"Yea, all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart;
Yea, for food and for raiment, for taste and for smell, to strengthen the body and to enliven the soul."
Doctrine and Covenants 59:18-19
I really like the "gladden the heart" part. Sometimes I think we get it into our heads that life is just to be endured, not enjoyed. And, for sure, not everything in life is fun. But lots of it is, and sometimes even the parts that aren't could be, if we let ourselves focus on the positive things instead. Maybe like Mary Poppins says: "find the fun, and snap--the job's a game." Not always, but often. Don't you wonder how much happiness and enjoyment we are missing out on sometimes, because we get so focused on tiny things that we can't do anything about?
Of course God has rules. Rules help us learn how to interact with others, they help us learn about boundaries and danger, and they help us learn about ourselves with the training wheels on, so to speak. Rules help us not to go too far, too fast, and help us avoid unfortunate consequences. In the next verse in fact, God makes it clear, as with other things, that we're supposed to make good decisions about how we use the resources of the Earth. But really, do rules diminish enjoyment? I don't think so. The opposite, even. God's rules are there so we *can* enjoy. So we avoid the traps and the chains that we so easily forge for ourselves, and we have the freedom to walk free and enjoy nature, and all the things that the earth provides. Today, let's let our hearts be glad. Let's enjoy, taste, smell, strengthen, and enliven. And let's do all things within the Lord's boundaries, so that we can stay free spiritually and physically, and able to continue to enjoy his bounty.
No comments:
Post a Comment