Fruits

Matt 21:18-19

'Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered.

And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.'

I love how Christ teaches us how to live, in everything He did. Maybe there are more teaching opportunities/moments in my day, as a mother, than I am presently seeing?

As I read about the Fig tree, I pondered whether I too am lacking in fulfilling the purposes the Lord intends for me. Would I too be condemned to wither?

Then in vs 43 it says:

'Therefore Say I unto you, The Kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.'

Would my work (what I've been foreordained to do) then be given to another?

With this self-evaluation, I thought of all the activities that take up my time. Are they building 'my' kingdom? - my glory, wealth, pleasures? or His? Sometimes it can get hard to decipher.

It reminded me of a talk given by Elder David A. Bednar this last General Conference. In it he quoted the Prophet Joseph Smith, speaking to President Brigham Young.

'Tell the people to be humble and faithful and [be] sure to keep the Spirit of the Lord and it will lead them right. Be careful and not turn away the small still voice; it will teach [you what] to do and where to go; it will yield the fruits of the kingdom...'

About a week ago, I was reading a talk given by President Henry B. Eyring, also in this past General Conference. One part that really hit home was in his final words. He said:

'You show your trust in Him when you listen with the intent to learn and repent and then go and do whatever he asks. If you trust God enough to listen for His message in every Sermon, song and prayer in this conference, you will find it. And if you then go and do what He would have you do, your power to trust Him will grow, and in time you will be overwhelmed with gratitude to find that He has come to trust you.'

I wanted to be trustworthy of Him. I thought of some of the things I have been prompted to do, that I hadn't done yet, and resolved to do them that very day. One was to write a note of gratitude to Brent (something that was spoken of in church the previous day). I wrote the note, and left it on the side table of our bed. Another one, was to visit a Care Centre for the elderly with Eden and Mercedes. This is totally out of my comfort zone, but knowing it was an impression from the Spirit, it gave me that extra courage to do it. And we did. And it was wonderful. And we're going to make it a regular thing.

That night happened to end very stressful for me,and as usual, I ended up taking it out on Brent. We went about putting the girls down, and getting ready for the next day, when I got on the phone with family from Australia. Brent and I never got to resolve our frustrations together, and by the end of the phone call he had long gone to sleep. I felt so awful that I hadn't apologised to him, and wanted him to know that I love him more than the way I was treating him. I was super grateful when I went into our room, that he had fallen asleep with the note I had written earlier that morning opened and still in his hand.

I know these are only small experiences. But they have strengthened my faith in the guidance we are given to build His Kingdom. To bear the fruits he intends of us. Even in these very small deeds we are prompted to do.