3 LESSONS FROM THE LORD

Recently, I've had three, really impactful messages from the Lord. They've changed the way I think and feel, allowing me to recognize the Lord's obvious love for me in the small, insignificant moments of life.

Rather than devote a separate post to each and every one of these lessons, I've opted to combine them into one. Perhaps because these are all lessons we need to hear, right now, in this very moment. Perhaps because the Lord has so much more to teach me in the upcoming weeks. Or, perhaps because I would not have been able to stretch them into a five-minute essay each.

Either way, the length of each of these recounts does not matter. The depth is there, the heart is there, and the hope is there.

"When did you last hear me speak to you?"

Lately, I've been having a very difficult time pinning down when the Lord is speaking to me. The words of the adversary are combining with the voices of the world, and even my own thoughts, desires, and concern. A hurricane of noise has been swirling through my head, making it difficult to see my situation through the truth He proclaims.

Lost and confused, I have been begging to hear Him better, to recognize His quiet whispers more clearly, to feel His love and to trust this particular voice that leads me.

In the midst of these pleas, a question came to my heart, quieting the roar of the winds and helping me to finally understand.

"When did you last hear me speak to you?"

This question came with another.

"When did you last know I was speaking to you?"

Rather than focusing on what I did not know, the Lord was asking me to focus on what I did know. When everything had been clear. When His comforts to me had been undeniable.

A memory so crystal clear engulfed my thoughts, and all at once, all of the pieces fell into place. It didn't matter what the world thought, what I thought, or what the adversary was trying to convince me to believe. The Lord had spoken to me that day, commanded me that day, and as long as I followed His decree to the best of my ability, everything would work out as it should.

"I want to hear those prayers, too."

Filled with hope and peace again, my prayers to my Heavenly Father became less needing, and more grateful. Freed from the burden I had been carrying on my shoulders, I felt I could finally look to the future and see possibilities there. See growth and a life full of wonder.

That, however, did not mean every second of my days was filled to capacity with roses and daisies. There were still thing to stress and worry over, still concerns that made me upset and caused me to ponder.

While sitting by my bed, talking with My Heavenly Father, I did not notice my mind begin to wander to the problems and musings of my soul. After roving from His side for a few minutes, I reeled myself back in with apologies. In response to my, "sorrys", the Lord had this to say:

"I want to hear those prayers, too."

When we are speaking to our Heavenly Father, we are conversing with our loving Heavenly Father. There is no doubt in my mind that He happily accepts our displays of gratitude, or our prayers in behalf of another. However, I believe He also just wants to hear from us. To hear how our day went, what things we enjoyed, or what brought us a little sorrow or headache. He wants to hear it all, He wants to help us with it all.

"Leave it be, or it will never heal."

A few weeks ago, our beloved Sadie Grace stepped on a goat head, a sticker, without her owners' knowledge. Digging it out from between her toes herself, she sustained a small wound, which would have healed nicely had she just left it alone.

But she wouldn't.

Obsessively, Sadie Grace licked, scratched, and picked at the cut on her paw, creating a much larger problem that required much larger tools to heal it. IE, the biggest dog cone you have ever seen in your life.

Irritated and seething at the evil people who had forced her into such embarrassment and discomfort, Sadie Grace's recovery time took far, far longer than it needed to, all because she would not leave her original wound alone.

How often, has that been me? How often have I nursed the unkind word or action of another? How long have I stewed on the hopes that fell short, or the wishes that have never come true? How many times have I let questions attack my testimony?

Rather than giving it to Him, trusting in His timing, His love, and His care, I obsessed over whatever the malady may be at that given time. Tried desperately to find the answers or the reward by myself, rather than stepping back and letting Him care for it.

Because this is not stepping back blindly. This is not hoping for the best. Sadie knows us, her trusted owners. She knows we only want what's best for her, that we promise to do our best to bring that to her.

Does our Savior not offer that devotion and those assurances far better than we, as dog owners, can? We can trust His promises when He says He will bind up our wounds, answer when we knock, and bless us beyond anything we can imagine. (Luke 10:34, Matthew 7:7, Malachi 3:10)

"Leave it be, or it will never heal."

I hope you felt the love of the Lord, as I did, in these experiences. It never ceases to amaze me how Heavenly Father and our Savior are in the most intricate details our lives. They are all around us, if we have eyes to see. Their lessons are never ending, if we are willing to listen.