Roots

Well, another year has flown right on by.  I'm 1 year older and hopefully a little wiser too.  My birthday fell on a fast Sunday this year.....along with every other time it falls on a Sunday.  It was a little funny getting all the birthday wishes of "an amazing, fun filled day."  There's only so much fun to be had on such a day, but it was still a great way to celebrate.  I had just come from a trip to Orlando, FL to see my nephew sealed in the temple and then I headed off to the woods for girls camp.  The older I get, the more I experience "at one ment" - aka- the atonement.  I had some pretty amazing experiences that I will try to go into over the next few posts - and I'm sure I'll fit some in on this one as well.  I have had many experiences being at one or in line with the will of God.  I also got a new calling on my birthday.  I can't talk about it yet on the off chance someone is reading this, but it is something I have been wanting and I couldn't be more excited for the challenge and the blessings that will come with it.

Back to the birthday.  I got an early bday present from my beloved.  He wanted me camping in style so he presented me with this outfit.

I posted the pic on my fb page with the caption "girl's camp, here I come" to help get the girls and other leaders excited and my brother responded with: "you can take the girl out of Cowlitz county..."  Oh my goodness, I really did laugh out loud when I read that.  I'll admit it, I'm a tomboy....always have been, always will be.

While up at camp, I was sporting a cowboy hat and so was my daughter.  I developed the nick name of "bret michaels."  I have had the song, "every rose has it's thorn" stuck in my head since wed.  I don't think bret would be caught dead in camo though.....now if I were wearing some skinny jeans and a t-shirt....oh and don't forget the bandana on my head under the hat,  it would have been more accurate.  I'm also sad to admit that he makes a prettier girl than me.  But, hey Jack - I was totally identifiable among the hoards of women and girls.

Now, to the eluded to context of this post, roots.  A few days before I got on an airplane to FL I was working my shift in the temple.  I went to go relieve the person who was already in the celestial room and it ended up being our Stake YW president.  We chatted a bit about camp before she made her way to the door to leave her post and end her shift.  As she was opening the door I mentioned that if I could help in any way, I would love to since I would already be up there for the week. She had been scrambling to try and find a 1st year level leader since the one they had ended up not being able to go.   She had a back up plan that she was hoping would work out but admitted that running into me might have been an answer to prayer - at one ment. 

As my daughter would say: dun, dun , dun.......she called me Monday night and asked if I really could help her out.  I told her that I would but that I wasn't much use in the preparation stage because I was getting on a plane wed morning and wouldn't be returning until Mon night and then Wed morning we headed out for camp.  It added a bit of stress and pressure, but I am very comfortable working on the fly, so I really wasn't that worried.  I've been to enough camps and done enough certification that I knew I could pull something out of my tush and make it all work.  

One of the requirements was a 3 mile hike.  We had to hike 1 mile into the lake and weren't allowed any wheeled assistance at all.  We had something like 20 inflatable canoes that we had to hike that mile up a gentle hill, but hill no less.  I'm not gonna lie, I was a bit bugged about this part of the camp.  The beginning of this trail was also where the bathrooms were, so after that, it was peeing in the woods.  After hiking all the canoes up (which our ward did the majority of) we had to inflate them all with hand pumps (which we took control of again and did- or it wasn't going to get done).  1st years were first up for the canoes and then we went on another mile hike where I was again carrying everything I needed for all the certification.  

My body is that of an 80 year old right now.  I've written about my trials and they really haven't eased much, so all this carrying and hiking was not going well.  I was praying for the strength to not cry or give up and then not be in a bad mood once we got to the meadow we were hiking to for the other certification that needed to be done.  Some of my very sweet girls took pity on me and helped me carry my supplies. 

It was about half way thru the hike that we came upon this tree.  It had me thinking for the rest of the hike and on the way back, I stopped and had my pic taken with it.  There were several trees down all thru the forest but this one and another one we saw were the most impressive.  They were massive trees.  You could see why the trees fell.  Their roots went out and not down.  While they were standing tall there was no outward sign of trouble....at least not to someone unexperienced in the stability of trees.  All of it's tree friends probably looked up to the tree because of it's size and then one day after facing one too many storms, it fell to the ground.  (yes that is a fanny pack - It carried my water bottle - don't judge - it was very practical).

It got me thinking about roots and stability and the real things of importance in this life.  I shared this analogy with my yw as we looked at the tree.  Yesterday during sacrament meeting one of the leaders shared that the older she gets, the simpler her testimony gets.  She related it to my tree analogy and how she doesn't need complicated things - things that make your roots go out, but she only needed the simple things that made her roots go down deep into the soil.  This then prompted our scout master to get up and bear testimony of the divinity of trees and their purpose in teaching us important truths of the gospel and I was mentioned again.  Twice over the pulpit for my birthday - which made me feel really uncomfortable.  I had planned on getting up myself but decided against it since I had already been mentioned 2x, I thought it would appear to be a little too self serving at that point.  

