I have been rethinking the concept of a jar filled with golf balls and then pebbles and then sand. What are the golf balls filled with? Just because space is allotted for a positive/productive thing does not necessarily make for a positive/productive space.
I recently read Mosiah 7:33
But if ye will turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart, and put your trust in him, and serve him with all diligence of mind, if ye do this, he will, according to his own will and pleasure, deliver you out of bondage.
I have read this verse many times but this last time was the first time "serve him with all diligence of mind" really stood out to me.
I remember once as a child sweeping the kitchen floor and my dad saying to me, "Don't just go through the motions..." I wasn't intentionally doing a poor job but I wasn't really putting thought into what I was doing. I started paying attention and noticed quite a few areas that needed re-sweeping.
Serving with all diligence of mind requires not just going through the motions. Filling a golf ball space appropriately requires presence, thought, effort...it requires diligence.
Another previously unpublished, and this time unfinished post:
prayer - April 27, 2015
"Imagine for moment you are in a lifeboat on the
ocean, with nothing but rolling waves in every direction, as far as the
eye can see. The boat is equipped with oars, but which direction would
you row? Now imagine you've caught a glimpse of land. Now you know the
direction you must go. Does seeing land give you both motivation and
purpose? People who don't maintain a clear sense of purpose are
drifters. Drifters allow the tides of the world to decide where they
are going." ("Living with Purpose: the Importance of 'Real Intent'",
Randall L. Ridd)
"...A man without a purpose is like a ship without a
rudder, never likely to reach home port. To us comes the signal; chart
your course, set your sail, position your rudder, and proceed."
("Guided Safely Home", President Thomas S. Monson)
"Living with Purpose" had been on my mind since hearing Brother Ridd's January 11, 2015 talk on the subject.
The visual of being on a lifeboat and not seeing land
vs. seeing land was especially strong to me. I thought, "If I were asked to
speak in church "purpose" is what I would like to speak about."
Mid-March I was asked to speak in church, fifteen minutes, the
topic of my choice. Perfect! Except, I didn't feel as though "purpose"
was what I wanted the focus of my topic to be. I asked my husband what
he would speak on. He
said, "Faith." My dad, "Obedience." My walking friend, "Depression."
My e-mail friend, "Loving others - especially those who have wronged
you." My good neighbor, "Gossip." What common thread was to be found
among these? And then I knew, I wanted to talk about prayer.
In
my study and preparation I was reminded of aspects of prayer that I
had not necessarily spent much time considering before...
I don't remember where I was headed with that post. I did go through my files and found a copy of the outline I used for my talk on prayer. Of which here is part:
Luke 22:42-44
reads:
42)
Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove
this cup from me: nevertheless not my will,
but thine, be done.
43)
And there appeared an angel
unto him from heaven, strengthening him.
44)
And being in an agony
he prayed more earnestly: and his
sweat was as it were great drops of blood
falling down to the ground.
Elder Bruce R. McConkie emphasizes “The Son of God
“prayed more earnestly”! He who did all things well, whose every word was
right, whose every emphasis was proper; he to whom the Father gave his Spirit
without measure; he who was the only perfect being ever to walk the dusty paths
of planet earth—the Son of God “prayed more earnestly,” teaching us, his
brethren, that all prayers, his included, are not alike, and that a greater
need calls forth more earnest and faith-filled pleadings before the throne of
him to whom the prayers of the saints are a sweet savor.”
This Mother's Day, 2017, I had a feeling of sadness wash over me while sitting in church. I offered a silent prayer asking for comfort. Small piece by small piece sadness eased and then this evening my sister-in-law, who has no children of her own but possesses a true mother heart, called from two states away to ask how I was doing. Talking to her gave completion to a prayer for comfort, answered through someone willing to serve Him with all diligence of mind.