*"Know God that ye might be still." & Daddy-daughter dates with God
I will never forget a visit I had with my supervisor in the Meridian Temple. She had asked me if I was willing to be a coordinator on my 4 hour shift in the baptistry. I had been acting as one for the past couple of weeks, and I was struggling with how I felt about it. I told her that I was in charge of so many things--at home and church--so many things I had coming up with moving, building, and my son's wedding. When I came to the temple, I really didn't want to be in charge of anything. I just wanted to serve and more fully feel the peace of the Spirit there. She suggested to me that I probably needed to be still and know that He is God. I agreed that that was exactly what I needed. She then suggested something I will never forget. She said to take that scripture and reverse it. Know God so that I might be still. It was at that point that I began to really understand the importance of "learn of me" from the scripture in D&C 19:23. If I wanted peace, I needed to learn how to pray differently. In a way that I could really learn about my Father in Heaven.
Oh--small interruption of thought here--Have I told you about my Daddy-daughter dates with God? They are one of my favorite things. This is where I spend time with the Lord, just me and Him. I usually go for a walk and just talk to Him. Or I drive down by the river, or someplace special, just me and Him. When I was a little girl, the oldest of 5, I would wait 5 long weeks in between my "Daddy-daughter Dates." My dad would take me to the park or to get ice cream, just the two of us, and we would talk about what was going on in my life, or just have fun together. I remember fondly when I was in high school, he took me to breakfast on a Saturday morning. We talked about my challenges and successes. It was a great date. Recently, my mom asked me if I would come and sit with my dad at the hospital while she had open heart surgery. I met him at the hospital shortly after they had taken my mom back, and we headed down to the cafeteria to have breakfast together. We got to talking, and I began to ask him some questions about his job that he had retired from. He began to talk, and I learned so much about my Dad that I never knew about--his success, his accomplishments, the things that he loved in his field, how he helped and trained and taught so many people and helped businesses become successful.
I crave my Daddy-daughter dates with my Heavenly Father. Only now I am learning that as I grow up, they don't need to be all about me anymore. There is so much to learn about Him.
When I came to the realization that my prayers had been selfish and all about me and what revolved around my life (past post) and that there was so much to know about Him, I really had my eyes opened. And so, one day I started to pray differently. I was going about my day with a prayer in my heart, and I simply asked Him a question. I asked, "What is one of your favorite things?" I will never forget what happened to me next. Immediately a voice came into my mind. That voice clearly said, "Purple mountain majesties. I inspired that song, and I love the mountains." The most overwhelming feeling of the Spirit came over me. I knew that I never would have come up with that thought myself, and I realized how very true it was, and that it was His voice that I was hearing. God spoke to His prophets on mountain tops. They were symbols of temples. Christ went to a mountain to prepare for His ministry. Mountains have always been His thing! As I was praying, I happened to be driving, east, facing the mountains (and I don't even live in Utah). It was a beautiful site, a beautiful feeling. And I knew it was true and that it came from my Father.
Through this and other experiences, I learned that our Father is eager to share with us about Himself if we seek Him. He is not a jealous God in the way we think of jealousy, He just wants us to know Him and choose Him over other mindless idols because He knows what it will do for us. He doesn't always answer immediately, but He will whisper answers to questions we ask about Him when the time is right for us to hear and benefit from them. He loves us. He wants us to know Him. And when we do, we feel so much peace. "Know God that ye might be still."
Oh--small interruption of thought here--Have I told you about my Daddy-daughter dates with God? They are one of my favorite things. This is where I spend time with the Lord, just me and Him. I usually go for a walk and just talk to Him. Or I drive down by the river, or someplace special, just me and Him. When I was a little girl, the oldest of 5, I would wait 5 long weeks in between my "Daddy-daughter Dates." My dad would take me to the park or to get ice cream, just the two of us, and we would talk about what was going on in my life, or just have fun together. I remember fondly when I was in high school, he took me to breakfast on a Saturday morning. We talked about my challenges and successes. It was a great date. Recently, my mom asked me if I would come and sit with my dad at the hospital while she had open heart surgery. I met him at the hospital shortly after they had taken my mom back, and we headed down to the cafeteria to have breakfast together. We got to talking, and I began to ask him some questions about his job that he had retired from. He began to talk, and I learned so much about my Dad that I never knew about--his success, his accomplishments, the things that he loved in his field, how he helped and trained and taught so many people and helped businesses become successful.
I crave my Daddy-daughter dates with my Heavenly Father. Only now I am learning that as I grow up, they don't need to be all about me anymore. There is so much to learn about Him.
When I came to the realization that my prayers had been selfish and all about me and what revolved around my life (past post) and that there was so much to know about Him, I really had my eyes opened. And so, one day I started to pray differently. I was going about my day with a prayer in my heart, and I simply asked Him a question. I asked, "What is one of your favorite things?" I will never forget what happened to me next. Immediately a voice came into my mind. That voice clearly said, "Purple mountain majesties. I inspired that song, and I love the mountains." The most overwhelming feeling of the Spirit came over me. I knew that I never would have come up with that thought myself, and I realized how very true it was, and that it was His voice that I was hearing. God spoke to His prophets on mountain tops. They were symbols of temples. Christ went to a mountain to prepare for His ministry. Mountains have always been His thing! As I was praying, I happened to be driving, east, facing the mountains (and I don't even live in Utah). It was a beautiful site, a beautiful feeling. And I knew it was true and that it came from my Father.
Through this and other experiences, I learned that our Father is eager to share with us about Himself if we seek Him. He is not a jealous God in the way we think of jealousy, He just wants us to know Him and choose Him over other mindless idols because He knows what it will do for us. He doesn't always answer immediately, but He will whisper answers to questions we ask about Him when the time is right for us to hear and benefit from them. He loves us. He wants us to know Him. And when we do, we feel so much peace. "Know God that ye might be still."
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