So how do you keep from being like those who appear to be spiritual giants and then fall?  That's tough because a lot of people appear to be doing the things necessary to getting those roots deep into the soil.  Anytime I try and google anything about the church you read responses by people who used to be seminary teachers, stake presidents, area authorities etc...who now all have "seen the light" and left the evilness of the church behind for xyz reasons.  Some of the reasons are comical and some are just sad, but how do you keep that from happening to yourself.  I believe the first step is knowing that at anytime that could be you and anything could take you down.  

I'm going to admit something that I didn't want to talk about because I don't want my issues to be a stumbling block for someone else.  I'm not going to go into much detail but just enough so that you can see that everyone has an achilles heel.  I was completely surprised to discover what mine was.  There is nothing in church history, there is no amount of discord among current members (amnesty, same gender attraction, women in priesthood etc) that will bring me down.  No nepotism or church policy that will shake me to my core, but apparently something as simple as a video at the temple was almost enough to make me want to stop going.  It was ridiculous and I had to use the atonement to get over it.  I couldn't stop complaining and talking bad about it and had to really put myself in check over the entire matter.  Luckily it was something that I overcame by pleading for new eyes, but there it was, my achilles heel.    So, if you are feeling confident that nothing could ever take you down, think again!

Really, the only thing that will get those roots down deep is taking your spiritual knowledge from unto to into (Elder Bednar).  It's got to get into your heart and change you.  If you sound like a professional concerning all things doctrinal, but haven't had a mighty change of heart, your roots are going out and not down.  If you are going to the temple but having a miserable experience, your roots are going out.  You could also not be gaining the full blessings of the temple if you are not doing the work for your own ancestors.  If you are going to church and spending your time gossiping in the hallways or playing on your phone the entire time, your roots are going out.  If you are going vt, but all you care about is presenting pinterest type things and not taking the time to care about and serve, your roots are going out.  *this is starting to sound like a "you might be a redneck" comedy bit.  haha, but seriously.  We are a work in progress and "becoming" who we were born to be takes time and work and we are going to spend a good deal of time feeling like we are falling short, but during the process we should be making progress towards getting those roots down deep.  

Another way to get those roots down deep is to do hard things.  Hike a mountain with a defective body and not give up.  Be willing to take on work that no one else seems willing to do like carrying all the canoes and inflating them.  When others are standing around during a service project, be the one that is working their tush off.  (John Bytheway has a good test for someone date worthy -look around at a service project for those who are actually working and pick from them)  It's times like those when you see others standing around while you are killing yourself that make you dig deep.  It is also in those moments when you feel the best about yourself.  Another way to get those roots down deep is to not complain about the ones standing around or complain about leaders that ask us to do stupid or impossible things.....be part of the solution, not the problem - and boy that's a toughy sometimes.....ok....most times.

A simple question to ask yourself would be "do I treat my membership in the church as something precious and valuable to me?"  Elder Holland said something along the lines of it being great having every member a missionary, but we need every member to be a member.

With each year that goes by I realize just how little time I have left to get my children suited up in the Armor of the Lord.  I can help them by showing them my dedication to what I believe.  How precious what I believe is to me.  How it has value over other things we could be doing with our time.  

Family is important.  Not just family time for the sake of family time, but meaningful and heart altering time.  Supporting our family members on missions with letters.  Attending their weddings even if that means that will be our vacation for the year.  Working on family history together as a family.  Not only reading, but studying the scriptures as a family.  Working towards having more meaningful prayer.  Encouraging our children to do hard things.  Encouraging our children to be part of the solution, not the problem.  Giving our all to our callings and service to the Lord.  Practicing using our spiritual muscles and providing as many opportunities for my kids to have spiritual experiences and helping them to recognize them.  We are in the process of building our eternity and we don't have a moment to spare.  I don't find that overwhelming (sure, yes at times when I listen to the wrong voice) but I find it exciting because the more I focus on the right things, the more power I have to accomplish them.  With that increased power comes the realization that more and more things are possible that I never dreamed were and that I've spent a good deal of my time wasted.  I just have to remind myself that it's not a race and I just need to keep moving forward from where I am today.  I need to hold fast to the iron rod which is the word of God.  I think of the iron rod more as the hand of Christ.  He will keep holding onto my hand no matter what, I'm the only one with the power to keep holding on or to let go.  The Old Testament talks a lot about God's hand being outstretched even when the people are choosing wickedness.  Like a mother beckoning her child away from danger and toward the safety of her hand.  

Holding on tightly to the word of God will make the roots of my testimony grow deep into the rich soil so that I can withstand the storms of life.  The ability to withstand the storms will ensure my family will be with me throughout eternity dwelling with our Father in Heaven - where we can report to him that we served honorable missions.