Peace Among the Chaos

Day ten

So I woke up this morning feeling pretty good until... I looked at the list of things I needed to accomplish this week!  Life stuff, work stuff, prep. stuff,  church stuff and the list goes on and on...  I sounded a little like Dr. Seuss there, that can't be good!  The wave of overwhelmingness (I made that word up) seemed to be growing. How was I going to keep it from crashing down on me?

First stop this morning, on my knees for a prayer.  I began by thanking the Lord for all the opportunities He is giving me this week.  Then I let Him know how overwhelming it all felt, and then I asked him to help me find peace among the chaos.  I asked Him to let me see His hand in these tasks and to focus on the positives and let go of the negatives.  I have to say I felt much better after having such a great conversation with the Lord.

Next stop was scripture study.  I am in Sections 88 and 89.

I need to take a moment here and just thank the Lord for His timing.  It has been such a blessing to find answers to my questions each day in the scriptures.  My testimony that he knows me personally and is watching over me has grown immensely with my focus on more meaningful prayers and scripture study.  It makes me wonder what I have missed out on in the past!

So, how do Sections 88 and 89 help me with my crazy busy schedule?  There is so much to share, but it would be a monstrously large blog post and no one would read it!  So here are just a few of my thoughts:

In Section 88 the Lord addresses the brethren as friends.  What does it mean to be a friend of Jesus Christ's?

John 15:14 gives us a great definition:  "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you."  I don't think Christ is being bossy here, I think he wants us to understand that the commandments he gives us are to help us get closer to him and the Father. 
John 15:15 helps us to understand where these commandments come from,"...but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you."

There are some amazing benefits to being a friend of Jesus Christ: 
v. 3 "...I now send another Comforter...that it may abide in your hearts...even the Holy Spirit of promise ..."
v. 6-7 "...the light of truth"..."This is the Light of Christ"
v11 "...the light ...is through him who enlighteneth your eyes, which is the same light that quickeneth your understandings"

These are definitely benefits that I could use this week, comfort and understanding!  So to find peace among the chaos I need to keep his commandments and become a friend of Jesus Christ. I am on it! 

In 88:15 - the Lord states, "And the spirit and the body are the soul of man."  There are two parts to us.

Section 88 focuses on preparing the spirit part of us.  We learn a lot about Jesus Christ in this section and how we can become like Him. It talks a lot about the blessings of the celestial kingdom and the characteristics of those who have celestial bodies.   This led me to the thought:  I need to make sure I am spiritually prepared for this week.  He tells me how to do this in:

88:63- "Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you."

This is one of my all time favorite verses!  What a great outline He has given me, if I follow these steps, the challenges of this week could not possibly overwhelm me! 

Near the end of Section 88 in verses 124-126 the Lord gives us some advice about our physical bodies:

"Cease to be idle; cease to be unclean;...cease to sleep longer than is needful, retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early, that your bodies and your minds may be invigorated."

"...clothe yourselves with the bond of charity, as with a mantle, which is the bond of perfectness and peace."  (I really liked this concept of wearing charity as with a mantle (coat), in other wards, be busy showing charity)

"Pray always, that ye may not faint until I come."  (This has actual saved me a time or two on Fast Sunday!)

This is a great lead-in to Section 89 and the word of wisdom which helps us discern the things we put into our bodies and much more.  Lesson learned:  take care of my body so that I have the energy and clarity of mind to accomplish all that I need to do.

Wow!  What a great study session, my attitude has changed from "overwhelmingness" to anticipation of being apart of these opportunities.  It is not chaos I see, but an opportunity to find peace.  Oh how I love the way the Lord works! 

There are many more treasures in Sections 88 and 89.  I would encourage you to read through them and find out what the Lord has in store for you.