Today, I attended a Stake daytime Enrichment meeting and listened to a very thought-provoking talk. The presenter was Cindy Lee and she is a member of our stake. I haven't really known her before. I've heard about her from my friend, who lives in her ward. Cindy is a counselor, who deals with a lot of women problems, teen problems, and she also counsels the missionaries at the MTC. Her talk was entitled "Personally Accepting the Love of the Lord."
Cindy told us that our thoughts affect our ability to let the love of God through to our hearts. She said: "You are not your thoughts. Just because you think it does not make it true." She talked about the voices that we sometimes have inside our heads and how we listen to those voices. She called it "mind chatter." She gave some great examples of how that "mind chatter" can affect us. For example, she really has wanted to draw and paint all her life. But, her mind told her that all she could do was draw stick figures. A couple of years ago, she decided to take a drawing class at BYU. She said she was so surprised that she could actually do more than stick figures. After that class was over, she took an oil painting class and learned to really love it. The teacher was concerned at first because of her attitude that she didn't think she could do it, but she proved she could. And, she painted some really beautiful things, one of which she brought to show us.
Also, she told us that when some of her children were doing things that she felt badly about, she figured that she was just a terrible mother. Her mind told her that. Finally she came to the realization that she wasn't that kind of person, that she had some inadaquacies in raising children but that through the Atonement of Christ, those inadaquacies could be made into strengths.
She gave this quote from Harold B. Lee: "I would charge you to say again and again to yourselves . . .'I am a daughter of God' and by so doing begin today to live closer to those ideals which will make your life happer and more fruitful because of an awakened realization of who you are." When we truly know that God loves us and wants us to become like him, then we can put aside those voices (mind chatter) that tell us we're less than we are. He loves us.
2 comments:
Sounds like it was a great message, Evie, and a well-spent day. These thoughts are right along the line of what I've been studying lately and I appreciate the second witness. Thanks for sharing.
Great thoughts, I would have loved to hear her.
Post a Comment