Pick Your Jersey

A good friend of mine gave me a quote that had to do with sports-so it is instantly awesome of course. What gave me more reason to like it is the message it gives:

"The future of this world has long been declared, the final outcome between good and evil is already known. There is no question as to who wins because the victory has already been posted on the scoreboard. The only really strange thing in all of this is we are all still down here on the field trying to decide which team's jersey we want to wear." Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

 This game isn't going to be a nail-biter, no instant replay required. The outcome is already posted, the articles are written, the post-game show is about to begin. It's over. Good is the winner. Now, the question is who wants to be a part of it?

I've had my successes in sports, and know what it is like to see the scoreboard with the clock at all zeros and the score in your favor.That is definitely not a time when you want to take off your jersey and go switch with the kid on the other team. I can honestly say that I never felt that way... ever. When the game is over, and you know you are the victor, you are on to bigger and better things.

We have such a great advantage now as we play this game called life. We have the stat-sheet, the playbook, and the best Coach in the universe. The other guys don't stand a chance! All we have to do is listen to the Coach, His assistants, and our teammates. If we do that, we win, no matter what. It sounds pretty easy, but we have a few decisions to make, and plays to run on our part first.

A big problem is that we don't remember getting subbed in. When we got here the game was well into play, the fourth quarter had already started. It took us some time to get our barrings, but we had help. A family trained us up on the ins and outs of what we were supposed to do, and we were off to the races-some a little more clumsily than others.

At times we have been wearing the right jersey, at others not so much. No matter how hard we try we cannot wear both jerseys at the same time. We cannot serve 'two masters' (see 3 Nephi 13:24 and Mathew 6:24) As Elder Holland said it truly is strange how often we keep jumping back and forth. No matter, our Coach understands. He sees our weaknesses and knows our strengths. He won't put us in a situation that we can't handle, so trust Him, and stay on His side.



Ultimately it's black or white. We need to pick our jersey. We can pick God and win, or we can pick the Devil and lose. All of our choices can be boiled down to these two teams, so which will you choose?

Don't forget, we know who the winner is going to be already.

The Bus Driver

We had just finished eating at a Taco Bell, when I saw a bumper sticker on the back of a mini van that caught my eye. It read:

'It's ok, I'm a School Bus Driver, all my problems are behind me.'

Now my first reaction to this was a chuckle of course--I've been there. The minute I would step onto those giant yellow playgrounds I'd  unconsciously give myself permission to have at it - race to the back seat, defend it till death, or at least settle for the isle seat, and get ready for the awesome trip ahead. Needless to say, I do not have 'bus driver' on my list of 'Stuff i'd like to do for a living'. Kudos and a plate of cookies to all those bus drivers out there...

Anyways, my life has been so enveloped in tying all things to a spiritual aspect lately that I began pondering the attitude about life that this phrase could imply. 'All my problems are behind me'. At times I make mistakes-ok, most of the time I make mistakes, but then I try and fix those and move on, leaving those problems behind me. I learn from those mistakes and in that sense they remain at the back of my mind (or bus) so that I don't go through it again, but I continue down my road that is called life.



Me with some of the squirts
 at my High School Graduation



Now i'm not saying children are my problems, I don't have any yet, and I would never consider the 11 (two pending, and one I haven't met yet) neices and nephews I have as problems. I have had the little squirts climb all over me, but love them to death. These 'problems' I refer to are the ones we all know about, and have.

Sometimes I make mistakes and put them right on the windshield, puting my entire focus upon them and not letting go, other times I just let them off at the next stop, just so I can pick it right back up the next time around and go through the process all over again. What i'm getting at is learning, letting go, and living on.

I am thankful for the gift from God called repentance. I love the fact that I can change for the better, that not one of us need to dwell upon the fact that we messed up. What a glorious hope-filled message, the opportunity to change. To become closer, and more like, God, who does not mess up. The fruits of repentance that are so wonderful inspire us to share it with others. (see 1 Nephi 8:11) To repent we must simply acknowledge we did something wrong, admit to God-in the name of Jesus Christ-we did wrong, ask for forgiveness, then learn from that mistake and do your best to never do it again. If you have never tried this, do it! I know that forgiveness is available to all of us, and that we all have the ability to put our problems behind us, and move on down our paths with the joy and potential God has in store for each one of us.

So when life gives you problems, be a school bus driver, and move on down the road.

Go and Build an Ark

I came across a quote the other day that turned out to be a little bit more of a learning experience than I had expected.

"Remember, professionals built the Titanic, and amateurs built the ark." Authur Unkown (let me know if you find out)

Now you and I both know the results of these two massive ships that were built in years past. But why were the results so different? The professionals mentioned above who built the Titanic were the best of the best--a crew of highly experienced ship builders who began the project of creating the largest passenger steamship in the world. Noah was commanded to build a ship with his sons to save his family and many animals from the flood, who knows how much experience he had at accomplishing such a task, if any at all. The Titanic sank just four days into it's very first journey. The Ark stayed afloat for nearly a year, saving all who were aboard.

Now how the heck did that happen?

Noah, of course, had a bit of an advantage. Though he was not an elite engineer of modern times. He was a God fearing man who trusted in His God to help him accomplish the great task he had been commanded to do (Genesis 6:22). Noah knew that when God says He is going to do something, it will happen. So he acted accordingly. Now what did I learn from this?

Often in my life I try to build Titanics. I try to create something so big, great, wonderful, and world pleasing, just to have it 'sink' on me four days later. Does that ever happen to you? I am always puzzled as to why that happens after the hard work I put into it, just to have it not happen. Whether it be a State Championship, or a doodle, stuff happens. How this quote helped me is knowing that when it is God's will, it happens. No matter what it is, or who I am, it works out.

We don't have a knowledge of what Noah's ark really looked like, just that God told him to, it was air tight, and it held a ton of stuff. Maybe the people at the time scoffed and scorned because it wasn't made of the most elegant wood, or didn't have a cool name painted on the side. Noah could have done anything to that boat, and someone still would have had something negative to say. Just like with anything you or I do, it will never meet everyone in the world's expectation. Bummer. There will always be the 'coffee shop crew' who will critique your last game, or the stiff professor who doesn't believe in a 100% paper. Our job is to be satisfied with our best, and then move on.

Knowing that my best is good enough to God is more important than trying to make my best good enough for so-and-so. Don't try to be a professional, just be a Noah-an obedient follower of God. As you do so, your efforts are made beneficial to you, others, and to God. Go to  God often and ask Him if your goals are things He would want you to do, then if they are He will show you how to do it. Once you know that God is on your side, there should be nothing stopping you from you going out and building that ark!