Working Title

We are all a working title in our lives.

This week in Come Follow Me, we are reminded to listen to the counsel of the Prophets. President Nelson’s talks have still been ruminating in my mind, specifically about the instruction on Pride and humility. I know that humility is the opposite of pride, that when we are full of humility, we lack pride. I think our society often criticizes the concept of humility and no wonder when the definition is “a modest, or low view of one’s self importance.” God’s definition of humility is so much more than that. To Him, we are important. We are his very work and glory. The church offers this definition of humility:

To be humble is to recognize gratefully our dependence on the Lord—to understand that we have constant need for His support. Humility is an acknowledgment that our talents and abilities are gifts from God. It is not a sign of weakness, timidity, or fear; it is an indication that we know where our true strength lies. We can be both humble and fearless. We can be both humble and courageous.

I think pride can be sneaky. It can manifest itself in our lives in our stubbornness to change. It can show its ugly head in our reluctance to say sorry or seek to understand your friend or family member’s perspective. Humility can be incredibly powerful. We can look at something we messed up on as an opportunity. An opportunity to become something better than we were yesterday. When I finally recognize I need the Lord’s help or a friend or loved one’s, I am lifted up and realize I am so much more with the help of those I trust and love. On the flip side, when others come to me for guidance, help, or comfort, I am again lifted up by their trust in me. I think a true sign of humility is recognizing while you have strengths, that you know where they came from and that they only have room to become stronger. As I weight lift, I have recognized that if I become complacent in the same exercises, though amiable, they will not offer growth unless I increase the repetition or the weight. “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.” The same applies to humility. To be humble opens up a doorway to receive others’ helps, making you full of faith as you move forward, hoping and striving for more– a better you through growth. My current physical goal is to improve my sleep. This has required me to track my sleep, read about sleep studies, strive for an earlier bedtime (still working on that one), and improve sleep hygiene. I think this is an amiable goal that will help me be a better wife, mother, and become more healthy, but I’ve realized that even more important than a physical goal, is a spiritual one. My current spiritual goal is to improve my own connection with my Father in Heaven and my Savior through prayer. I love to study the gospel through scripture study, but sometimes my prayers become repetitive and maybe more like I am talking to some unfamiliar authority figure, than my father. I want to make it more of a conversation and less of a check-list item.

Along those lines, I definitely have found that when I’ve kept my goals smaller and more achievable, I see more success. I am currently over 1500 days on Duolingo. I don’t spend a ton of time there every day, but I feel like I have gained a good, basic grasp of the Spanish language. If I keep at my consistent effort, either through Duolingo or some other method, I know I can get better at communicating in that language. I have also been working on my novel. Now, some days are harder than others, but I have a goal to work on it for fifteen minutes a day. I have found that some days I can only get in fifteen minutes, but if I sit down and try, on occasion, I find myself going an hour or two. Now I am 80000 words in and plugging along.

Week in Pictures