Lakes, Swimming, and Trusting in the Lord

Last summer I spent as much time as possible at the lake. I love swimming – and mountains, and lakes – and there was something about lying on my back in the water, completely relaxed, not worried about work or friends or even about drowning, that soothed all my stresses away. But I learned early on that in order to be like that, I had to learn to let go. If I didn’t want to sink, I had to relax and trust the water to hold my body up. Even when it was windy and my body would move with the waves, if I could relax and trust the water, I would stay afloat.

And, as I’ve been learning, so it is with life. Life is scary sometimes. As soon as we get complacent with our circumstances – jobs, relationships, location – things change. People move, we move, people change and move on and leave us behind. Nothing in life is constant, yet we all fear change. At least, I fear change. I’m scared of starting over, of making new friends, of having to learn new skills, of the hardships I will have to go through in order to grow. What if I’m not good enough? What if no one likes me? What if I cry myself to sleep every night, and there’s no one around me I trust to let inside?

But that’s where the gospel comes in. God is constant, and I know that if I trust in him I will be safe. If I can stop trying to control everything around me, if I do my best and then trust in the Lord to make up the difference, then I will be at peace.

For me, trusting in God is a matter of letting go. Letting go of my worries, of my fears, of my stress. When I do that, then I can begin to see the beauty in life. Like when I lay on my back in a lake in my favorite national park and look up at the pine-tree covered mountain slopes and am so happy to be alive.

But there’s another part to this: When you’re floating on your back, you can’t just lay there motionless. You have to swim. You don’t have to swim quickly – although sometimes that is enjoyable – but if you stay stationary you will start to sink. It might take a couple minutes, but it will happen. Application? To paraphrase someone important and famous, trusting in the Lord is not a sedentary act. You have to do things to make your situation better. The Lord will magnify your efforts, but in order for him to do that there has to first be some effort.

So my goal for this week is to move forward, to let go of my worries, and to trust that, because of my Savior, I will float.

Keep the Fire Burning

I've always loved campfires- watching the flames twirl and twist, the scent of freshly burned wood, the warmth it provides in the cool evenings. Recently, however, I've gained a new sense of appreciation for fire for what it taught me about life. The house I live in is mainly heated by fire. So I've gotten the chance to become a better fire builder. One day as I was working on getting a good fire going, I was struggling to get the bigger pieces of wood to catch the fire. As I watched the fire, my mind began to think deeply. I've heard of our testimonies being compared to a fire before, how we need to keep adding wood to the fire so it doesn't burn out. But in order for the fire to start, we can't start with a big log. I have to start a fire by creating the right environment for it- some kindling and then light a match. Testimonies start with something small and are lit by a spark- by the hearing of the word. However, the fire in the kindling dies quickly and a good fire maker knows to add sticks that are a little bigger. Someone may feel the truths of the gospel, but if they don't continue to experiment, if their flame isn't encouraged to light something a little bigger, it will quickly die. The fire builds slowly, you can't go straight from kindling to a big log, you add pieces a little bigger than the other in places where it will catch the fire. It's our job as members of the church to help others- youth, investigators, recent converts- to make sure their logs are lighting- that they're experimenting and enjoying the warmth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.