The Cat of Many Colors

Last night I enjoyed the first of a series of oil painting classes. For my palette, I used a palette shaped board but it did not have a cover of any kind. As the class lasts for several weeks, I felt that I would like to figure something out to prevent the paint from drying out before the class ends, but I couldn't think of what to do... Meanwhile my palette sat out in the open. Before lunch I prepared the next board for next weeks class but I still hadn't figured out a solution for my oil painting palette. Quite honestly, I forgot about it as there were several other things pressing upon me and requiring my attention.

About three hours later, we happened to notice our cat who was soundly sleeping on the living room chair... he looked like he was bleeding. Upon closer inspection I immediately knew he had found my oil paint palette. He had blue's and reds all over his paws and in a few other places. Now how do you clean oil paint out of a cat?!? Chad was here and he was able to help me, thank goodness, because it was a minimum of a two person job! After rubbing as much off of him with a dry cloth, we decided it was time to use soap and water. Thankfully, oil paint is a vegetable base paint so it cleans up with soap and water quite nicely. However, Charlie did not like the tub of water we put him in. He kept meowing his displeasure, but you know he submitted to what we were doing. He got pretty wet, but he cleaned up well. There is a little residual on his paws that we were not able to get. Hopefully, he didn't swallow too much of it in his own efforts to remove it. Naturally, the chair he had been sleeping in, areas on the floor and other places he had been also needed attention.

There are two things about this experience that come to mind. First of all, it was pretty much my fault that he got into my paint. I had left it with the intention of taking care of it and then forgotten. Despite my fault, nobody pointed a single finger at me, for which I am deeply grateful. Instead, everyone pitched in and helped clean up the mess (the kids were home before we got done). Second of all, Charlie who was the one who suffered for my mistake, yet he didn't lash out or scratch or bite, he simply submitted to our ministrations and allowed us to clean him up. The effects of sin are so much like that paint! It leaves its telltale signs. When a person sins, pointing fingers of blame or accusation increase the damages by hurting relationships and feelings. There was none of this, not even from Charlie. Sometimes we are hurt by other peoples mistakes, yet Charlie taught me something about how to respond to that kind adversity. He submitted and allowed me to do my best to correct the problem. Sometimes when we are hurt we fight back and make it difficult for others to correct their mistakes. In some cases we even refuse to recognize their efforts. We must never give in to this type of temptation. 

Charlie's example of submission also teaches me to submit to the ministrations of my Savior in my life as He helps me overcome my weaknesses and mistakes. The process isn't always easy, in fact it usually is hard, but it is always worth it. Imagine... To discover such lessons from a cat! I am thankful to be reminded of the joy of the atonement today. I have had much on my mind, and to discover these simple yet divine truths in a simple experience is exciting and joyful. Oh, and Charlie cleaned up beautifully as he dried near the warmth of the fireplace.

When Life Gives You Lemons...

Last night as I was finishing lesson preparations from the book of Ezra which deals with the adversity the Jews faced in rebuilding the temple even with the support of King Cyrus, I was reminded of a lesson from my youth where we were taught about lemons. As a second thought, I decided to include the same quote in my lesson...

It just so happens that I had lemons in the fridge so this morning I grabbed some sugar, a knife and my lemon and brought them to seminary. I printed the above photo on a sticky note for each of my students and I was set. What I didn't anticipate was the degree to which I would be taught by my students!

I displayed my lemon prominently at the front of the room all through the lesson without explanation. At the end of the lesson I showed the following saying about adversity...

I asked my class how God had watched over them in times of adversity or helped them in their challenges. One girl shared her feelings about the atonement, saying that she has found that she has to rely upon the enabling power of the Atonement of Christ to help her when she doesn't feel strong enough. I realized as she spoke, that it is the enabling power of the Atonement of Christ that is the sweet nectar that changes bitterness into sweetness, or lemons into lemonade. 

After the lesson I provided the materials needed for each of my students to experience making lemonade from a real lemon. I provided each of them with a quarter of a lemon, ample amounts of sugar and of course water. They were not told how much to use, but were left on their own to make their lemonade. One student who had never made lemonade from a lemon before was so amazed at how good the drink was. She commented a couple of times on her discovery and expressed a desire to go home and make more after school.

I couldn't help but think how our adversity and challenges in life CAN become as sweet and amazing as her lemonade was to her. They never feel that way when we are in them, especially at the onset, but as we apply the sweetening nectar of the Atonement with its enabling and strengthening power in our lives, those trials become sweet and almost hallowed. We begin to see God's hand helping us and guiding us, strengthening and supporting us. And as we become aware of His great goodness we begin to understand that it was through our adversity that we were turned to Him and the sweetness and joy of His blessings begin to abound... even if the adversity persists. I KNOW because I have had some very hard challenges in my life, and yet, those things have become sacred to me because of what they have helped me become, and because of the awareness they instilled in me of the love of my God for me. There is great joy in the process of refinement, even though it is hard. To draw closer to God rather than away from Him in our adversities yields blessings untold.

