"Men and women who turn their lives over to God will discover that He can make a lot more out of their lives than they can. He will deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds, strengthen their muscles, lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities, comfort their souls, raise up friends, and pour out peace."
Spencer W. Kimball
"Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see the distant scene--one step enough for me."
Every time I sing these words, I am lead to question the sincerity with which I profess to desire to walk down uncertain paths. A good friend once observed that often times we prefer the certain path to the right path.
Sometimes I am surprised to hear someone speak in absolutely certain terms about a decision they have made about an important aspect of life that will not occur for months or years. I know, often times we talk about things in certain terms to avoid sounding shiftless.
But I wonder, should we? Or if we do talk about things in absolutely certain terms, should we also think about them unflinchingly? Or rather, should we think and talk about our lives in terms of the next step instead of the "distant scene" as is expressed in Lead, Kindly Light.
When the thought occurred to me (after I had taken the LSAT) that law school might not be the next step for me I was at first incredulous and disappointed. How could I have spent hundreds of hours preparing for something that would not lead to the originally desired outcome?
But then I realized that I was not prompted to be a lawyer, nor to go to law school, nor to apply for law school, but to prepare for law school.
Preparing for law school has provided a richness to my life and my education that has been unparalleled. It filled me with a renewed desired to apply myself to academics and to serve those around me which eventually lead me to intern in Washington, DC, an experience that forever changed my life.
I look forward to all that God has in store for me and all of those I love. Until I see the end, I will continue to make myself available for His wonderful blessings!
"I loved to choose and see my path; but now, Lead thou me on!"
The idea of whether or not we should talk about plans in certain terms is really interesting. I think you're right about needing to have the humility and flexibility to change our plans as prompted. However, I do think it's important (as do you, I believe) to have plans to be changed in the first place. Living by seeing only one step at a time, and not the distant scene, doesn't mean that we can't or shouldn't have some goals or plans in mind to be preparing for. We should never spend our time simply waiting for the next step in life; there is always something we can be doing and contributing now in the Lord's service. Sometimes what we need to do now is prepare for the next step, and sometimes we don't know precisely what will come next, or far down the road, but we still need to move forward in faith.
ReplyDeleteI think that was a little scattered and lost its logic towards the end, but there you have it: the thoughts your thoughts prompted.