Entering the phase of life where lunches and snacks, homework, folders, and filling up water bottles is a constant, grinding morning routine has been quite the party.
But something finally clicked:
Do as much work as possible the night before.
Bam!
When we prepare the night before, there is so much more PEACE in the morning.
And when I taught 6th grade, I always tried to plan my weeks out ahead of time.
That way, when it was time to prep for the specific day, I knew exactly what to do. Peace.
And when I performed in piano recitals, I would practice over and over so that the notes settled into muscle memory.
When it was time to play my piece? Peace.
We can’t prepare for everything.
But when we know something is coming, using our mature sense of delayed gratification to prepare NOW for what we will need LATER is what will bring us peace.
The Nephites and Lamanites in the land spent at least a few months gathering all of their families, supplies, livestock, and food into one place.
They prepared enough for seven years.
“The Nephites being in one body, and having so great a number, and having reserved for themselves provisions, and horses and cattle, and flocks of every kind, that they might subsist for the space of seven years”. – 3 Nephi 4:4
And so when the robbers attacked?
Peace.
They turned to God in prayer rather that turning from their enemy in fear.
And their preparation ended up being exactly what caused their enemy’s demise.
Because the robbers had not prepared.
They couldn’t live on “borrowed oil”.
So what can we do right now to prepare for the future?
Whether we need to get something organized, send an email, or strengthen a part of our testimony, the principle of preparation is a beautiful lesson in using our hard work NOW to make room for peace LATER.
“The great blessing of being prepared gives us freedom from fear.” – L. Tom Perry
Happy Studying!
-Cali Black
