I read a talk, by Elder Bednar, about a man who bought a four-wheel-drive truck. This man took his new vehicle for a drive in the snow, but ended up getting stuck. He decided to chop wood (the reason he risked the snowy drive in the first place) until he figured out how to get back on the road again. After putting the wood in the bed of the truck, the heavy load provided enough traction to get the truck moving again.
Elder Bednar compares this heavy load to the spiritual loads we carry in our lives. He emphasizes that the burdens we carry can be made light with the Savior's help, and can provide the spiritual traction we need for progression. I thought of one of the heaviest spiritual loads that I have carried, and found the progression spoken of to be true. The load I am thinking of is perfect for Mother's day, as it was the burden of my mom having esophageal cancer.
Elder Bednar compares this heavy load to the spiritual loads we carry in our lives. He emphasizes that the burdens we carry can be made light with the Savior's help, and can provide the spiritual traction we need for progression. I thought of one of the heaviest spiritual loads that I have carried, and found the progression spoken of to be true. The load I am thinking of is perfect for Mother's day, as it was the burden of my mom having esophageal cancer.
Spiritual Progress
I remember one of my Young Women leaders was teaching a lesson about love. She claimed that we could never love our parents as much as they love us. I thought about how much I loved my mom and said, "No, there is no way. I love my mom so much, there is no way she could love me more than I love her." I had no idea at the time, but this apparently made somewhat of an impact on the teacher, as she brought it up in her lesson the following week.
She taught a lesson on service that next Sunday and said she figured out why I had such a claim about love the week before. She said that it must be because of the service I was able to give my mom while she was sick. She pointed out that when we give service, we are given the gift of increased love from the Savior. I must agree with her reasoning.
I thought of all of the opportunities I had to serve my mom and be served. I thought of the cream I rubbed on her poor, burnt skin from radiation treatment. I thought of all the times I cried myself to sleep, all the while praying to Heavenly Father that He would heal my mom. I remembered all of the school activities my mom showed up for, even though she felt so sick from chemotherapy. I thought of the miraculous love that was shown to our family through service, food, gifts, prayers, fasting, etc. All of this would forever leave an imprint on my heart to love service.
The spiritual traction that I bore for my mother taught me to serve. I learned of the love that grows from service. I also learned how to serve from the countless amount of people that helped us during such a hard time. I learned this at a young age of thirteen years old. I am so thankful that my mom is cancer free, and that Heavenly Father can take the challenges of life to bring us closer to Him.
She taught a lesson on service that next Sunday and said she figured out why I had such a claim about love the week before. She said that it must be because of the service I was able to give my mom while she was sick. She pointed out that when we give service, we are given the gift of increased love from the Savior. I must agree with her reasoning.
I thought of all of the opportunities I had to serve my mom and be served. I thought of the cream I rubbed on her poor, burnt skin from radiation treatment. I thought of all the times I cried myself to sleep, all the while praying to Heavenly Father that He would heal my mom. I remembered all of the school activities my mom showed up for, even though she felt so sick from chemotherapy. I thought of the miraculous love that was shown to our family through service, food, gifts, prayers, fasting, etc. All of this would forever leave an imprint on my heart to love service.
The spiritual traction that I bore for my mother taught me to serve. I learned of the love that grows from service. I also learned how to serve from the countless amount of people that helped us during such a hard time. I learned this at a young age of thirteen years old. I am so thankful that my mom is cancer free, and that Heavenly Father can take the challenges of life to bring us closer to Him.