ears for weeks now. I’ve searched to identify who the quote was attributed to and have found some evidence that it was possibly originated by Ralph Waldo Emerson.
An extended version appeared in the 1990’s attributed to Henry David Thoreau, who states “What lies before us and what lies behind us are small matters compared to what lies within us. And when we bring what is within out into the world, miracles happen.”
No matter who it is attributed to, it is a powerful, insightful and thought provoking statement about the power that lies within each of us, to rise above the various storms of life and succeed in whatever we choose to do with our time upon the earth.
A Pearl
As I reflected upon the quote, I was reminded of the story of a pearl. A pearl develops from an irritant that gets inside the shell of an oyster, such as a grain of sand. The oyster then produces a special substance, that surrounds the foreign matter and over several years it forms a beautiful pearl. Every oyster produces a different form of pearl and similarly I believe that every irritation within each of us, can produce different results in our own lives – all of which have the capacity, over time to become beautiful pearls. We simply have to recognise those irritants, act upon them, desire to change and watch as they emerge as powerful strengths.
I love this old parable told by J. Thomas Fyans: “There’s an ancient oriental legend that tells the story of a jeweller who had a precious pearl he wanted to sell. In order to place this pearl in the proper setting, he conceived the idea of building a special box of the finest woods to contain the pearl. He sought these woods and had them brought to him, and they were polished to a high brilliance. He then reinforced the corners of this box with elegant brass hinges and added a red velvet interior. As a final step, he scented that red velvet with perfume, then placed in that setting this precious pearl.
The pearl was then placed in the store window of the jeweller, and after a short period of time, a rich man came by. He was attracted by what he saw and sat down with the jeweller to negotiate a purchase. The jeweller soon realised that the man was negotiating for the box rather than the pearl. You see, the man was so overcome by the beauty of the exterior that he failed to see the pearl of great price”
Lesson Learned
And so it is with each of us. Lets not be deceived by the beauty that lies around us, but take a long, long, hard look at what lies within us. We all need to slow down, pause in our busy lives and take much more time to reflect upon those things that really do matter most. Self reflection and its reward of self awareness are critical elements of personal development and leadership in homes, in our communities and in our business organisations.
My invitation is to stop today! Now even! Even if its just for 5 minutes. Reflect upon those things that matter most and bring what is within you, out into the world…. today! Write them down too! You may well be truly surprised and inspired by the pearls you have been blessed with. *Henry B. Eyring stated “Someday, when you know who you really are, you will be sorry that you didn’t use your time better”.