How has 2020 changed you?
I’ve been thinking about this a lot.
Someone posted a picture recently that said, “I miss the toilet paper memes/stimulus check part of quarantine. Things are just getting dark now.”
I laughed, and then I got a little sad.
Everyone’s been navigating the past few months seemingly blindfolded – and then thrown a bunch of heavy social, political, and moral conundrums on top of that.
So what are we letting everything do to our souls?
At the end of the long, drawn-out, devastating war between the Nephites and the Lamanites, Mormon noticed two groups of people who emerged:
- Many people became hardened.
- Many people humbled themselves before God.
Same war. Different personal outcomes.
I’m sure each Nephite had different individual experiences with the war. Some had family members in battle, some lost loved ones, some were displaced, some dealt with political turmoil and rebellion, some had to change jobs. Some barely had anything change.
But at the end of the day, some people chose to harden their hearts because of the war.
And others chose to humble themselves.
Have you felt your heart get a little harder or a little softer these past few months? Have you made more enemies or more friends? Have you empathized more or judged more? Have you been a creator of joy and peace or of confusion and anger?
I think it’s perfect, not-so-coincidental timing that we are studying the end of the great Nephite-Lamanite war right now.
How will we reflect on our 2020 when it’s all over?
Which group will we be in?
The good news is that we’ve still got plenty of time left.
If we’ve felt hardened, if we’ve felt less love for others, if we’ve felt distant from God, we can practice humility.
And boy, does it take practice.
Praying to remove any pride. Feeling true empathy. Turning to our Savior.
And when presented with the ever-growing variables for the future, we can face them with love and faith. We can reach out in love and kindness to our neighbors. We can serve with love to our God.
The outside circumstances? Really, “it mattereth not.”
What matters is how our heart responds.
Happy Studying!
-Cali Black
8 Responses
I love this snipet. It its to the core. I knew I was changing and could not figure out why. Now I know. I have been praying for gelp. Thank you.
Prayer certainly helps me a lot! <3 Thank you!
Once again- you nailed it. Thank you for your wonderful contributions.
<3 <3 Thank you!
I have had a dilemma recently, trying to decide how to talk on Facebook, about the violence and the extreme radical ideas on the left. Should I not explain I how I feel, shouldn’t we be a voice of reason and warn people that we need to get back to having God in our lives? I don’t want to offend church members if they are Democrats, either. But when I do voice my opinion, I try to be nice, I don’t swear etc. isn’t it our duty to warn society?
Sharon,
I think for the most part people are tired of others opinions. I think uplifting none judgemental quotes or scripture verses might be a better way to go. As for me I stay out of the whole political stuff on fb.
I like that suggestion – I always try to make sure that the good that I’m putting out into the world far outweighs my “opinions” or other thoughts. Uplift and try to soften other hearts is always the best strategy, in my opinion! <3
I think a lot of people struggle with that balance. For me, it comes back to the state of my heart and my intentions. If I feel true love for someone, and I really want to make sure they aren’t headed down the wrong path (which, for the record, I full believe can be found in every part of the political spectrum), then I usually want to help “correct” or “warn” them in a kind, personal way. I want to be filled with love and a soft heart in everything that I do. Just like a doomsday person who makes a giant billboard telling everyone to repent, I think there are some ways that are much more effective at influencing people than others. And I’m starting to think that making Facebook comments tends to fall more and more into the “not super loving OR effective” category. At the end of the day, if I feel true love and compassion for other people and for my Savior, then I move forward. If I am trying to prove that I am “right” or point out other people’s errors just because I think I should, I’m probably not having the softest heart. But it’s for everyone individually to figure out where that line is between a hardened and softened heart! <3