Happy Sabbath

Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.

Matthew 12:12

The Best is Yet to Come!

While traveling in New York and Ireland at this time of year I couldn’t help but notice the many tour groups. They’d drive up to a site, get out, take pictures, and then their guide would try to herd them all back into the bus for the next site. Some people would get on the bus as soon as they were told to do so. Others would linger to take just a few more pictures, or because they hadn’t seen everything they wanted to see, or because they liked what they saw so much they didn’t want to move on.

As I watched, I began to think about the metaphor in the situation. We are the tourists in life and God is our tour guide. And we, like the tourists in NY and Ireland, react to His call to get on the bus in different ways. Some of us act immediately when he says to board the bus, others linger for just a few more experiences where we are, and others are very unwilling to part with what we think is a good thing. Still others, when life is concerned, refuse to board the bus at all.

Just as with the tourists, we cling to what we have before us because it is known. We aren’t sure whether the next stop is going to be as good or that we will like it as well so we linger. But with God as our tour guide we can always know that what is next is for our best good, it is part of our progression, and therefore we shouldn’t be reluctant.

Because of that one of the most helpful mottos for life is, “The best is yet to come!” With God as our guide, we are always going to end up in the very best place, the very best situation, the very, very best condition. So whatever you are doing right now, stop, breathe in deeply, and say right out loud, “The best is yet to come!” and get on the bus!

New You

One of the lovely results of living in Truth is that all things, including your past, become new to you. Christ changes you and your life. As Paul explains it, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” ( 2 Corinthians 5:17). This is so true.

As we let go of hurts and offenses and negative ways of viewing the world, we make room in our hearts for new thoughts and new emotions. And through those new thoughts and emotions we see our past, our present, and our future differently. Instead of seeing how we were hurt, we see how others were hurting. Instead of feeling victimized, we feel remorse for what we did to contribute to poor relationships or situations.

At first this sounds like merely an exchange of bad feelings, but it is a release. As we let go of heavy, painful things, we experience an escape from bondage and unnecessary pain. We climb out of the dark Pit into the light of Truth and joy where we are free to express our true selves and feel and use the power of positive emotions to shape our lives and interact with others.

Letting old things pass away—handing them over to the Savior to take care of instead of carrying the burden of them around ourselves—is freedom. The death of the negative allows the birth of the positive.

Beyond Me

One of the blessings that comes from vacationing is that it jerks us out of our routine and the daily things we take for granted. Life is interrupted for the days or weeks we are gone and when we return we see them in new ways. At first I was worried about coming home from such a magnificent setting as Ireland. I thought maybe Utah would seem barren and dull, but instead I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the feeling of gratitude that has filled me. I’m grateful for my brown mountains and for the health that allowed me to enjoy the trip. I’m grateful for my soft bed and cozy home. I’m seeing things around me I haven’t noticed before, and I’m seeing things I have noticed before in new ways.

I love this feeling of gratitude that fills me with awe for the simple things around me, but going away and coming back has also somehow filled me with a consciousness of my relationship to God. I am aware that I am more than my body or my personality or my experience. I am God’s child and in some way that there are no words to describe I’ve a “genetic” link to Him that is as real as the links to my parents that gave me hazel eyes and long fingers. I am part divine and cultivating that divinity is what life is all about. I have been given this very moment in time to exist and if I use it to love and to serve my divinity grows—just as using a muscle makes it stronger. I am grateful both for my knowledge of that divinity and for that divinity itself.

In short, I’m brimming with the joy of gratitude today. I’m thankful to be. I’m grateful for existence. I’m so happy because I am the daughter of the King of Kings!

Lessons From Lewis

Despite the time constraints and the stress, I am enjoying my study of C. S. Lewis. I study and the thoughts ring through me all day long giving a lilting lift to my work and play. For example, yesterday I read from his book Miracles, “In science we have been reading only the notes to a poem; in Christianity we find the poem itself” (p. 212) and I found myself hearing Christianity as a poem with rhyme and rhythm and language that “blows the top off the mind.”From that vantage point, I saw religion in a new light that grew into sheer delight.

Another thing I read yesterday explains the importance and the benefits of living in Truth. Lewis talks about the war between nature and spirit, or as we usually say the Natural Human and the Spiritual Human. “Nature by dominating spirit wrecks all spiritual activities; spirit by dominating Nature confirms and improves natural activities” (p. 205). . . “The emotions do not become weak or jaded by being organized in the service of a moral will—indeed they grow richer and stronger as a beard is strengthened by being shaved or a river is deepened by being banked” (p. 206).

I like the wording, “organized in the service of a moral will.” That is exactly what the Truth Tools are designed to help us do—discipline and organize our emotions so that they work for us instead of against us. Oh, how I love the wisdom of Lewis!

Saved From the Pit

I’ve had one of those Living in Truth moments this week. Some people are blessed with the gift of Living in Truth all their lives. Their families lived that way and so they just learned it as the way to live. Or, for some reason, they picked up the ability to Live in Truth while young. But as I have said before, I am not one of those people. I struggle to overcome the negative and to not be pessimistic. That’s what led me to study these things and to begin to put them into practice. What that means is that Living in Truth is not my normal first reaction and it is why I need the Truth Tools. I need the Tools because they help me change my first reactions to a given situation from negative to positive.

