Tonight I read:
Matthew 26: 37-39
37 And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and abegan to be sorrowful and very heavy.
39 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and aprayed, saying, O my bFather, if it be possible, let this ccup pass from me: nevertheless not as Idwill, but as ethou fwilt.
All of the pictures of Gethsemane show Christ humbly kneeling by a rock praying in Gethsemane. That is not the picture the scriptures paint. He was sorrowful unto death. He fell on his face. He begged 3 times if there was any other way. The mental and emotional anguish, sorrow, depression, suffering he felt that night caused his body to bleed from every pore. He intimately knows our pain, sorrow, & suffering. He knows each of us by name.
Doctrine & Covenants 19: 16-19
17 But if they would not repent they must asuffer even as I;
18 Which asuffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might bnot drink the bitter cup, and shrink.
19 Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and afinished my preparations unto the children of men.
I read this talk for the first time on my mission in Chile. I still have a copy of it in Spanish in my journal. It hit me with such power, I still choke up reading it.
The song for today is
I want to include this song - "I Stand All Amazed". I grew up singing this song. I have sang this song so many times to my kiddos as I have tucked them in at night, it has become part of my testimony.
In the past, we have packed away all of the Christmas ornaments, leaving only the lights and the Christ or Nativity ornaments. We would clean up and throw away all the mess from presents & stockings. For me it was symbolic of laying aside the worldly trappings and spending the day thinking of Christ and his ultimate gift for us. I have really loved having a "nativity" tree for the last few days of Christmas and having the house surrounded with Nativities.
Many years we talk about repentance. Christ himself said "For behold, I, God, have asuffered these things for all, that they might not bsuffer if they would crepent;" Repentance is one of those very deep wells that I know I only understand the surface. I always remember my 11 yr. old Sunday School teacher, Bro. Holden, who taught me the 5 R's (or steps) of Repentance: Recognize, Remorse, Repent, Restitution, & Never Repeat.
This year I came home. I had my devotional book in my carry on so I read it and thought about it throught out the day. Planes and me don't seem to get along lately and after hours of delay, bump, transfer, & re-connection, I made it home last night after 18 hours of travel. I made some interesting observations. First, no one makes me get home. There are many people there who will help me, but it is up to me to ask for their advice, direction and counsel and then do it. Second, it is very easy to mindlessly waste my life. In the airport there is so much sitting and waiting, but I realized that is up to me as well. I can always find excuses not to change. I did a little experiment on the way home and suddenly a long, boring, waste of a day trip turned into a meaningful day. It wasn't any big deal except my attitude changed and then my actions and in turn, blessed my life and others. And lastly, I came home to beautiful, white snow. I love to see fresh snow late at night, when it is fresh and clean and glistens in the moonlight. I thought of what it means to come home spiritually. Anyway, those were some of my jumbled thoughts for today.
Today's Red Envelope - RYAN COMES HOME!!!! I am so excited to see him.
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