"Spiritual" Goal setting Or How Can We Prepare For A New Year?

"Spiritual" Goal setting

Or

How Can We Prepare For A New Year?

Can We See Our Future?

Can Our Day Not Yet Lived, Be Prophesied, By Us?

If we look to our future with only hopes, we might get where we hope to go... If instead we look to the future with hope, knowing what needs to be done to get there, and have the willingness to do what it takes, then we will certainly get closer to the mark most of the time.  But even that does not guarantee arrival at the destination of ones dreams...

It is for this reason, that there are signs along the way, help, opportunities and even others in need. For no matter if we are 1 step away from our chosen destination or thousands of miles yet to go, it does not matter... We will not be judged on the destination, but we will be judged on the path we took and how we chose to treat fellow travelers along the way.

Joseph came to me recently to tell me Mara had or was doing something I had told her not to do.  If the issue he brought up was dangerous, immoral, or hurtful, I would have thanked him and responded to the needs helping, correcting and guiding (yes this includes punishment if appropriate). But it didn't, so instead I asked him his reason for telling me; on the off chance that perhaps it was because he wanted to get her in trouble.  So it turned out she was bugging him at the time, thus his desire to disrupt her by telling on her.

Tattling as a topic lead to discussion with Joseph on the fact that there are things I know he and the other children will do wrong, but that I would only hurt them if I didn't allow it to happen.  If I was to control the actions of my children, even 90% of the time, they would begin to stop growing intellectually, becoming slaves to my decisions, and years down the road even as adults they would turn to me with so many basic questions to see if I agree.  This dependency on me to such a great extent would weaken them; it would mean they would start to doubt their ability to do anything without someone's guidance.  I told Joseph this, that all children need things to decide to do or to not to do, even disobedience, in order to grow.  They need to learn consequences, both good and bad.  They need to see that when you use the front brake only on your bike, it can hurt, and they need to learn these types of wisdom while they are safe within the womb of childhood, where they have a better chance to adjust, to learn and to make better choices in the future.

This information, while profound on so many levels, most parents of children over 3 know, even if they can not explain it.  Parents also learn from experience, because as yet there being no tell all manual for Parenting, and this is good because each child and each family is so unique that no manual would work for all of them.  Even the scriptures and the teaching of the prophets do not even try to tell us all, because if they were to "instruct us in all things" we would become lazy slothful servants.

So what do we do? How can we plan for our future with goals and hopes and dreams, and yet not forget that here and now, this moment will be the one judged, now is the time.  "Procrastinate not the day of thy Salvation, for behold now is the time to repent..."   I am not saying we need to repent because tomorrow we die. Yet, I am speaking of repentance, in that we are living today, people need us today, we need to be the servants of God not some day on a mission or some day when our kids are gone and we retire we will do more to help others, we need to spiritually set an extra place at the table of our lives for whomever needs us, and we need to do this today.

These thoughts came upon me yesterday.  Leslie was chatting by Instant messenger over the Internet with my sister Amy.  Amy offered her a late Christmas gift of some makeup and was discussing the particulars.  I said that was wonderful, and then one of the kids said "she should be getting you a gift Dad she is your sister."  And immediately to my mind came the answer, "A gift to my wife IS a gift to me." And then I went on to think and say to them, "A gift to my child, any of you, is a gift to me..."  I began to understand and indeed the understanding is still limited and yet growing, that this is how Heavenly Father truly feels, about each of us.  A gift to any of his children is a gift to him, therefore it is not figurative of Christ to say, "When you have done it unto these even the least of these my brethren you have done it unto me; indeed you have done it unto the father..."

So what does that mean to us, all of this interesting thought, what can any of us take from it that is practical?  Can we tell our futures? Yes, if we live each day serving the Lords children, giving when it is needed and healing when they hurt, we know, we are promised our future... indeed I paraphrase the Savior saying if you would save your life you must lose your self... I may not be a good one, indeed I testify I am not the best to tell you how to prepare for a physical disaster or plan a long term budget, or plan for 2007 and its physical needs.  But my sisters and brothers, if we are not preparing spiritually everyday to serve the children of God then no amount of temporal preparation will protect us from the dangers of this age.

© Copyright 9:39 pm Dec 30^th, 2006 by M. Emmett Townsend