Repentance is like a pair of pants

When I was younger I came up with this analogy. I'm sure someone somewhere has come up with the same thing but as far as I know I haven't heard it yet. My husband thought I was crazy when I first told him about it. He gave me this look like here we go again,  Kim and her weird, random comparisons to life. Ha. In YW we have been talking about Repentance this month and it reminded me of my analogy.
Repentance is like a pair of pants:

1.    Recognize that your pants are dirty: Recognizing sin.

2.    Take the pants off: Stop sinning. Nobody wants to wear a dirty pair of pants.

3.    Put them in the washer: Going to the right source for help. Whether you need your bishop, parents, or just need to kneel down and talk to your Heavenly Father about it. Sometimes we stop the sin but don't take all the steps necessary for the forgiveness to take place. Just as sometimes our pants get thrown in a corner or stay in the laundry basket to be forgotten or not cleaned yet. We need to take them to the washer.

4.    Wash Cycle:  Represents the Atonement.  There are different types of cycles depending on the quality of the clothes. Just as we sin there are different severities and need to be taking care of in their specific needs.  When all is said and done the Atonement can make us clean once more. Some cycles are just more delicate then others. And some just take more time.

5.    Laundry detergent, bleach, and stain remover:  We can’t just expect a pair of pants to be put in the washer and become clean.  We have to put the effort into making them clean.  Just as you would put laundry detergent, bleach or stain removers in to ensure your pants will come out clean after the wash cycle, we as individuals need to make sure we are doing our part of the deal when we are asking for forgiveness. Reading our scriptures, daily prayer, attending church, fasting, and living the gospel to our best ability are steps we need to take in order to have the Atonement work in our lives. So we can become clean again.

6.    Dry Cycle: When the wash cycle is done it is important to dry your pants or they will become stiff, wrinkly, and uncomfortable to wear again.  Just as Heavenly Father forgives us it is also required of us to forgive ourselves.  When we are truly forgiven of our mistakes and when we truly forgive ourselves we have a sense of peace and comfort. We feel clean again. It is no longer a burden.  When your pants are dry from the dryer they are warm, wrinkle free, and soft once more. Ready to wear again.  

Lesson Learned:

The Atonement is meant to heal, it was never meant to be easy. It is meant to break us down and rid us of our stains. We are meant to feel “Godly Sorrow.” (Wash Cycle)

“God the Father is merciful and has infinite love for you despite your
faults. Only the voice of Satan will cause you to feel of no value. In
contrast, the Holy Ghost will cause you to feel 'godly sorrow' unto
repentance in a manner that fills you with hope of positive change."
(Anthony D. Perkins, "The Great and Wonderful Love," Ensign, Nov. 2006, 77)

I don't matter, I am needed

I was reading my friend's blog and it caught me off guard. The post was titled "My mom doesn't tell me I'm pretty" you will find the whole post here. She asked her mother why she didn't ever tell her she was pretty or smart when she was growing up. And what her mother was trying to teach her because of it. And this was her mother's response:
"That you, in and of yourself, are not nearly as important as the good you do for other people.  You may have to use your brain and your looks to make it through life, but at the end of the day, it isn't what your face looks like, or if you graduated from college, it is what you sacrificed to help someone in need.  No beauty, no degree, no accomplishment will make me as proud as knowing that my children know how to love and serve those around them."


I have been having a really hard time with some emotions recently. I got my "feelings hurt" so to speak, and I really have been letting it get the better of me. I swore I wouldn't let that happen when the feelings got hurt, but seeing that I am no where near perfect I let it get the best of me. And in return it has been affecting my actions. I have been less willing to serve in certain situations.  So many things have happened this month that have been "eye openers" or as I would like to call them "tender mercies" for me.


Lesson Learned:
It doesn't matter who you are. It doesn't matter how pretty, smart, funny, dumb, ugly, and so forth, you are. It matters what you do with yourself. It matter who you serve. How often you serve. And why you serve. 
"Our lives are a gift from God. What we do with that life is our gift to Him."
I would like to share something a little bit more personal, which I normally wouldn 't do, but I feel strongly I should share it. I was recently given a Priesthood blessing because of an illness I had a couple weeks ago, in the blessing I was only expecting something on how I was sick but this statement was said: " Kimberlee, the Lord relies on you to help those around you."
I don't matter, I am needed. I am grateful to be needed. And I will try my best to do all that I can to fulfill that need. I hope to be quicker to forgive and not so easily offended in the future so that I can focus more on what work the Lord has for me to do. I hope to not let the less important things matter more then what really matters most. As the Mormon Ad would say:" It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice."

