Priorities

Two of my laurels had me crying today. One spoke in church before her Sister who just came home from her mission. She shared how much her Sister's example has affected her for good. It was such an incredible and pure testimony. Then another one of my laurels taught our lesson in Young Womens. She focused on two talks from General Conference: Casual vs. Careful and President Nelson's talk Come, Follow Me. At the end of her lesson she shared how not too long ago she didn't want to come to church or read the scriptures. She was struggling in life and failing in school which was rare for her. She had always received good grades. And then she heard from a conference talk about a challenge promising that if you'd read your scriptures then your grades would improve. So she took the challenge to heart and went home and read the scriptures for a long time. She continued to do so daily. On her next test she received a 98%! And overall her life was much happier. Her testimony and example are amazing.

It's easy to get stressed about by the things on our to-do lists and the daily responsibilities we have. When we see such a list of tasks it seems like the best option would be to skip the prayer and scripture study and focus on getting other things done. But, ironically, it's when we make sure that we do our prayers and scripture study that our day goes more smoothly and we are able to accomplish things more efficiently. Praying and reading the scriptures brings the spirit into our lives and fills us with hope, peace, and love. They are the reason we can get through our to-do lists and daily responsibilities.

Today was such a wonderful reminder to keep my priorities straight and focus on the most important things. To not let the unimportant things cause me any worry. The dishes will get done eventually, the floors will get swept somehow. But stopping to pray to my Father in Heaven has to happen. Reading from the scriptures has to happen. And sitting down to love and cuddle on each cute person in my family (and maybe, occasionally, our dog) has to happen!