Week 2: More Fit for the Kingdom

I left my lunch half-eaten on the table and rushed out the door, still pulling on my new purple coat and striped mittens as I shut the door.  My shivering hurried me along almost as much as my desire to miss as little as possible of Sister Dalton's devotional.  As I walked, I pondered what had just happened.  I had planned to watch Sister Dalton on TV from the convenience and warmth of my own couch, but when I turned on the TV at T minus 1 minute, we discovered that particular devotional was not to be broadcast.  "Ah, well," I thought at first as I resigned to find the archives later, but then I felt unsettled, and after a halfhearted struggle against the prompting I felt to go, I thought, "I know I won't regret it if I go, but I might regret it if I don't."

And once I decided, there was no going back.

Recently, I've tried to make it a habit to approach every meeting and scripture study and devotional with a question to the Lord.  As I thought about what I needed from Sister Dalton's devotional at that moment, I felt guilty for how my healthy eating had gone down the drain after only a week, and how I already felt discouraged and frustrated and unmotivated to be healthy.

Seriously, self?! After a week?!

So I prayed, "Heavenly Father, please bless that I can receive some sort of motivation and encouragement for getting back on track to being healthy."  And then in a carnal lapse of faith (just in case it was too late for Heavenly Father to work something like that into a talk that was already in progress), "Or at least bless that I'll feel the Spirit, and that walking here will be worth it."

What followed proved to me that my tiny mustard seed of faith had been recognized and rewarded with disproportionate and undeserving mercy and loving kindness.  Here are several quotes from her address, and to see how meaningful they were to me, think about them as direct answers to my prayer (which is absolutely what they were):

"You are amazing.  You are not ordinary.  And these are not ordinary times in which we live.  You have been reserved and prepared to be on the earth at this time, and though the circumstances in which we live present many challenges, you can do it."

"We must determine to act, not be acted upon."

"You are doing difficult, but correct, things in the midst of great opposition. Your actions and decisions now will bless future generations."

"Don't let old paradigms become your parameters."

"You must seize the day, because these are your days.  And if the adversary can get you to postpone or delay your progress or to freeze in fear, or to get you to wait because he's convinced you that you are too young, he wins."

"Elder Bruce R. McConkie said, 'There is no price too high, no struggle too severe, no sacrifice to great, if out of it all we receive and enjoy the gift of the Holy Ghost.'"

"I’m sure that when we learned we’d be able to have the companionship of the Holy Ghost here in mortality, we shouted for joy and confidently embraced the Father’s plan because we knew that we would never be alone. We knew that everything would be all right...  We also knew that though the guidance of the Holy Ghost we’d be magnified, and we could do hard things.  Because of the Savior and His infinite Atonement, we knew would be enabled and strengthened to do whatever we must to do, to endure whatever we must endure, to be victorious in fulfilling our divine missions.  I believe that we knew and understood that mortality would not be easy, but if we endured and proved faithful, we would be able to return once again to our Heavenly home proven, pure, and sealed in eternal families."

"Be... more fit for the kingdom... Set little attainable goals.  Establish and rely on the power of habit.  Your spiritual fitness routine [and, I thought, physical fitness routine] will look different than mine.  But make it a routine."

"Cast not away thy confidence.  Don’t get distracted, discouraged, or disqualified.  The word “confidence” is composed of two Latin words: “con” meaning with and “fideo” meaning faith.  So you see, confidence means, “with faith.”  Faith is a powerful power that can move mountains and call down miracles.  You have exercised your faith up to this point, and I compliment you.  So keep on, even if things don’t go according to your plan.  Even if you think you are being delayed because of the actions or the non-actions of others.  Press forward.  Continue to draw close to the Lord.  Cherish virtue.  Stand firm and stand tall.  You have been reserved to be here now on account of your exceeding faith in the premortal existence in our Heavenly Father’s plan.  Your life also has a plan, and as you trust in the Lord, you will see that plan unfold in miraculous ways" 

"Truly, these are days never to be forgotten.  As you run your personal best in your personal race, may you never forget that they who wait upon the Lord, shall renew their strength.  They shall mount up with wings as eagles.  They shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint."

Wow.  He even put weight loss advice for me into a talk by one of the most prominent youth leaders in our Church.  Can there be any doubt that God knows me and cares about me?  So, to follow some of Sister Dalton's council, I am going to make small, attainable, habit-based goal for this week:

Every day this week, I will eat at least 1 serving of vegetables with every dinner.  Keep me accountable, people.  I'll report in next week :)