As I lie awake thinking about life, the phrase that keeps running through my head is, "repeat the sounding joy." I know, I know…it's not Christmas yet…but there's something about that phrase, and that sentiment, that gets me every time.
Repeat the sounding joy. Life is hard, I'll give you that. But how much has the Lord blessed us? We all have trials, hard things to deal with, challenges that we face every day. Every single human being struggles with disappointment, frustration, embarrassment…the list goes on and on. If we choose to write a "life's not fair list," none of us would have a shortage of things to write. That's just it: life isn't fair. And the ironic part about it is that we knew that coming down here. When we focus on the negative, we see the negative.
I remember, way back when, when I first began as an assistant teacher in the Elementary Education program at BYU, I was being observed by my supervisor one day. All of my little second graders were sitting on the rug in front of me and I was reading a book to them. Some boys in the back kept whispering, fooling around, spinning on their bottoms, etc. I started pausing and saying comments like, "make sure that you're sitting on your pockets," "please stay on the rug," or "don't do x, y, z…" The lesson generally went well, but the comment from my supervisor was, "don't point out the negative, point out the positive. If you're looking for the negative, you're going to find it, and you're going to drive yourself crazy. Point out the positive and more than likely, things will fall in line." First of all, let me just say that this principle has saved me in teaching. It is so true that if you're looking for the negative, you're going to find it. A more appropriate comment in the aforementioned situation would have been directed towards a student who was obeying the rules, "Billy, I love how you're sitting up straight, criss cross apple sauce, and how you're listening to the story. Oh and look…(choosing the student right next to the troubled one…) Jill, thank you for doing just what you're supposed to be doing." 9 times out of 10 those one or two students who are horsing around will stop. Looking for the positive instead of the negative changes and molds our whole outlook on life.
So…back to the positive. We are so blessed. The other day as I was trying to accomplish my ward calling, I found myself sitting, alone, in the chapel of our ward building. This building is of high significance to me. Not only is it impressive in it's architecture and uniqueness, but it has been my ward building for my whole life. That is where I sat with my family (generally in the same pew), where I sang up front in primary, where I was a reverence child, where I recited my article of faith in front of the ward when I graduated from primary, where I have spoken and played the violin countless times, where many of my most dear and treasured memories were made. My home ward consists of the most amazing group of people that I have ever known. We are family. Many of them have become my second/third/fourth mother and father, and they have played a huge role in who I am today. Sitting in this chapel, I realized a few things. The Lord loves me. Ok, so I already knew that, but it was reaffirmed. Secondly, I am blessed. We all know that I have trouble with endings (example: end of college). I was afraid of the unknown. I would never have dreamed that my life would have taken the course that it did (although I had hoped for something like this). I moved back home (always the plan) to a place I love, I got a job teaching at one of my top three schools, I have met someone extra special who I hope to spend a very long time with, and now I find myself back in my beloved ward building…back where I started from. It makes me smile just thinking about it.
At institute this week our teacher started off the class by asking if any of us had experienced any tender mercies the past week. It took about 2 minutes for anyone to raise their hand. I must admit that I was actually having trouble thinking of one, myself…then, one came to mind. Then, all of a sudden, a whole barrage of tender mercies began to come to mind. The Lord had really blessed me the past week and because I had chosen not to think about it, I had not recognized them. Once I focused on the positive, more of the positive came into view. "We should not underestimate or overlook the power of the Lord’s tender mercies. The simpleness, the sweetness, and the constancy of the tender mercies of the Lord will do much to fortify and protect us in the troubled times in which we do now and will yet live. When words cannot provide the solace we need or express the joy we feel, when it is simply futile to attempt to explain that which is unexplainable, when logic and reason cannot yield adequate understanding about the injustices and inequities of life, when mortal experience and evaluation are insufficient to produce a desired outcome, and when it seems that perhaps we are so totally alone, truly we are blessed by the tender mercies of the Lord and made mighty even unto the power of deliverance," Elder Bednar.
No matter where we are in life, no matter the level or circumstance or age…the Lord blesses us. He loves us and He is here for us. He sends his tender mercies to comfort us. He sends people to comfort us, and He sends the spirit to be with us. Sometimes it takes a little more effort to see the good, but in the end, that's what it's all about.
