Free For All Friday: Luke 9: 23-25
Luke 9: 23-25
23And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
23And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
I take verse 23 as a personal challenge from the Savior to be strong, my own burdens, to fight the good fight, and to follow Him. That is how I view taking up my own cross.
I know the Savior's Atonement is there to help me when I am in need. But, it is after I do all I can do that the Atonement really takes effect. I want to put my best effort into making sure, daily, that I bear my burdens in the right spirit, that I am not ashamed of taking on His name, that I do all the is required and called of me, no matter how inconvenient or difficult it may be.
His cross was not convenient. It was difficult, beyond my comprehension. I take heart in the fact that I can show my love for him by taking up my own daily cross, and following him.
What would you like to share?
TOMORROW: 3 Nephi 9
This is LONG and rambling. But there is a point!!
ReplyDeleteEther 14:1 And now there began to be a great curse upon all the land because of the iniquity of the people, in which, if a man should lay his tool or his sword upon his shelf, or upon the place whither he would keep it, behold, upon the morrow, he could not find it, so great was the curse upon the land.
Someone else made reference to this scripture today saying it had odd wording regarding the "curse." Another person gave an opinion that the "curse" was not God made, rather MAN made! The curse was thievery.
It's been a really interesting day today. The day started with a huge structure fire at 0900.... we were done investigating around 6 pm. And home around 830. Also during this day I transported 2 patients, interviewed another from the fire and spoke with my very upset nephew about 7 tonight.
It was interesting to come home and read the comments on the above scripture as it is so relevant to my day. My thoughts actually started with the nephew, who at one point was blaming God for bringing another "trauma" into his life. I explained to the nephew the story of the man sitting on his roof in a flood, praying for God to come rescue him... God sent a log, a boat, a helicopter, etc. Man meets God and complains, God says... I sent you a log, a boat, a helicopter!
Pt # 1- Handicapped. Fell from a wheelchair banging his head. Trip to the ER.
Pt # 2 - Long time ill. Weak. Dizzy. Fell off porch, into rose bush, potential broken rib and hurt shoulder.
Interview #1- Witness in hospital due to smoke inhalation from running into a burning building.
Investigation- 6+ hours of digging through rubble looking for fire origin.
Nephew- Upset. In tears. Host of issues.
Did God send these disasters into people's lives today? Nope. People made choices, some good some bad which led to the position they found themselves in. Here's the short version:
Pt #1- Helper didn't buckle him in.
Pt #2- Should've been compliant with appropriate meds and made better life decisions for the last however many years.
Pt #3- Duh... don't run INTO a burning building! There was a window. You could've banged on it!
Investigation... yes, ibuprofen and tylenol on board. Cancer in 20 years from digging through toxic waste without a mask... will wait to see. By the way, don't EVER put heavy things on electrical wiring or bad things end up happening!
Nephew- Hmmmm... Heart attack in a 20 year old? Well yes, occasionally, when life decisions are such that you put your self at risk. Drugs. Smoking. Alcohol. Jail. Divorce. Anger. Stress. God didn't send you another traumatic incident to plague you, dear nephew, he just sent you a helicopter!! An opportunity to turn your life around. A wake up call, if you will.
Recently I had a heart wrenching experience on a drowning call. People said... God doesn't give you anything you can't handle. I say... God helps you through things you can't handle on your own. Today I say.... God doesn't always SEND bad things into our lives! If we really stop and think about it, alot of the things we go through, quite frankly, we did to ourselves! And sometimes someone steals your sword.
Wow Ang! What a day! You are pretty amazing. It takes a social person to be surrounded by pain and trauma continually. You are my hero :)
ReplyDeleteI love your comments. It is great and empowering perspective. I hope you were able to help your nephew catch a glimpse of it.
Ps- I hate it when people steal my sword!
Wow Ang! What a day! You are pretty amazing. It takes a social person to be surrounded by pain and trauma continually. You are my hero :)
ReplyDeleteI love your comments. It is great and empowering perspective. I hope you were able to help your nephew catch a glimpse of it.
Ps- I hate it when people steal my sword!