Well, it's about time I start writing again. It's so easy to forget all about something when the rush of life hits you and your priorities become jumbled. I'm so grateful for my husband Garrett and his example. We had a great talk on Saturday night about our priorities and making sure we do regular scripture study and prayer and Garrett has been such a good example to me for the past few days about doing both of those things. :)
In my recent study I read an article from the Ensign titled, Start Moving, by Elder Von G. Keetch. I would like to summarize his words. He tells a story of smoke jumpers (men and women who fight forest fires by parachuting onto the ground above fire and fighting it from the top down while others fight from below). During one assignment an elite team was assembled for a briefing before jumping out of the airplane. The dispatcher told the jumpers that the fire was very volatile so he could not give them precise instructions, rather they should contact him by radio once they had parachuted onto the ridge. Once there he would give them instructions on how to fight the fire.
The team landed and followed instructions; they called the dispatcher but there was no signal, only static. Assuming the dispatcher was busy with other tasks they waited and tried again. Five minutes passed with nothing. The group conferred with each other. They could see multiple paths down the mountain that they could take, however they were concerned they didn't have direction from the dispatcher and were worried they would go down the wrong path. So, they decided to wait. Soon minutes turned into hours. They were frustrated. Why wasn't the dispatcher paying attention to them? During their wait time they consistently tried to contact the dispatcher, but there was no answer. If he would just tell them the path to take they would happily go. He said he would give them instructions.
Finally, after the group had eaten lunch and rested on their packs for 7 hours, they made contact with someone. It was a crew chief from the group fighting the fire below. He was shocked that the group was just sitting there and that they hadn't been helping. The lead smoke jumper explained that they were waiting on instructions from the dispatcher, but that they hadn't been able to reach him. They had been vigilant in trying to contact him, but they only got static. The crew chief took the radio from the jumpers and walked 50 yards down one of the paths and called the dispatcher. The dispatchers voice came in loud and clear. He then walked back to the ridge and down another path and called the dispatcher. Again the voice came back loud and clear. The crew chief hiked back to the smoke jumpers and said, "You are in a dead spot. All you had to do was start moving down one of the trails and the dispatcher could have given you course corrections and brought you to the the right spot where we needed you".
Elder Keetch goes on to relate this story to times when we are in spiritual dead spots. We sometimes acts as the smoke jumpers did. When we are in unfamiliar territory and have several paths to choose from we wait for our spiritual dispatcher, Heavenly Father, to tell us what path to choose. President Packer teaches that, "We are expected to use the light and knowledge we already possess to work out our lives. We should not need a revelation to instruct us to be up and about our duty for we have been told to do that already in the scriptures; nor should we expect revelation to replace the spiritual or temporal intelligence which we have already received. We must go about our life in an ordinary, workaday way, following the routines and rules and regulations that govern life".
Elder Keech teaches that as we press forward along the path we have chosen, we are in a better position to receive course corrections the Lord may have for us. But, if we just plop down on the ridge we may find ourselves in a spiritual dead spot. He testifies that the best and clearest direction comes now when we are just waiting for Heavenly Father to send us help and guidance, but when we are anxiously engaged. His challenge is this: Prayerfully and carefully use your own intelligence and your own resources to choose a path that seems right to you. Then become anxiously engaged in walking that path. When the time for course correction comes, He will be there to help you and to guide you.
I was really grateful for this article! I know that I needed it. Since moving back from Hawaii and starting a new chapter of our lives in Utah Garrett and I have so many paths to choose from. From apartments to jobs to cars and so forth. We are basically changing everything about our lives and it has been so difficult for me to make choices about what to do. I find myself looking on ksl or craigslist everyday for apartments and cars only to end the day with no results. I keep waiting to get an answer about what we should do. Where we should move, how many cars we should have, what loans we should take out for school, and so many other things.
I am grateful for this article because it reminded me that God loves me, but wants me to take charge of my life and actively make my own choices. While he does listen to my repeated prayers, he first expects me to use my intelligence and make the best choice I can. If I do head down the wrong path He will correct me and help me see which path I should be on.
My faith is strengthened and I have a new hope for the future. While I am still unsure about all the choices I have to make in the near future, I know that I need to take action and I will be guided as a do so.
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