**Can I just say, this blog is a special place for me. Sometimes I ignore it, and I feel and think things that I need to write--like I am supposed to write them---and I still ignore them...But then I sit down, and I re-read something I wrote, and I know that it isn't necessarily just me writing. For some reason, I notice things, I analyze everything, and I put it into language which transforms into a vision for others to grasp or to ignore. And it feels good. It's me, connected to a spirit that I don't even realize I am in tune with. But as I said, I look back and think, how did I know to write that? How did I know it then it would help me today? The answer is: I didn't. I just do it, because I'm supposed to, and then my Heavenly Father blesses my life with it. I hope it blesses others. Refer to the quote at the top right of the page, "To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."
This is a post that's been pressing on my mind and I've been ignoring it. Unfortunately that means I may not word it as wonderfully as possible, but I will try my best.
Growing up, I remember when my mom would teach me about the 'right things' to do. These 'right things' are as follows: Be kind. Share. Don't steal. Be nice to your sister. ...hehe... Forgive your friend. Pray. Read your scriptures. Etc. As a child, when we didn't follow those behaviors, usually there came a punishment afterward. One of my favorites included writing 500 times phrases such as "I will stop complaining." (I still struggle with that one).
These punishments helped me to learn a significant life lesson. Because my mother was consistent with discipline, I learned that choices ALWAYS have consequences. Every choice is connected to a consequence. Some consequences are of lesser importance, while others have substantial and eternal significance.
As the teenage years came, like most teenagers I was given a bit more responsibility. Parents and children eventually make the transition of babysitters and diaper bags to peers and cellphones. (I still struggle with the cellphone part, but that's the world we live in folks!) With this transition there comes less parental supervision, more interaction with humans of the opposite sex, and opportunities to make decisions that seemingly "no one will know about." We always hope that all teenagers will stay in well-lit areas, participate in wholesome activities, and choose good decisions whether parents are there or not.
Thankfully, many youth choose the straight and narrow path. Some do not. In the world as a whole, many do not.
Those who choose the crooked path are not free from ownership of the choices they've made. However, I wonder if a few people could have been and still could be helped by learning one simple truth: Choices come with Consequences. They ALWAYS come with consequences.
The older we get, and the more responsibility that becomes ours, the more chances we have to choose the wrong things. For example, if at 16 you are fortunate enough to get a car, you may tell your parents--"I'm going to a friend's ward on Sunday" and then you peace out and go do what you want. Or, you decide to not pay your tithing because your check just was too small to give any away. Maybe you decide to go to an inappropriate movie because your friends want to and because "no one will know."
These small choices are made every day. By all of us. As young adults, and as adults, these choices often go unnoticed by others. They are choices only we know about. And many times, right after the choice is made, "nothing bad happens."
Usually, no lightning strike comes from heaven. Mom and Dad don't make you stick your nose against the wall. No one spanks you.
But these choices when no one else is looking, these are the moments where we find out who we really are. These are the very moments in which we become more like our Father in Heaven, or less like Him. And if we haven't made the connection of choices leading to consequences then we are more likely to make choices that seemingly have no consequences. And here's the thing, something bad does happen when we make bad choices. It often just happens in our hearts. It separates us that much more from our Father in Heaven.
I know this because this is me. This week I chose to spend time watching stupid shows that may have been funny, but they didn't uplift or edify. In fact, they filled my mind with gunk that I now have to remove. They supported things that I say I don't support. And yet, by watching the shows, unfortunately, I was supporting them. And I thought, nothing bad happened. I just watched a show or two. The shows definitely fit in the PG-13 category, and they made me laugh. But then I realized some things. While watching the shows, I paid less attention to my precious little girl. I left work undone that I could have easily accomplished. I was lazy, and I wasted time that on this earth--is truly so fragile. These 'bad' things didn't speak up as loud and clear as my mother did when she lectured me after a bad decision. They were much quieter in their sneakily making my life less wonderful.
And I realized that the rationalization of "nothing bad will happen" is the stupidest rationalization of all time. Because everything we do creates a happening of either good or bad. We're either on the path or were off it. Choosing to sit on the fence is still choosing not to walk on the straight and narrow path.
I've watched as a childhood friend made choices believing that nothing bad would happen in his life. Then he showed up on my doorstep with a verbal list of happenings that I pray I never have to endure. The adversary wants us to believe that some choices do not bring about consequences. We can never believe that. We have to believe in doing good---all the time. We can trust wholeheartedly that when we do good, good things happen. We have to make good choices because our Heavenly parents have never left us alone, and they will always know the choices we are making. And we must choose the right because of who we can become. I chose to be weak this week. I chose to give in to the natural man rather than following the me who is a daughter of Heavenly Father who seeks to do His will. I was lazy, cranky, and I ignored my child. Without consciously realizing it, I put effort into becoming useless and selfish. I hate it when I do that. Because even when I don't immediately see it, bad things happen.
So, start making good choices. Because good things will happen. Short and sweet ending, because it's the short and sweet truth.
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