10/4/2018 - Section 115:6

October 4, 2018

Section 115:6

Wards and How They Should Be, Relief Society Atmosphere, Love at Church, Ministering, Reaching Out, Thinking Outside Myself,

Today when I read v 6, I saw in it something I had not seen in it before: “And that the gathering together upon the land of Zion, and upon her stakes, may be for a defense, and for a refuge from the storm and from wrath when it shall be poured out without mixture upon the whole earth.” It takes me a long time to acclimate to a new ward or branch. My problem is not with the functions of a new ward, for I still feel the spirit touch my heart and mind as I take the sacrament. It is nothing about gospel tenets that I have trouble with, but it is the slowness I have in feeling love for and from the people there. This happens every time we are part of a new ward or branch, and it is a situation that takes months, and often years to overcome. The fact that it occurs in EVERY ward, to me indicates that the problem is with me. I see other new people join the ward and they seem to be embraced. I see them chatting and hugging and planning and laughing with others, while I still worry about where will I sit and who will I talk to. And from my self-thoughts I usually feel that as soon as I sit down beside someone, they immediately start up a conversation with the person on the other side of them. I often feel like I am a ordinary stone along a lovely trail interesting rocks and formations, and that all the hikers will pause by me so they can look over and see a much more fascinating formation just behind me. BUT once I have been in that ward for a year or more, I DO find friends and acceptance and love and appreciation. And so I see this problem as my own. If we are to bloom where we are planted, I seem stuck by continually planting myself in as a wallflower. Now, the good thing about this is that I always move into a ward with Bob, and he makes me feel like I am the neatest thing on earth. But I must do some changing. And the obvious way to change is for me to make my ward a refuge from the storm for whatever person I am sitting by. And for me to walk into the chapel early and catch someone’s eye and smile and great them with warmth and pleasure. And quite possibly for me to invite others into my home to discover their ‘below-the-surface-lives’. I can’t wait for a calling to make me interact on a deeper level, I just have to DO IT. And if some of those I seek out don’t respond to my attention, that’s okay. My efforts are to improve BOTH of our lives and there are some personalities that will blend well, and there are other very good personalities that may never make a pleasing mix. But both of those personalities are quite capable of finding an excellent mix when placed with other, slightly different, personalities. I just need to learn the deeper meanings and effects of loving others, and of seeing them as Christ would see them. This makes so much sense to me now. My challenge is: can I do this in a real life situation that may blossom in a way I never expected if given time, and care and attention. I don’t need to place all the pressure on myself. I just need to pray for the spirit each time I step into my meetinghouse, and then to not hesitate to follow all promptings that WILL come, and not hesitate to give more of my time or of myself than I expected to do.

I know this verse is really about the gathering of Israel—and that is of upmost importance in the Lord’s plan. But for me today AND tomorrow, and for those around me, I don’t want to shut myself off and miss the love, and the giving, and the receiving, and the joys, and the sorrows, and the comforts, and the warmth that takes time and care to build and to keep warm, but which makes our daily lives ever so much more enjoyable.