As we worked through “what came next” on a series of different patterns, I noticed how many of the kids worked very differently. ⁣

Some of the kids would try and figure out the color patterns on their own. ⁣

(Sometimes they were right; other times they were very wrong.)⁣

And other kids wanted to wait and see what the answer was before they colored in their pattern. ⁣

(“Wait, what’s the answer? What color should I use?”)⁣

These two approaches are pretty universal, right?⁣

Sometimes we have questions and problems, and we do our best to find a solution. ⁣

Other times, we have questions and problems, and we wait for the answer to come to us before we move forward. ⁣

Guess which approach always leads to the best learning?!

When we do our best to do the work and find an answer, whether it is right or wrong, we learn infinitely more than when we just wait to be told the right answer. ⁣

Abraham’s servant is such a perfect and sweet example of this. ⁣

Tasked with finding a wife for Isaac, the servant came up with a plan and presented it to the Lord. ⁣

“And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master.” (Genesis 24:14) ⁣

The servant came up with a possible solution.

It doesn’t matter so much if it was a “good” plan or the “right” plan as much as the fact that he came up with something.

The Lord can always work with something.

This servant chose to at least come up with the plan, which is where the most learning and growth happens. ⁣

It’s so tempting to want to sit around, waiting to be inspired or told to do the right things. ⁣

Who should I serve? How should I simplify my life? What can I do to teach my family the gospel?⁣

It takes a lot of faith to make plans and move forward.

But moving forward, right or wrong or in between, is where we learn.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Preschool patterns  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I had prayed. I had done my research. I had written out pros and cons lists. I had talked with friends. ⁣

And I still had no clue which school to pick. ⁣

I kept praying.⁣

And still, I felt nothing. ⁣

Why wasn’t I getting the direction I was looking for? ⁣

I spent all summer thinking, delaying the final decision until the final deadline. ⁣

Still with no heavenly answer…

I finally just picked a school.

And it turned into a beautiful experience that was perfect with me, led me to amazing friends, and gave me great academic opportunities. ⁣

“Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good” (Alma 37:37).

So why hadn’t I been directed in the way I expected?

I have had countless times when I HAVE felt guided and directed by Heavenly Father in decisions I have made. ⁣

But I’ve also had a few of these experiences, where I look to Heaven and don’t hear anything. ⁣

Here’s what I think:

Being unmistakably directed in 100% of my actions would remove the need for agency and would stifle my growth.

Heavenly Father knew that I needed to “own” my school decision 100%. ⁣

And He trusted ME to make that decision all on my own. ⁣

He trusted me to study, ask, ponder, research, contemplate, and then decide. All by myself.

During that long decision-less summer, I think He was teaching me a totally different but more valuable lesson.

He knew I would figure out the school predicament.

But He knew I would need to learn the skill of making decisions quickly and with confidence by suffering through the painstaking opposite.

And so even when I didn’t think He was directing me, He was directing me for the greater good by allowing me to teach myself the lesson I had no clue I was learning. ⁣

He is there. He is listening. ⁣

Sometimes He needs to intervene and tell me what to do. Sometimes He wants to give me a nudge in the right direction. ⁣

And sometimes, He wants me to learn that I can trust myself and still learn the lessons He has directed for me.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post The long summer  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

It was Halloween time, and my teacher had asked all of us to write a spooky story.

When the time was up, we got into groups of 4 to read our stories to each other. My group read our stories, including one girl who hadn’t finished hers.

Our teacher then asked us to pick the person who wrote the best spooky story who would then read it out loud to the entire class.

It was SO AWKWARD to have to pick the best! No one wanted to say theirs was the best, everyone was beating around the bush, and finally someone suggested the girl who didn’t finish because her story was the spookiest since there wasn’t an ending.

She didn’t want to share hers, but everyone kind of agreed out of pity, the time was up, and we made this girl share her unfinished story out loud with the rest of the class.

Over 20 years later, I still remember how painful that experience was. We all knew we hadn’t picked the “best” story, and we made someone really uncomfortable at the same time.

Group decisions are rough.

There are emotions, different backgrounds, opinions from everywhere, communication style hurdles…

And yet, the Lord’s church functions almost entirely in councils and presidencies.

Groups. Making decisions together. Counseling together.

It even happened during the creation.

“And thus were their decisions at the time that they counseled among themselves to form the heavens and the earth.” (Abraham 5:3)

I don’t think counseling together is meant to produce the most efficient results, but it is meant to give the most well-rounded ones.

When all viewpoints are considered, when everyone feels safe to share what they actually think, when everyone trusts each other to say what they mean, then councils provide beautiful perspectives.

Maybe counseling together to create the world is where the idea came for placing beauty in the dry deserts, or for the placement of the planets, or for the diversification of species.

Counseling together can be tough.

But if it’s a pattern set from the foundation of the earth, it’s probably a skill worth pursuing.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Counseling and decisions first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.