Pushing

An institute teacher told this story and I loved it so I decided to share:

A man was sleeping at night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light and the Savior appeared. The Lord told the man he had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might.

This the man did, day after day. For many years he toiled from sun up to sun down, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing it with all his might. Each night the man returned to his cabin sore, and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain.

Noticing that the man was showing signs of discouragement, the adversary decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into the man’s weary mind. “You have been pushing against this rock for a long time, and it hasn’t budged. Why kill yourself over this? You are never going to move it.” Thus giving the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure. These troubling thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man. “Why kill myself over this?” I’ll just put in my time, giving just the minimum effort and that will be good enough.

And that is what he planned to do until one day he decided to make it a matter of prayer and take his thoughts to the Lord. “Lord” he said, “I have labored long and hard in your service, putting all my strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even been able to budge that rock. What is wrong? Why am I failing?”

The Lord responded compassionately, “My friend, When I asked you to serve me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come to me with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. But, is that really so?”

“Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back sinewy and brown, your hands are callused from constant pressure, and your legs have become massive and hard. Through opposition you have grown much and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. Yet you haven’t moved the rock. But your calling was to be obedient and to push and to exercise your faith and trust in my wisdom. This you have done. I, my friend, will now move the rock.”

At times, when we hear a word from God, we tend to use our own intellect to decipher what He wants, when actually what God wants is simple obedience and Faith in Him…



Read more at Story : Push against the Rock

Rose on the Gray

A couple of weeks ago I was wandering around the neighborhoods south of BYU campus, when I saw something that intrigued my mind. Along the side of an unattractive, brown apartment complex were rose bushes with stems browned and petals dried from the chilly weather. But, amazingly enough, those stems still had roses. And maybe it was just the lack of all other flowers this time of year, but these roses were beautiful: a deep, crackly red, with a dry yellow on the outside edges.

It surprised me to see such beauty on a snowless winter day; especially in a neighborhood of run-down houses and apartment complexes. True, if I had seen those roses on a glorious summer day, they would have paled in comparison to the beauty of the flowers around them, but on this crisp winter day, they glowed with a beauty all their own.

And isn’t life like that? Sometimes your circumstances make it difficult to *bloom at all, but in those cases, the smallest amount can go a long way. Even having the courage to stand there and say, “Just because it’s winter doesn’t mean I’m not going to bloom” can make a difference. And while your blooms at this time of your life may not be as beautiful as they would be in the summer, they are beautifully inspiring for being there at all.

So, when you feel that you are in the winter of your life, don’t be ashamed that you can’t bloom like your summer-time neighbor. Be proud that you’re strong enough to bloom at all.

*Bloom (verb): Pronunciation: /bluːm/

1. To bear flowers; to be in flower, come into flower; to blossom.

In defiance of the cruel climate, the rose bloomed beautifully all year.

2. To come into full beauty; to be in fresh beauty and vigour; to flourish.

The old woman, despite her gray hair and wrinkles, bloomed with a strength seen only in those who have lived long and hard.

3. To glow with warm colour.

Despite the harsh cold, the rose petals bloomed with color vibrant against their browned stems.

4. To give a bloom to; to colour with a soft warm tint or glow.

The girl’s cheeks bloomed with the seriousness of living.

** Pictures found using Google images. Definitions from OED online.