Once upon a time I was riding in the car and we were just going around the corner (maybe 100 yards) so I didn't fasten my seatbelt. The little bell that goes off to remind you to wear your sealtbelt started chirping (ding.......ding.......ding........ding........) and I ignored it because we were only going a short distance. Normally I fasten my seatbelt by the time it starts dinging but this time I was feeling somewhat rebellious and decided just to wait it out. To my surprise (and annoyance) the warning came faster and more persistent (DingDingDingDing!). No, I thought, we're almost there, I'll be fine without it. Finally, shortly before we arrived at our destination, the car went silent. No more ringing noise. We got out of the car and went on with our afternoon. But the thought that kept coming back was that there's a gospel analogy hidden in that experience... :)
Ignoring what you've been taught and what the Spirit is prompting you to do is known in the scriptures as being willfully rebellious. The seat belt reminder is like the warning voice of the Holy Ghost. If you're being disobedient, the Spirit will send you gentle promptings to change your behavior or course of action. If it's really important, the warnings will get more frequent and more persistent. (Sound familiar?) But just like the car alarm, if you ignore the Spirit long enough eventually it will go away and leave you to face the consequences of your actions.
So remember to buckle up...and follow the promptings of the Spirit!
Showing posts with label cars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cars. Show all posts
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Thursday, March 1, 2012
#10: Driver and Co-driver...it's a beautiful thing
Being a missionary brings lots of different experiences. For one thing, you're with the same person 24/7 for as long as you're assigned to work together. And you do everything with this person. Including driving. How does that work? Well let me tell you. In a normal car situation, you have a driver and a passenger. In a missionary car you have a driver and--are you ready for this?--a co-driver. Pretty exciting right? The driver is the one that's actually steering the car but the co-driver is there to help them navigate and to basically do whatever they can to make sure the driver gets where they need to go.
What does any of this have to do with you, you say? Well, let me tell you.
The other day we were driving around and I was giving my companion directions to our next appointment. See, I'm the co-driver and I'm the one with the map in hand so periodically I would tell her turn right at this stop sign...take a left at the next light...and so forth. It hit me that I was only giving her one direction at a time. I wondered if she was bothered by the fact that she really didn't know exactly where she was going. I didn't give her all of the details at once on how to get to our destination; I only gave her one turn at a time and she was fine with it. She knew that I would tell her when to turn and which direction to go when it was relevant for her to know and she was content to wait until it mattered.
Have you figured out where I'm going with this yet? Life is exactly like this! We have the best Co-driver in the universe to guide our decisions in life and He will get us where we're going one turn at a time. I didn't know a year ago that I would be serving a mission right now but I didn't need to know at the time. I don't know where I'll end up after my 18 months is done here but I don't need to know right now. When I get to the point where those decisions need to be made my Co-driver will speak up and let me know which direction to go. I just need to make sure that I'm keeping that line of communication open with Him so that when He speaks I can hear Him.
Have you checked in with your Co-driver lately?
What does any of this have to do with you, you say? Well, let me tell you.
The other day we were driving around and I was giving my companion directions to our next appointment. See, I'm the co-driver and I'm the one with the map in hand so periodically I would tell her turn right at this stop sign...take a left at the next light...and so forth. It hit me that I was only giving her one direction at a time. I wondered if she was bothered by the fact that she really didn't know exactly where she was going. I didn't give her all of the details at once on how to get to our destination; I only gave her one turn at a time and she was fine with it. She knew that I would tell her when to turn and which direction to go when it was relevant for her to know and she was content to wait until it mattered.
Have you figured out where I'm going with this yet? Life is exactly like this! We have the best Co-driver in the universe to guide our decisions in life and He will get us where we're going one turn at a time. I didn't know a year ago that I would be serving a mission right now but I didn't need to know at the time. I don't know where I'll end up after my 18 months is done here but I don't need to know right now. When I get to the point where those decisions need to be made my Co-driver will speak up and let me know which direction to go. I just need to make sure that I'm keeping that line of communication open with Him so that when He speaks I can hear Him.
Have you checked in with your Co-driver lately?
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
#3: Lean into the curves
This lesson learned may be a bit of a stretch so just go with me for a moment. I spent the other day with a different missionary companion than normal. We call these exchanges and the point is to learn from someone else's wisdom. Sister Powell was my exchange sister and we instantly connected over how much we have in common--namely, we both get carsick really easily. And it just so happened that our area was all mountains. If you're one of the fortunate ones that don't get carsick driving on mountain roads, send up a little prayer of thanks right now. I envy you. For those of you that get queasy just thinking about driving up a road filled with switchbacks, let me share the wisdom I gained from my weekend with Sister Powell:
Lean into the curves.
Simple right? I hadn't ever heard this advice before but I was definitely willing to try anything that might make driving more enjoyable. She told me to lean into the curves like you would if you were steering. So I tried it. It definitely took a conscious effort and I noticed two things right away. First, I noticed that it's instinctive to lean away from the curves. I had to remind myself to lean into the curves. The second thing I noticed is how much smoother the ride was when I did this. I didn't get nauseous at all! (this was a small miracle in and of itself by the way).
We were laughing about how that was the biggest lesson I learned the whole weekend--something that didn't even have to do with missionary work. As I thought about it later, I realized that there was a hidden meaning behind that advice. Just like traveling down the road, there are times in life when we're the passenger in a situation and there's someone else at the wheel. Whether it's your boss at work, your leader at church or your parents at home, there are times when someone else is driving and they take you around a curve in the road. When this happens, it's instinctive to lean away and say, no, we were going in another direction. You want to fight it. But if you lean into the curve--go with the change--things run a lot smoother. It takes conscious effort on our part, but by supporting our boss, leader, parent or whoever is driving we make the transition a much more pleasant experience and we are then free to enjoy the experience of arriving at our destination. So lean into the curve!
Lean into the curves.
Simple right? I hadn't ever heard this advice before but I was definitely willing to try anything that might make driving more enjoyable. She told me to lean into the curves like you would if you were steering. So I tried it. It definitely took a conscious effort and I noticed two things right away. First, I noticed that it's instinctive to lean away from the curves. I had to remind myself to lean into the curves. The second thing I noticed is how much smoother the ride was when I did this. I didn't get nauseous at all! (this was a small miracle in and of itself by the way).
We were laughing about how that was the biggest lesson I learned the whole weekend--something that didn't even have to do with missionary work. As I thought about it later, I realized that there was a hidden meaning behind that advice. Just like traveling down the road, there are times in life when we're the passenger in a situation and there's someone else at the wheel. Whether it's your boss at work, your leader at church or your parents at home, there are times when someone else is driving and they take you around a curve in the road. When this happens, it's instinctive to lean away and say, no, we were going in another direction. You want to fight it. But if you lean into the curve--go with the change--things run a lot smoother. It takes conscious effort on our part, but by supporting our boss, leader, parent or whoever is driving we make the transition a much more pleasant experience and we are then free to enjoy the experience of arriving at our destination. So lean into the curve!
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