Left in the Dark?

The other night, we were driving to dinner, and their house was way out where there are no street lights.  Like way out where they lived on a dirt road.  Once we turned off the main highway, we needed to use our high beams to see better.  For some reason, we couldn't figure out how to get them to work.  We flipped every switch, pushed every button, and twisted every nob, but we still couldn't find how to turn them on.  So we spent a good while only being able to see about 10 feet in front of us.  I wouldn't recommend doing that, but don't worry, we eventually found out how to turn the high beams on.

Relating this experience to us, we're all driving in the dark through life so to speak.  We can see a few feet in front of us, but never the whole picture.  We can't let that keep us from continuing to move.  We'll find that as we push forward, God will give us more vision.  That's the only way to see more of the picture.  We know from Paul, we are supposed to "walk by faith, not by sight."  (2 Cor. 5:7).  When we have that mind set, we'll be able to fight through the night to the bright, white light (rhymes!).  Just as the wise men were guided by the star of Bethlehem, we will be guided by the light of Christ.  God will never leave us in the dark.  So find the faith inside to press forward and finish.  You will become firmer in your faith, deeper in desire, tougher in testimony.

Slow Down

There are very few music artists that I could listen to all day long.  Jack Johnson is one of them.  With his combination of acoustic and blues, it just sings to my soul.  Inaudible Melodies, an album and song by Jack Johnson, is a perfect example of his style.  There is a line in one of his songs that I sort of live by.  I'm a sort of 'go with the flow' kind of guy.  I don't like to rush, but sometimes there are so many things that we have to do in a day, that we are forced to rush.  Here's the start of the chorus of the song Inaudible Melodies:

Slow down everyone you're moving too fast
Frames can't catch you when you're moving like that

Are we moving too fast?  Is life too busy?  We often find ourselves are running here, there and everywhere.  We may think to ourselves, "Where has the time gone?"  Many times, our life is filled with so many activities and events that we don't have time to stop and focus on the things that really matter.  Addressing the same topic, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf said, "We would do well to slow down a little, proceed at the optimum speed for our circumstances, focus on the significant, lift up our eyes, and truly see the things that matter most."

There's nothing wrong with stepping back and slowing down.  With all of the different things we have to fit into our schedule, are we remembering to fit in those things that matter most?  Do we make it a point to put the precious things first in life, or is our life constantly cluttered so much that we cover those things up?  We must find the balance.  That is when we can excel.  May we all manage our minutes better to make room for those things that matter most.