Things That Are Mine

I should first begin by telling you that there are twelve apostles on the earth today, as there were in Jesus' time. They are special witnesses of His mission and His divinity.

One of those apostles is Elder D. Todd Christofferson. And Best Friend Boy loves him. He refers to him as "D-Todd" and is constantly extolling his praises.

Last year, Best Friend Boy took me with him to a fireside (which is a sort of religious or inspirational seminar) to hear "D-Todd" speak.

It was a great fireside. We listened and wrote down quotes and quivered with anticipation (well, I did not quiver, but I maintain that Best Friend Boy did). One of the things which I wrote down is the following: "Accept those things which are yours, and the pain will be taken from you and peace will come."

I am thinking about such things tonight. They're not nice things like ice cream cake and platypuses, but things that weigh me down, trip me up, and cause me to cry in my room for hours then rewrite all the lyrics to REO Speedwagon's "I Can't Fight This Feeling Anymore" to describe my exact emotions.

You know what I speak of. I speak of the things that make you sick to your stomach and add weariness to your heart. To even think about them is a bruise unto your soul. If you're anything like me, you've spent many hours on your knees praying for these things to disappear. Or for them to resolve themselves. Or for an idea of how to resolve them. Or, if nothing else, for you to change into the sort of person that can no longer be hurt by the things.

Accept those things that are yours, Elder Christofferson says, and the pain will be taken from you. Like when you have to get poked by a needle for one medical or another, bracing yourself only makes the experience more painful. It goes easier for you when you relax--when you accept what is happening instead of trying to resist.

Don't confuse this recommendation with an edict to be passive or complacent. I know many people who have been asked of God to wait for one blessing or another to come into their lives. So they wait--literally. They sit around, waiting for something to happen. And in the meantime, they do nothing at all.

But that isn't how Heavenly Father wants us to wait. After all, He says that we should bring to pass many good things of our own free will and choice. He prizes our abilities to choose and to act so much that He allows us to make our own decisions and bear the consequences. When we must wait, we must wait as actively as possible. We must learn, grow, and progress in the waiting. And when we must accept, we must accept actively. This means, perhaps, not only bearing but embracing the difficulties of the things that are ours. This means making the most of what we undergo and, when possible, using it to help instead of hurt us.

Am I talking rubbish? Are you utterly confused? Do you look at this post and think, "That's all well and good for you to say, Awkward Mormon Girl, but have you ever actually accepted such things as are yours?"

Well, yes. I have. A (very) few times, when faced with a situation that I wished would be taken from me, I accepted it, headed straight into it, and never looked back. At the time, I thought these experiences were painful, but when I stepped out of the shadow of these things and into the sunshine on the other side, I thought to myself, "Well, that wasn't so bad."