Ponderizing

The Saturday before General Conference was the Women's General Conference.  I have been meaning to write my testimony of something important that I came away with on that Saturday.  I now see why I didn't.  

Elder Durrant's challenge to "ponderize" scriptures (during last week's General Conference) lead Levi to choosing a scripture for our family that just made what I learned at the Women's Conference all the more real and important to remember.  He choose Matthew 11:28.  

" Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

With this "ponderizing" that we have committed to do, we will be putting a new scripture on our fridge every week after Family Home Evening.  We will see it over and over as we are in the kitchen throughout the week.  This will get us ready to talk about it at the following Family Home Evening.  Well, on Tuesday night, after reading our scriptures as a family, I brought up this scripture.  Brigham complained, "Aren't we supposed to talk about this at our next Family Home Evening?"  Little stinker.  But I love his honesty.  Yes, we will talk about it then but I wanted to bring it up for some reason.  Maybe it was to keep it in their minds.  Not sure, but I'm glad that I did.

So we talked about all the ways it could be interpreted.  So many good things were brought up by everyone.  It could mean working hard physically and getting rest through God daily.  It could be working hard Monday - Saturday which means you could be very much "heavy laden" by Sunday.  If we keep the Sabbath Day holy, then that is when we would find rest.  It could be a pregnant mother in labor, who is obviously heavy laden, and finding rest once delivering that baby.  But the the interpretation that I kept thinking about was one that would apply to this life....our whole life experience on Earth.  

For some of us, and I would guess it is most of us, going throughout life can seem so very hard at times.  And for some of us, it can feel that way the majority of our lives.  Talk about "heavy laden!"  You may feel you "labour" a lot in your mind, as you beat yourself up about things not accomplished.  Or not being good enough.  You may just want a break!  Doesn't that "rest" sound so wonderful?!  For some of us, that "rest" will only be found in the afterlife.  Which brings me back to the beginning of this journaling experience today.

Sister Linda S. Reeves said at the Women's General Conference,

"Sisters, I do not know why we have the many trials that we have, but it is my personal feeling that the reward is so great, so eternal and everlasting, so joyful and beyond our understanding that in that day of reward, we may feel to say to our merciful, loving Father, “Was that ALL that was required?” I believe that if we could daily remember and recognize the depth of that love our Heavenly Father and our Savior have for us, we would be willing to do anything to be back in Their presence again, surrounded by Their love eternally. What will it matter, dear sisters, what we suffered here if, in the end, those trials are the very things which qualify us for eternal life and exaltation in the kingdom of God with our Father and Savior?" 

"Is that all that was required?"  I have thought about that phrase over and over again since that Saturday.  But as we, as a family, were discussing the meaning of Matthew 11:28, that phrase just sunk in even more.  Embedded in scripture, now this means all the more to me.    

I truly can not wait for the glorious day to be able to say to my very loving Father in Heaven, "Was that really all that was required of me?  Really?"