Marathoners

It's been a marathon day. Not for me, but D4 came to town to run the Provo marathon and Mr. J and I drove the course getting to places just before her, staying long enough to take her picture, cheer her on and then we'd jump in the car and drive to the next convenient stopping place on the course.

I admire you runners! What a gruelling sport, but she finished in good time and it has been fun to have her in town for a few days.

I've learned a lot from watching her. The thing I admire most is that while there are a few marathon runners who run to win, the majority run to finish. Their goal is simply to say, "I did it!" We need more of that attitude in life. So many people would be so much happier if instead of comparing themselves to others and always feeling like they had to be best, they simple did what they wanted to do in the way they can do it best and then be happy because they did it. If more people were content with being themselves instead of trying to be better than someone else we'd make the world a better place!

D4 is on the left.

Way to go, D4! You did it! You are a person who runs!

Learning to Walk

When you watch a toddler learning to walk you notice the way he stumbles and falls, but at the same time in the back of your mind is a knowledge that this tripping and teetering is only temporary. You don’t look at the child and think “How terrible! This poor little thing is handicapped!” Often we even laugh right out loud at the awkward attempts and the stumbling which also testifies we know this is a temporary way to walk. We would never laugh if we thought this is how the child would always walk. No, we laugh because we know that within a few months the child will be running without the awkward flapping of arms and struggle to keep balanced. We watch the child with eyes that not only see what is, but eyes that know what will be.

That’s how God looks at us.

So why do we get so upset at ourselves, feel overwhelmed, and consider giving up as we learn to walk the path of righteousness? Yes, we stumble and sometimes we fall, but God looks at us like we look at the toddler. He sees what we are and He sees what we will be. He's as patient with us as we are with toddlers. He doesn't expect us to run the first time He stands us on our spiritual feet.

All we need to do is trust in Him, get back up when we fall, and continue on the path.

I'm Learning Not To Be Afraid To Fail

One of the reasons I am so excited about my new book is because during the last seven years everything I’ve tried to do has failed. I worked so hard to get my PhD and then tried three times to be hired as a full time professor only to be passed over every time. I wrote three other books that were rejected. A Christmas cantata that a friend and I wrote has been repeatedly rejected. I wrote the lyrics and narration, and my friend wrote the music which is absolutely beautiful, but we can’t get anyone (even our wards) to use even one of the songs. I can understand why they wouldn’t want to do the whole cantata, but one song? And then there have been lots of other little things that have constantly been very disappointing.

I don’t bring this up so you’ll feel sorry for me. Please no! I bring this up because there have been some very important things I have learned from this experience. I can honestly say I don’t regret one moment of trying. Sometimes in the past I’ve talked myself out of pursuing a dream or a goal because I felt like it was too hard or could never happen. But what I’ve learned these last seven years is that even if you try and fail, you still come out ahead. I’ve learned things I never would have learned any other way. I’ve met new friends. I’ve felt myself stretch and be strengthened and that strength is still mine even though the goals were never reached. It's been like training for a weight lifting contest. I didn't win the contest, but my muscles are much stronger now because of the training.

Learning what I am capable of doing has surprised me. But most of all I have the personal satisfaction of knowing that I gave things my best shot. I did all I could. I don’t have a nagging feeling inside me that I was a quitter or that I might have succeeded if I’d just tried. I did it, learned, and moved on.

So if I seem over exuberant, please don’t think I’m bragging or being too prideful. I’m just happy that at last something has succeeded. But at the same time I wouldn’t change the past. For some reason, it was what I needed.

Persistence Power

Growing up my mother used to tell me the story of the little train pulling a large load at a time of crisis who accomplished the task by saying, “I think I can. I think I can. I think I can.” The little train saved the day and did what the large trains failed to do. Mother used the story to illustrate the importance of positive thinking. That’s great, but it is also an important lesson in the power of persistence.

We don’t usually think of persistence as a gospel principle, but it is.

After the Lord confounds the language of the people at the time of the Tower of Babel, we are told that the Jaradites are led to a new home. As the Lord tells the Brother of Jared about the Promised Land He is leading them to, he says, “And there will I bless thee and thy seed, and raise up unto me of thy seed, and of the seed of thy brother, and they who shall go with thee, a great nation. And there shall be none greater than the nation which I will raise up unto me of thy seed, upon all the face of the earth. And thus I will do unto thee because this long time ye have cried unto me” (Ether 1:43). For some reason, in some circumstances, the Lord wants us to persist in our prayers and pleadings.

So what does that mean? It means we shouldn’t get discouraged because our prayers aren’t answered immediately. It means we shouldn’t give up praying for things we need or want just because our prayer hasn’t been answered yet. It means that there is something important for us to learn by being persistent in our prayers. And who know what else there may be to learn from this. In short, it means, hang in there! Who knows what great blessings are ahead!