Pulling the "guilt bag behind you"

Heidi Swinton started out by asking one of those questions that really hits you, "How do you do more with all that you already have without pulling the "guilt bag" behind you of those things you haven't done yet?  Seriously, that is something that I know I really struggle with.  It is a common plauge in my life.  I don't want to feel like I can't improve and do more better, yet it's not healthy to be pulled down with the weight of guilt. 

She started off telling about when she was in England as a mission presidents wife when the phone rang.  Her husband answered and said it was for her.  She thought it must be a missionary that was dear John'd  but her husband said it was the prohet.  To say she didn't believe him is an understatement.  She finally said hello and it was President Monson.  He chatted with her for a bit.  She said she just kind of nodded and sat in shock while he chatted with her.  Finally he came to his point in the call, to ask her to write his biography.  She was shocked.  He said he had prayed about it and knew she was the person to write about him.  Then he said, and if you start now you can be half way done by the time you come back from serving as mission presidents.  Talk about pressure.  It makes you think, how many times you asked to do things when your life is already completely full.  And for her it was full of doing the Lords work, yet still she was asked more of.  So when my life is full of some of the stuff that I enjoy, that helps the family, that is for the kids, etc how do I react when I'm asked to do something more for the Lord.  Am I frustrated at the thought of how it's going to affect our schedule or do we look at those things we are doing and find a way to do the important, the new calling, whatever those things are first and then fill in life around it. 

As a side note she said, "Don't worry about what they are going to wear or how you are going to afford it--teach them the Gospel!"  That's what you can do to prepare your missionaries.  It hit me pretty strong.  With the new announcment of shorter MTC time, younger ages that missionaries are available to go out etc, the time to teach my kids the gospel has just shortened.  What in my life am I doing to teach them the gospel?  What can I do to teach them more or better?  I need to find ways to better prepare my kids for those steps that could come at a younger age. 

She then said, "There is more work than we can do but the Lord makes us able"  That is one of those things I really need to remember.  In knowing what I need to do to prepare my children but also in just those things in life that I'm asked to do or I know I need to do.  President Monson said, "Before we can successfully undertake a search for Jesus we must make time in our lives and room in our hearts."  That got me thinking, how much time in my life and room in my heart is currently open for him?  What can I do to make more?  The question to ask ourselves, What do I do to fit Jesus in my life? 

But for Sister Swinton, the real question when she was asked to write the prophets biography was just how do we do those new things?  How do we physically accomplish these things?  She said, its simple, it's just not easy.  We find more time, more focus, be less terrified and do it.  She said she could have spent months with excuses of why she didn't have time, but instead she made more time, mostly by becoming more focused with the time she had on each thing, then the hardest parts for her, she had to just let go of the fear and do it.  Instead of worrying about doing it wrong, or not enough, once she just did it it would allow the Lord to fill in where she lacked. 

She talked about how the prophet came from an inactive family, that he was taught by his grandfather and those around him how to be christlike.  If the prophet of God can come from imperfect surroundings with imperfect examples we need to not give up hope on ourselves or our children.  It is our repsonsibility to do the best we can with what we are given and allow the Lord to fill in our gaps. 

She said one of the most important things was to look beyond what you are going to do with your day to how you are going to do it.  It can be anything from comforting a sad missionary, writing the biography of the prophet, taking your kids to music classes, cleaning your house, to just talking to a neighbor at the park.  The important thing is not which of those things you are doing, but how you are going to do it.  We can do more if we do it in the right way, with the Lord as our costant example. 

If we seek Jesus no matter what we do, and trust him to fill in our gaps, then we should trust him enough to know that there is no need for a guilt bag behind us.  We can do our part and he can take care of that which we pull in the guilt bag so it doesn't have to slow us down on what we are doing.