Small Things Made Large

I thoroughly enjoyed our Relief Society lesson on Sunday.  Our bishop is completely inspired.  I will try and give a quick summary.

Bishop Ahlquist started out by talking about how we all have ups and downs in life.  There are days, minutes, weeks, or months when we feel like we can't make it one more day.  We feel discouraged and hopeless at these points in our lives.  When we feel like giving up it is Satan telling us we can't make it any more.  Satan wants us to feel discouraged and helpless.  He wants us to give up. It is up to us to get up and keep going.  It is our choice to keep going and moving forward.

Our Bishop wanted us to know how much our Heavenly Father loves us.  He doesn't want us to give up.  We are never alone.

Then the Bishop led into why daily life gets us down.  Sometimes it is not events at all, but rather just daily life.  We all get frustrated and overwhelmed with our spouses, kids, jobs, coworkers, friends, callings, work, school, etc.  There is always something we are worried about.  We often have unexpected events and tasks that come up that interrupt our routines.  It is how we deal with these interruptions and changes that make the difference.

Bishop Ahlquist further explained that when we focus on these little interruptions and changes they become big and unbearable.  I love this concept.  I thought of how this concept applies to my own life.
Kyle and I have a good marriage.  We get along most of the time.  However, there are times when we don't agree.  There are times when we get on each others nerves.  It is usually never anything big, but it can seem big.  I find when I focus on the little irritating things Kyle does I go crazy.  I am not happy with our marriage at all. I am impatient and rude to my dear husband.  This doesn't go over very well.  Kyle then becomes irritated with me and our home is not a happy place.

When I don't focus on the small irritating things but rather the good things our marriage is 200 times better.  Instead I stay positive and focus on the good things Kyle does.  It is choice I have to make every day.  I have to choose which things I am going to focus on.  I can choose to be grateful Kyle cooked dinner last night or I can choose to nag about having to do the dishes.  I choose to be grateful for Kyle putting Grant to bed or complain about the clothes he didn't put away.

I appreciated Bishop Ahlquist for reminding me to stay positive and not focus on the negative things in life.  It isn't always easy to find the positive in every situation.  But I know that whatever I focus on becomes large and surmountable.  I hope you kind find the positive in everything every day!  It is up to each of us to choose the positive in every situation.