Man Overboard

 

Have you ever felt like this man?  I know I was scared that I was going to be this man.  I was right behind him on the rafting trip and a huge wave caught us.  I was able to withstand the wave and stay in the boat, but the guy in front of me was not so lucky.  These were huge waves and he wasn't much of a swimmer.  Thankfully he had his life jacket on, but I know he was still scared!  If he wasn't, his wife was scared enough for them both.  He was paniced for a minute, because the water was moving so fast and we couldn't just stop and get him.  We just left him behind it appeared to us and his wife.  What we didn't realize, but our guide did, was that there was a raft right behind us that was able to get him and pull him on board.  He was fine, a little shook-up, but fine.  How easily this can relate back to life-  Sometimes big waves come!  We may be able to hang onto the raft and be fine, but sometimes we fall out of the boat.  If we are wearing our life jacket it's much less tragic than if we are not.  What could a life jacket relate back to in real life?  How about the commandments, if we are following the commandments when the big wave knocks us out of the boat we will be much better off than if we are not following the commandments.  The beautiful thing about this analogy is that we each have a personal tour guide, well two of them, we have Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ to guide us.  We may not be able to see what's behind us as we struggle with the current of the fast moving water, but they do.  They know everything, Jesus Christ even understands everything we are feeling.  How wonderful it is to know that they will never leave us abandoned, but they will always make sure that we are taken care of.  Never fear for the Lord is with us.  We are not alone in the water!

Kites... and commandments?!

So often in life we think that if only we didn't have rules that we would be so free and we could just "take flight".  Now think of a kite.  It is held down with a string.  Right?!  That's what you would think:  If we were to cut the string the kite would soar.  It would go so much higher than it ever can with that string attached to it.  However, this is a thought that completely doesn't happen.  When a kite's string is cut the kite plows into the ground.  The same goes with our lifes.  If we were not to have any commandments, we would not do nearly as well as we do when we have commandments to help us.  The commandments are not to "hold us down" but to allow us to "fly high".  The commandments don't bind us, but they free us.  We need guidelines to follow to stay free and not become ensnared.  These commandments are such blessings.  Next time you are tempted to "cut the strings" and "fly high" just remember a kite and what happens when it's strings are cut.  The same thing happens to us.  Allow the commandments to bless your life.

The Edge...

Our Heavenly Father gives us commandments to keep us safe, but the choice is ours to obey or not.  I know that our Heavenly Father doesn't give us commandments to limit our choices but to expand them.  When we don't pay attention to the commandments we sometimes get very close to the edge.  We leave the "safe" area that our Heavenly Father has told us to stay in and we go into the "dangerous" territory that Satan is in charge of.  At first it may seem a little uncomfortable to be at a party with alcohol, or to watch an R rated movie, but over time we become used to the danger of being on the edge.  The danger in breaking commandments never leaves.  Just because we feel comfortable there doesn't mean that the danger has left.  I don't typically go sit on the edge of cliffs, and in this picture I certainly wasn't comfortable.  I would have felt much better if I would have been at least 10 feet farther away from the edge.  I decided, however, that the fear was worth it and I wanted this picture, so I went and put myself in danger to get a cool picture.  How many times in life do we get close to the edge for the sake of looking cool, or to impress a girl/guy, or to rebel against our parents council, or any other reason?  I can think of so many times that people get close to the edge for no reason really at all.  Sometimes we get so comfortable on the edge that the fall doesn't even seem scary.  I know that living life on the edge and in the "danger zone" isn't all it's cracked up to be.  Satan wants us to believe this, but I know differently.  Our Heavenly Father desires true happiness for us and lovingly gives us commandments to keep us safe and happy.  When we follow his council and obey his commandments we are safe from sin and happy as ever.  Don't live your life on the edge.  Take a step back and realize the peace that comes from keeping the commandments.