A couple of months ago, we had a Family Home Evening lesson about the importance of the scriptures. I asked the kids to pick their favorite scripture and, without telling anyone what it was, draw a picture that represented it. After all of the pictures were drawn, they took turns seeing if the rest of the family could guess their favorite scripture by just looking at the drawing. This one was my favorite:
My son held his picture up, and we were stumped. What could it be? A pinata was the most common guess, but we knew that there were very few scripture references to pinatas, so that couldn't be it. He finally tired of waiting for us to guess correctly and told us that his favorite scripture is 1 Nephi 4:6 which says, "And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do." Can you see it now?
I also love this scripture. Nephi and his brothers had gone back to Jerusalem to retrieve the plates of brass. After one unsuccessful attempt by his brother, Nephi went into the city. Not knowing how he was going to accomplish this task, he displayed incredible faith by following the spirit. And the rest, as they say, is history. Because Nephi was able to retrieve the plates, his family's genealogy was preserved and the records were able to "go forth unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people."
I'm at the beginning of a journey of my own. I felt prompted that now is the time for me to go back to school, and about two weeks ago I followed that prompting. I feel like Nephi, being "led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand" how I will accomplish this hard thing. I have many, many reasons why now is NOT the time to begin a four or five year adventure - all of my six kids are still at home, including one with special needs and one who is struggling to figure out her place in the world and is still really dependent on us. I don't know if we will be able to financially handle it. I don't know how I will find the time between soccer and gymnastics and basketball and running forgotten papers and lunches to school. There really are so many reasons that it won't work. There is, however, one very important reason that it WILL work: the Lord is on my side. I know that it is His will that I follow this path at this particular time and that He will prepare the way for me, as he did for Nephi.
"For behold, he is mightier than all the earth, then why not mightier" than all of my excuses and tendencies to procrastinate? I know I will not be alone in my journey, and I am so very grateful for that knowledge.
