Words to Live By

A story was told at church today that really struck me. It was a simple illustration of how the choices we make when we are young- the ones that seem like absolutely nothing at all at the time- can direct the path that we take as we move along through life. The talk given was on agency and the story revolved around the speaker’s seemingly small decisions to keep the Sabbath Day holy. He shared a couple of the small decisions he made early on that led to later on down the road- when life was significantly harder and more stressful- and the man was in dental school with a wife and small children, and he found that his previous choices had created for himself a pattern that allowed him to maintain Sunday as a day of rest. A day to spend with his family and to meditate- instead of a make up day to study or get other things accomplished. He shared what a blessing that had been in his life.

The man spoke plainly and he spoke the truth- so what he said really struck me as a profound example of the importance of small, consistent choices in all that we choose to do. It was a reminder to me that it matters how we spend our free time and it matters how seriously we approach daily prayer and scripture study. It also was a reminder to me that I need to be much, much better.