Get in Shape

I can remember sitting in the Orthodontists office, knowing what was about to happen to me.  Pieces of metal were about to be glued onto my teeth.  Oh how I dreaded that day.  All I had heard about braces were how much they hurt and how you couldn't eat certain foods.  Neither of those two things were making me very excited about getting my braces on.

It's true, the braces did hurt.  Especially the first couple of days that they were on.  Once I surpassed the first week, I could hardly feel that they were there.  My teeth had been pushed and pulled into where they need to be.  Then comes the next appointment and I went through it again.  Little by little, my teeth became super straight and I was left with a dynamite smile.

This is how the Lord works with us.  He puts strain on us, just like the braces do on teeth, and shapes us into what he wants us to become.  Elder Richard G. Scott said, "When those trials are not consequences of your disobedience, they are evidence that the Lord feels you are prepared to grow more.  He therefore gives you experiences that stimulate growth, understanding, and compassion, which polish you for your everlasting benefit."  The Lord can see our full potential and knows what we can become.

Being shaped into what the Lord wants isn't a walk in the park.  We must be put into the refiners fire, so to speak, and be tested.  Elder Scott continues, "To get from where you are to where [The Lord] wants you to be requires a lot of stretching, and that generally entails discomfort and pain."  We must be pushed and pulled, just like our teeth, to be able get where the Lord wants us.  Yes, it will be hard at times, but once we see how dynamite our smile is, it'll be worth it.  All we have to do is put our trust in the Lord, and he'll mold us into the best person we can be.

The Comfort Zone

The Comfort Zone, not to be confused with the Twilight Zone...okay, terrible joke.  Everyone wants to be comfortable.  Whether it be in comfortable clothes, around comfortable people, or on a comfortable couch, comfort is always on our mind.  I'm not going to lie, I like to be comfortable.  As I've been on my mission, I've had to step out of my comfort zone countless numbers of times.  It's made me appreciate those times. 

Think of life if it were always comfortable.  Would we live life to it's fullest?  Would we reach our maximum potential?  Would we even be happy?  I've thought about this a lot of times.  Why is life sometimes uncomfortable?  We have to be put in situations where we're not comfortable in order to learn and grow.  If everything was the same all the time, we couldn't advance in life.  We have to step out of our comfort zone to expand it. 

Think of a muscle.  The only way for the muscle to get stronger is to strain, test, and try it.  In other words, get it out of its comfort zone.  It may be tough at the time, but the strength recieved from it will benefit you for the rest of your life. 

Escaping our comfort zone gives us happiness in this life.  Think of a time when you were doing something that was very difficult.  It could be learning a new song on guitar, beating the next level in a video game, beating your personal best time in a race, or earning an A in a class at school.  Do you remember how happy you were once you reached the goal?  The more difficult the task, the more satisfying the reward.  One of my favorite quotes is, "I never said it would be easy, I only said it'd be worth it."

Nothing in life that's worth having comes easy.  To be able to enjoy life to its fullest, we have to step out of our comfort zone.  We're not alone when we do it though.  Our Savior Jesus Christ is always there with us and will always be there to help us, but it starts with us.