On My Mind...

This month we were able to choose a talk from General Conference for our Visiting Teaching message. Elder Holland's talk: Laborers in the Vineyard, was the only one I could remember. In fact, I couldn't really get it off my mind. I've been thinking about it all week. It is something that really applies to my life, and, if I'm not mistaken, many others' as well.

This is my favorite quote from his talk. I have read it over several times this past week and find truth in it each time. 

"My beloved brothers and sisters, what happened in this story at 9:00 or noon or 3:00 is swept up in the grandeur of the universally generous payment at the end of the day. The formula of faith is to hold on, work on, see it through, and let the distress of earlier hours—real or imagined—fall away in the abundance of the final reward. Don’t dwell on old issues or grievances—not toward yourself nor your neighbor nor even, I might add, toward this true and living Church. The majesty of your life, of your neighbor’s life, and of the gospel of Jesus Christ will be made manifest at the last day, even if such majesty is not always recognized by everyone in the early going. So don’t hyperventilate about something that happened at 9:00 in the morning when the grace of God is trying to reward you at 6:00 in the evening—whatever your labor arrangements have been through the day."

I find that at noon, while I am busy whining and complaining about a trial that happened at 9 am, The Lord is busy blessing me beyond measure.

Sometimes blogs, and Facebook pages give the wrong impression of people's lives. It seems that everyone has an almost impossibly perfect life. Or maybe this is the right impression, the one we should focus on the most. That while we all have trials, we are constantly being blessed. Because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, my life is full beyond measure. And WONDERFUL! What a blessing that knowledge is.

And just as a little example from my own life:

Remember that day I got the flat tire on the way to my job interview? Well, I didn't get the job. But something MUCH better came up that same day. The Lord has a plan for each of us, no matter how small or insignificant the circumstance may be.

An acquaintance of mine does "Thankful Thursday" on her blog and I thought that was such a good idea. Maybe this will be my Thankful Thursday post for the week. :o)