Skip to main content

Week 11: Beauty for Ashes

This past week I have been reading a book called Beauty for Ashes by Scott A Livingston and I'm obsessed with it. It's all about how we respond to mistreatment in our lives. It encourages us to take the ashes, the pain and sorrows of life, and turn them into beauty by responding to situations as Christ would. I recommend it to everyone!!!

One of my favorite quotes says,
   We talk in great generalities about the sins of all humankind, about the suffering of the entire human family. But we don't experience pain in generalities. We experience it individually. That means he knows what it felt like when your mother died of cancer-how it was for your mother, how it still is for you...He knows that moment when the brakes locked and the car started to skid...He knows about PMS and cramps and menopause...He knows all that. He's been there. He's been lower than all that. He's not waiting for us to be perfect. Perfect people don't need a Savior. He came to save his people in their imperfections. He is the Lord of the living, and the living make mistakes. He's not embarrassed by us, angry at us, or shocked. He wants us in our brokenness, in our unhappiness, in our guilt and our grief." (Cheiko Ozaki, Lighten Up!)

It is so comforting to know that Christ knows it all. He has experienced every individual pain we go through. He's the only one. We can turn to Him and find comfort and solace when the world around us seems dark. It is my goal to make "beauty for ashes" in my life and seek to respond as the Savior would.

Image result for christ lds

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Week 7: PG-13 movies

This week we talked about media violence in class. Someone made a comment that got me thinking and bothered me just a little. They talked about how after their family watched a PG-13 movie that they started fighting, almost blaming the movie for the fight. Now the movie may have been a factor but I promise that it didn't start that fight on its own. I think sometimes we jump to conclusions too quickly. That's like saying that anyone who watches PG-13 movies is going to get into fights and the righteous that don't won't, which we know isn't true. We also learned in class that some people are more susceptible to the effects of media than others. I personally watch PG-13 movies. However, I'm still picky about the movies that I watch. I don't just watch anything. I like to look up movie content and see what it's about and how it's been rated and why. Not all PG-13 movies even contain violence. We are told to be thoughtful about the media we con...
1 comment
Read more

Week 8: Why do I like being afraid?

This week was Halloween! So naturally, in class, we talked about fear. I started to ask myself, why do I like being afraid? I'm the person who enjoys scary movies and haunted houses and October is one of my favorite months. But then sometimes I'm on edge afterward. But why? We talked about how some people have an openness to fear. I feel like that describes me. I am open to fear but sometimes it causes me to have increased fear. I like to be scared because I like to prove to myself that it's not real and that I can overcome my fear. I'm kind of weird in that way. I have always been afraid of heights so I decided to go skydiving to help me with that. I like facing my fears head-on and trying to conquer them. Maybe it's a good thing? Maybe I'm a weirdo? But either way, it's just who I am.
3 comments
Read more

Week 4: General Conference

This weekend was amazing! General Conference is something that I look forward to every six months. This time was no different. I received so much inspiration that I really needed. And sometimes I think I take for granted the fact that General Conference is broadcast live and that's really one of the few ways we can all hear the prophet's voice. Listening to President Nelson speak always gives me chills. I had a quote that really stuck out to me from this morning. Elder Uchtdorf in his talk said the following: "discipleship is not about doing things perfectly, it is about doing things intentionally." What a profound statement! I think sometimes I worry too much about being a perfect disciple that when I mess up I almost want to just give up rather than keep trying because I won't be doing it "perfectly." But I was reminded this weekend that the Lord cares about our efforts and that we keep trying. He is cheering us on and He will guide us home if we ju...
3 comments
Read more