One of those situations happened this week. In two weeks I am teaching a three hour lecture series on C. S. Lewis at BYU Education Week. I have been preparing for months by re-reading Lewis’ works and making notes. I knew I’d only have two weeks after we got home from our trip so I took three of the books with me to read during travel time. That worked. I read the books, made extensive notes in them, and planned to then organize and put the finishing touches on the lectures after I got home. It would still be tight time wise, but I could do it.

On the trip home, Mr. J asked if he could read one of the books so I gave him my favorite—The Great Divorce which he started to read. I didn’t think much more about it, but the day after we got home he informed me that he had left the book (with all my notes!) on the plane. As he told me what had happened, I could feel the negative emotions swell like great tidal waves within me. Anger, accusations, fear, and many other negative feelings started to push me out of Truth and over the brink and into the Pit of Illusion.

At that moment I sensed the darkness of the Pit and knew from experience it was not a place I wanted to be and began to Rewrite the story I was telling myself. The accusation, “How could he do this to me?” changed to “He feels so bad about the mistake he’s made. He didn’t do anything to me. It was a simple mistake.” And “I don’t have time to re-read and find the quotes I need again!” was rewritten into, “The Lord will help me. Re-reading the book could even prove to be helpful.”

With those thoughts I found myself back in the Light of Truth and the vexing, negative feelings (the unnecessary pain) leave. I’m still not exactly sure how I’m going to do it, but I am at peace in Truth, and in that state of Truth things always work out. I’ll let you know how when I know!

My Amazing Week!

Our cottage in the Galty Mountains

I’m home. It feels good, but at the same time it is difficult to face reality after such a perfect adventure. Our last week was filled with more castles, more magic, and more scenic landscapes. The highlights were kissing the Blarney Stone, visiting the cliffs of Moher, and staying in a delightful cottage in the Galty mountains near a wee village called Skeheenarinky. (I didn't make that up! It's the real name.)

The Cliffs of Moher

The highlight on Monday was a visit to the Rock of Cashel, an ancient fortified cathedral with hints of the once ornate and magnificent building still visible. Tuesday was a long day that started early with a drive to the Cliffs of Moher, then a drive to Ballyvaughn which revealed a very different look to Ireland with its stark stone mountains of gray rock. From there we went on to a quaint folk park at Bunratty castle. The reconstructed village around the old castle had homes from all around Ireland and gave us a good feel for the history of the living conditions of the people.

One of the things I’ve been struck with on this trip is how people throughout time have been searching for God and trying in their own ways to worship Him. Too often we learn about and talk about the people who misused religion for their own purposes or to get gain, but the average man has been honestly seeking and their sincerity and desire is evident in the things they left behind. A touching example of what I’m trying to explain occurred while at Bunratty. One of the features of Bunratty is an old country church and as I left the building I passed a woman holding the hand of a toddler going into the church and as she stepped over the threshold she crossed herself. I was touched by her reverence. In this historical setting—in a church no longer used for religious purposes but for educational and entertainment—she honored the Person the building was intended to honor.

The Irish Night at Bunratty

That night D8 (she was an incredible tour guide!) had arranged for us to attend a traditional Irish night at the Bunratty corn barn which was delightful (another understatement!). We were served dinner by the entertainers. Most people had traditional Irish stew, but I had a vegetable tart which melted in my mouth and lingered so that if I close my eyes and concentrate I can still taste it. Between courses and after the dinner, the waiters and waitresses performed traditional Irish songs and dances. One of the dancers was the European National Dance Champion and they were all very talented. We laughed, sang along, and enjoyed every minute.

Me kissing the Blarney Stone

We didn’t get back to our cottage until midnight and so Wednesday we slept in a bit and then headed for Cork where we kissed the Blarney Stone—something I’ve heard about all my life yet knew nothing about. The stone is the top stone of a castle window (Blarney Castle) and is about four or five stories above ground! You slide under it, upside down, and kiss it in order to be blessed with the gift of eloquence. As I dangled upside down and backwards and saw the earth far below me I wondered who in the world had made up all this malarkey! Getting back up was the hard part. Dizzy is an understatement, but I survived!

The wee spot of light defines the B. Stone.

We returned to Cahir, which is the nearest village to where we are staying and wanted to find a place to have traditional fish and chips. When we asked a policeman where there were any, he laughed at us and pointed out the two best places to eat—one an Italian restaurant and the other in the old Chair hotel. We did finally find someplace that sold fish and chips, but it was served to us by a Moldavian who spoke broken English with a heavy accent. So much for cultural distinctiveness. They used to say the US was a melting pot, but now the whole world has become a melting pot.

Thursday we saw the local sights, a fascinating cave, Cahir castle, and a Swiss cottage. Friday D8 Carl and I went on to Dublin to see Newgrange and the book of Kells at Trinity College, which I’ve already told you about.

As I’ve said over and over, this has been a dream come true. I’ve wanted to see Ireland since I was a little girl reading about leprechauns and now I’ve seen it. The surprising thing is that most things I dream about for years like that turn out to be a disappointment—less than the dreams. But Ireland exceeded my expectations. I’ve learned so much (even more about living in Truth which I’ll share later) and enjoyed every moment. I hope all of your dreams come true in the same way! It is sad to see this come to an end, but as the Irish say, “All happy endings are beginnings as well."