Humility

Lesson Learned:
"Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking less about yourself."
 -President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Pride.

Wow. Thanksgiving came and went. And I'm hoping so did my pride. Some things happened this week that Brian and I definitely learned from. We found ourselves being covetous. Silly, when we are so blessed. We have everything and more then we possibly need. We have been extremely blessed. And of course the time of year when we should be most thankful for what we have we fail to give thanks. After we finally realized how prideful we were being we had a little talk and decided to change things. We changed our mind set. We suddenly realized everything we have is from the Lord. We have been so blessed. I keep repeating that but really we are.  The rest of the weekend we spent trying to focus on being more grateful and not so much on what we don't have or what we don't get to do. We tried to put our focus more on giving. Pride is such a nasty cycle. And no matter how much we try to avoid it, it always seems to slip back in to the picture and then we have to push it back out before some real damage has been done. The Lord has given us everything we have. He has provided us with this life. All the things we do, opportunities we get come from Him. How silly it is for us to forget that. Forget that you would not even be reading this if it weren't for His blessings He has provided. This time of year there seem to be two types of people. The type that get so carried away in the worldliness of Christmas and then the type that seem to do nothing but give more and more without once ever thinking of themselves. The ones who don't even get a Christmas. What would the world be like without all the Christmas hype. All the presents. All the craziness. All the Pride. We would be simply celebrating the birth of Christ.  What joy. After all, His birth was the start of such greatness. The start of the life of a man who provided the world for us. Provided peace. Provided the atonement. A way out. Such love and mercy from this Man. Eternal life. Hope. What more can we do for this Man then to show our appreciation. Celebrate Him. Do as He has done. Give. Sacrifice. Love unconditionally.
Lesson Learned:

(Alma 26: 35-37)

"Now have we not reason to rejoice? Yea, I say unto you, there never were men that had so great reason to rejoice as we, since the world began; yea, and my joy is carried away, even unto boasting in my God; for he has all power, all wisdom, and all understanding; he comprehendeth all things, and he is a merciful Being, even unto salvation, to those who will repent and believe on his name. 

Now if this is boasting, even so will I boast; for this is my life and my light, my joy and my savlation, and my redemption from everlasting wo....

Now my brethen, we see that God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth. Now this is my joy, and my great thanksgiving; yea, and I will give thanks unto my God forever. Amen."

I would hope that this time of year that we can all take the time and effort to sacrifice a bit more for others. Give thanks a bit more. Do something a bit more then you have in the past. Make it a more joyful time of year for people. Give a bit more. Remember Him. Give as He does. Love as He does. 

Divine Calling

This past week my little boy has been doing so much. I feel like he grew up over night. He just hit 6 months and I feel like he is already 5 yrs. He is all over the place. It is so fun for me to watch him learn. As I was enjoying this week, watching him roll all over the place, eat rice cereal for the first time, drink out of a cup, etc... I suddenly felt like I hit a brick wall. My heart sunk. I had no idea why I felt such...RESPONSIBILITY. That's right. Responsibility.  Things have been so AWESOME.  I felt like I was on top of the world. Finally getting the hang of this "mom thing".  And then without warning WORRY for my little boy's future over powered me.  I couldn't sleep all night. I felt sick inside. I even felt scared. I no longer felt confident. Doubt and failure kept running through my mind. How do I raise my little boy? All of a sudden the basics seemed hard. Where do I even start? Good heavens. After hours of complete torture, I said a little prayer. Comfort, strength, knowledge, humility, patience. I am grateful for the Lord's work. I am grateful that He knows me and is always there to guide me. "Kim, you are capable. Not only capable but you are chosen for this. You have the great privilege and duty to be a mother in Zion." 

Lessons Learned:

"The Lord has directed, Bring up your children in light and truth. To me, there is no more important human effort. Being a father or a mother is not only a great challenge; it is a divine calling. It is an effort requiring consecration. President David O. McKay (1873-1970) stated that being parents is the greatest trust that has been given to human beings."
--President James E. Faust, A Thousand Threads of Love, Ensign, Oct. 2005, 3