Saturday, January 30, 2010

What changes people?

I'd like to tell a story to explain why I'm thinking about this. When I was in the bishopric, there was a lady in the ward who was bedridden and had all sorts of physical (and frankly, emotional) problems. She called on the Bishop and his counsellors often for blessings, advice, and other help. I think she mostly wanted to fellowship with others of her faith. She didn't live in the most savory area, and her kids had strayed off the beaten path and there were always people around who weren't the best examples. Well, her husband worked to try to support them, and they had their issues. Most of the time if we came over, he would make a point to not be there or go upstairs. There were times that we'd come to the door and we'd hear them yelling at each other. However, he waited on her hand and foot. She couldn't get out of bed, so he'd do most of the cooking, cleaning, shopping, and other stuff that had to be done. But he didn't get involved too much in the spiritual stuff. Anyway, that was how things were when we moved away. 5-6 months later, we went to visit the old ward, and I look over, and who do I see in sacrament meeting? The husband! I was shocked. It just wasn't like the man I knew. Anyway, come to find out, his wife ended up needing more care than could be provided in their home, so she had to move to more of a hospital-type facility. And that was when the changes started. I found out a couple of days ago that he goes to church every week, bears his testimony regularly, and has essentially turned a 180 with his life.

Anyway, so I started wondering - what makes people change like that? In his case, one suggested reason is that he started to realize how muh the ward had pulled together and tried to help with his wife. That probably had an influence, but I think it's more than that. I think one has to be truly influenced by the Holy Ghost to want to make those kind of changes. I think there's a reason that people refer to it as being "moved" by the Spirit or "led" by the Spirit. It's because the Spirit will lead you to act. ALWAYS. Everyone needs to make different changes in their lives, but one thing is certain: EVERYONE needs to change SOMETHING.

The reason it's important to be able to recognize the Spirit is so we recognize when we are being LED or MOVED to some type of action.

Question to ponder: What kind of changes do I need to make?

1 comment:

Rhoda said...

Great blog Shawn, it is brilliant!