One Tiny Little Rock

The other day as I was coming home from teaching seminary, I began to notice an awful squealing noise... At first I was hopeful that it was coming from on of the nearby farms and that it wasn't my car, but after I got off the gravel road, and turned onto the highway, there was no longer any doubt - it was me. I didn't go more than a 100 feet down the highway before turning around and high tailing it for the mechanics shop. As I drove the noise persisted. I couldn't help but wonder if our mechanic could hear me coming from his shop!

I was blessed in that when I arrived at the shop, the mechanic was able to take a look at my car. He diagnosed a rock in the tire, but could not find it in the usual place, meaning he had to take the tire off. I sat down to wait, hoping that he would indeed find a rock and not some other malady. About 10 minutes later he came in holding a very tiny piece of gravel - about half the size of my fingernail. I was amazed that such a tiny rock could be the culprit for so much noise! I was so thankful to have it gone! I guess a rock in a tire is kind of like having a rock in your shoe, until you get it out, it is hard to think of anything else! 

I was blessed further in that my mechanic did not charge me for the work he did. That leaves it up to me to pay it forward. 

Our plans for the day, were to drive to Cardston to attend the temple. As we traveled I worked on my next seminary lesson, but there was something about that little rock that left an impression on me. Sometimes, we get little rocks in our souls and we don't always treat them like we would if they were in our shoe. If we get a rock in our shoe, we usually stop, and dump it out. It is quickly forgotten and we move on steadily and confidently. However, a rock in the soul is often lodged so deeply and securely near our heart that we don't know how to get rid of it. It may be an injustice we have suffered, a shock, a betrayal, or even an act of abuse. By choosing to leave it there, wedged next to our heart, we are barely able to function and go about our daily responsibilities. Relationships suffer, individuals are pushed away or discarded, all in the name of the tiny squealing rock. It looks and feels like a boulder. 

Rather than removing the rock, we begin to blame others for its presence in the first place and for the resultant noise it is making. Gossip starts, collusion begins, alliances are formed, and before we know it our heart is in a state of war as it listens to the insistent screams of the rock which is now so firmly wedged, that the thought of removal is promises pain. As odd as it may sound, if it were removed, all the excuses and justifications would have to go with it. Faced with that, the rock has become a safety net - painful though it may be, it is clung to as though it were part of our original composition. We begin to lie to ourselves just so that we can hang onto all we have built up around it... We think about it everyday. If we were let it go what would we focus on? How would we continue to justify everything we have done thus far to explain our need for that squealing rock?

And yet, the rock is still a foreign object. It doesn't belong where it is. And if we really honestly asked ourselves about it's presence, we would quite quickly wish it away. But we have put to much work into explaining its presence that to have it removed is scary. Someone we value might label us bad or not want to associate with us anymore. Is it worth getting rid of? And how do you get rid of a rock that is wedged so tightly near your heart even though you hate the noise of it in your life?

Just like I did not know how to fix my car, there is only one way to get rid of a rock that is wedged near our hearts. We must go to the Master Mechanic. Only through His redeeming love can it be removed. It is also up to us to help him. We do this by desiring to have it gone from our lives, and then letting it go. When the mechanic showed me the rock I was amazed by it smallness because it seemed like something making that much noise should have been a LOT bigger! I had no desire to keep it. It was quickly discarded in the garbage and forgotten. When we give our rocks to the Savior, we should do so so completely that we would never consider asking for them back, or wishing that we had them. However, if we were to look at them, we would be shocked at just how small they really are!

The great beauty in all this, is that the Master Mechanic does not require a fee for His services just like my mechanic did not require a fee of me. Instead, all He asks of us is to do good to others, to be a blessing in the lives of all we know rather than a curse. As we do this, He lifts our burdens from us and we become free to feel happy again. Free to let the bonds of justification and blame drop away. The happiness that comes is so tangible and liberating that it is worth giving away EVERY sin to possess it! What joy fills my heart as I ponder the great love that my Savior, Jesus Christ has for me. He has removed many rocks from my soul, and I have been blessed to know of the happiness that is promised. He is the surest, fastest way to JOY that we have and others see it in us. Later that day as I was leaving the temple, I had a lady approach me and tell me how happy I looked. I WAS happy. I still am HAPPY. My happiness has come through letting little rocks be removed from my soul through Christ.