Monday, November 3, 2008

Them good old boys

Today in Sunday School, we ended the lesson by thinking about that which we wanted most in life. The point was that we could pray for these things and enlist God's help. I don't always go rifling through the scriptures for a blank side of a paper, but I found myself doing just that and considering the things I wanted most. I pondered them off and on for the next few hours.

Tonight, at the CES fireside, Bishop H. David Burton's message was about what we were going to make of our lives and what manner of people we were to be. He offered examples of people who showed at an early age the type of person they were to become when they grew older. Naturally, I was considering these things and applying to my own life. Who was I and what was I going to become? What really mattered? I started comparing my list from Sunday School to the things I wanted to be and tried to figure out they intersect.

Then Bishop Burton made a very interesting point, that those who have goals and ambition are likely to become the type of person their Heavenly Father wanted them to be. I immediately felt reassured that I was on the right track. I have goals and I most certainly have ambition, and I felt in that moment that Heavenly Father approved of the things I am doing and where I am headed in my life.

We often worry what other people think of us. Do my parents approve? Am I pleasing my boss? What do my friends really think? And so on. However, the most important opinions are those of Heavenly Father and myself, and right now, I think we're both happy about me. It's a nice feeling.

The other thought that struck me during the talk was this:

Intelligence without ambition is like a bird without wings. -- Salvador Dali


I consider myself an intelligent person, and paired with ambition, it sounds like I, and many people I know, are a forced to be reckoned with. That's an excellent thought to start the week with.

2 comments:

Heidi said...

Wow. Good comments. I should have watched it...

My problem is intelligence without concrete direction. It's annoying, really, especially because I feel this PULL to do things, but at the same time I feel like I need to stay put for now. I'm afraid I'll miss something. *sigh*

I hope I can become who I need to be, but it feels like such a slog through the uncertainty. You're right, though--if it's good enough for Him, it's completely enough. :) Thanks.

Giggles said...

My Church weekend (we had Regional Conference, so adult session Saturday night, broadcast conference Sunday afternoon, and then the CES fireside) was a real good one for me. I can only tell you bits and pieces of what anyone said at any of the meetings, but several great discussions have come out of them, as well as some thoughts that started forming after bouncing around in my head for a long time now. My blog post today is part of what I put in my journal from the meetings today.

Some times we all just need a good meeting or two like that to give us that nudge to keep going.