How do I
remember the Lord? As I have pondered
that question I have had the thought come multiple times that a way that I
remember the Lord is by being grateful.
I was given a blessing a couple months ago where it told me to remember
to be grateful for what the Lord had given me in my life at that time, and to
not only be grateful in my words but in my actions as well. I received that blessing after having my
third miscarriage last year and I felt that God had forgotten me, so why should
I remember Him. I felt mad more than
grateful, but as I have been thinking of what the Lord has been trying to help
me remember through these experiences I know that He is trying to help me be
grateful for my children I have. I am
able to show through my words and actions that I’m grateful for them by loving
them and taking care of them. I am able
to press forward with faith and trust in the Lord’s timing. I have been able to
be more grateful in my prayers so that I remember the Lord and He knows that I
am aware of all that He has given me. There are many things I have been able to do
to express my gratitude for what I have even when the circumstances have been
hard.
As I read this week from Helaman, in the Book of Mormon, this question kept coming up because of how the people
would be blessed so much by the Lord and then within a few short years they
were extremely wicked because they had forgotten the Lord. I know I didn’t want to be in that situation
so I was grateful for these verses that helped me to know what I needed to do
and not do. In Helaman 12: 1-6, the Lord
shows the pattern of what leads the people to forget Him and not remember
Him. In the Lord’s goodness He blesses
and prospers those who trust Him and He does all things for the welfare and
happiness of those people. When the
people are prospering is when they harden their hearts, they forget the Lord,
they focus on the vain things of the world, they are quick to do iniquity and
slow to do good. The people are
prideful, they are slow to remember the Lord and listen to His counsel and walk
in a righteous path. They act as though
His counsel isn’t important and don’t want Him to be their guide. The only way they remember the Lord is when He
chastens them with afflictions.
As I share
these thoughts I know that I don’t like going through afflictions, but the Lord
only chastens me because He wants me to remember Him. I know it’s also because I have been too
prideful to listen to the counsel that He has been giving me to avoid some of
the afflictions that will happen in my life.
He wants me to remember to be grateful for all that He has blessed me
with for my welfare and happiness. He
wants each of us to be grateful for what He has given us. I have felt that I need to daily write the
blessings that He has given me to show Him how grateful I am for His hand in my
life each day and to act on the counsel that He gives me. I know these are ways that I can remember
Him, and make sure that He is a top priority in my life. I feel that when He is
a top priority in my life it makes everything in my life go more smoothly
because I am aware of Him not only when things are good, but also when life’s challenges
come.
So, this
week ask yourself how am I remembering the Lord? Is it only when things are good or when
things are bad or both? When we remember
the Lord I know He blesses our lives even more, which is amazing to me because
He wants us to remember Him so He can bless us even more than He already
does. It shows me how much He loves each
of us and cares about our welfare and happiness and what He asks in return is
that we remember Him.
