Delight in the Things of the Lord--Lindsay Kendrick

Possibly one of the greatest things in life is to find something you delight in—whether it be sports, music, family, or anything else that may bring you joy.  But do we tend to overlook the things we are meant to delight in because they may be difficult, challenging, or an inconvenience? Perhaps we are far too quick to overlook the things asked of us because we have become comfortable in our ways, not wanting to spread out and do other things. D&C 76:5 states, “For thus saith the Lord—I, the Lord, am merciful and gracious unto those who fear me, and delight to honor those who serve me in righteousness and in truth unto the end” (1).  Susan W. Tanner said, “When we delight to serve Him, our Father in Heaven delights to bless us” (2). Both of these quotations show us that the Lord is ready and willing to bless us if we do what he asks of us. He delights in blessing us. Do we delight in what he asks? It is my testimony that, though it may be hard at times, we need to delight and find joy in everything. We need to delight in trials, in service, and in Christ. We need to delight in all things asked of us.

When we hear the words “trial,” “affliction,” and “bad day,” often the thoughts “grouchy,” “frustrated,” and “I give up,” come to mind. To rejoice in trials is not an easy thing by any means. But we are meant to delight in all things—even trials. It is our duty to know how to find this delight, how to rejoice in our times of afflictions. One of the things we can do is to pray for guidance, help, comfort, and support. Hymn no. 140 beautifully sings, “Ere you left your room this morning, Did you think to pray?...When your heart was filled with anger, Did you think to pray?...When sore trials came upon you, Did you think to pray?” (3) This hymn counsels us to pray always, to pray in all things, for all things. D&C 10:5 states, “Pray always, that you may come off conqueror; yea, that you may conquer Satan, and that you may escape the hands of the servants of Satan that do uphold his work” (4). Here again we are told that we must pray, we must turn to the Lord. We cannot go through this world alone. And when we turn to the Lord, He will strengthen us in our afflictions. One of my favorite scriptures is found in Joshua 1:9 which says, “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest” (5).  This scripture has always said to me that it does not matter what is going on in the world, the Lord will always be there for you, lifting you up, giving you comfort, teaching you what you need to know and learn. Along with this favorite scripture is another tender scripture that is near and dear to my heart. It is found in D&C 84:88 which states, “And whoso recieveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up” (6). Here, again, is another scripture telling us that everything will be alright, we just have to trust that the Lord will not leave us to deal with our afflictions alone. We need to delight in our trials and see what we can learn from them. Richard C. Edgley, second counselor in the Presiding Bishopric at the time, stated, “For the faithful, the normal tests and trials of life need not be the enemy of faith. The faithful do not pray to be spared the trials of life but pray that they may have the strength to rise above them” (7). As I have pondered this quote and this topic of delighting in trials, I cannot help but think of my ankle. A few years ago, I had quite the mishap and broke my tibia near my ankle badly. Not only is the bone that I broke the large bone in the leg, but I also greatly damaged tendons and ligaments around that region. It was, obviously, very painful. Trying to fix it was even worse. But worst of all, I think, in this whole experience was what this accident kept me from doing. I have always had a deep passion for dance. At the time of my accident, I was deeply involved in Ballroom and Latin dancing, and also took part in an Irish Clogging class. It was a great joy for me. I found at a very young age that I could escape from the world when I danced—nothing else matter. The test I had that I was worried for could be put on pause; the paper I wasn’t sure how to write could be put on the back burner for just a moment; all other stresses and worries could simply wait. I had truly found my passion in dance, especially Ballroom and Latin dancing. Needless to say, I was more than disappointed and dismayed when I could not dance when I so badly broke my ankle. After eight weeks of babying my casted ankle, I started physical therapy to help gain back the strength I once had. After weeks upon weeks upon weeks of this ever painful and hated process, I was told I could slowly return to dance, but was told to realize it was never going to be the same. I knew it would not be the same, but that I could at least start working back up to where I was. My personality, however, does not include patience. I am patient with little children and almost nothing else. I like things to just happen and do not like to wait. I prayed to my Heavenly Father that I would be able to grow in dance as I had in the many years previous. I returned to dance with great confidence that I could, one day, be dancing like I had been before. However, my first day back, I was almost in more pain than when I first broke my ankle. Thinking this was just part of the process, I dried my eyes and put on a tough face. I do not like to complain or talk about pain with others. I feel that others have pain of their own. I would much rather help someone else than to dwell on my own pains. I knew that this was what I wanted. I wanted to dance more than anything. I prayed to the Lord that my ankle would no longer cause me pain and that I would be able to quickly return to my dancing, my delight, my escape from the world. However, after ignoring the ever-growing pain far too long and far too many weeks, I had to return to the doctor. I was told my ankle had not healed as well as they had thought or how they wanted it to. My tendons and ligaments were so badly damaged that there was really nothing they could do—surgery could not help. My ability to balance was greatly hindered. The scar tissue I had developed was becoming an issue as well. All in all, it was not a good report as there were even more problems found. Refusing to let something get in my way, I decided I was going to prove my ankle and the doctor wrong—I was going to get better. I prayed again that my ankle would no longer hurt and that it would not get in the way of my dancing. This prayer was in my morning and nightly pleas to the Lord. I continued to try to get back to where I had been—in dancing and even in something as simple as walking with little to no pain. I tried everything I could think of to make it better. I took it easy, I pushed it, I did my own physical therapy exercises, and I danced every now and then. But the pain was unlike anything I had ever felt. If I took a break from working at it, it was as if I had never tried to fix it in the first place. If I did not take a break from working at it, I felt like dying. I was in an ultimate loose-loose situation. I remember thinking that I had prayed—I had turned to the Lord. Wasn’t that what I was supposed to do? I had prayed that my ankle would heal and I had had a good feeling about it. Then one night as I knelt to pray, my thoughts started drifting in a different direction. After a few moments of quiet pondering, I said a completely different prayer. I no longer prayed that my ankle would heal and that I could return to dance. I instead prayed, with tears falling down my face, that I would be strengthened through this obstacle. I prayed that I would be comforted. I prayed that I would learn patience. I prayed and pleaded with the Lord that I would grow above and overcome my dancing, to find another passion, to not feel as if I needed dancing so much. I prayed to see the light at the end of this dark and long tunnel. As I ended my prayer, I felt a peace that I had never felt with my other pleas to the Lord. And though it was still not easy, I was able to keep hold of that peace. I still have trouble with my ankle. I still have great amounts of pain at times, especially if I fall or loose my balance, which tends to happen quite often. My ankle swells up to the size of a softball on far too many occasions. It has been almost four years since I broke my ankle, and the last time I tried to dance was over a year ago. I would be lying to say I do not miss dancing. However, I believe that I was meant to learn patience from this trial, to learn to let God take it all in his hands and to follow with faith that things will work out the way they are meant to be. And though I may have lost my delight in physically dancing, I have found my delight in learning directly from the Lord. I have delighted in my affliction. I have trusted in the Lord.

We are not only asked to delight in our trials, but also in our service. Mosiah 2:17 says, “And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God” (8). When we are asked to serve someone, we may not always do so very willingly or with a humble heart. We may feel that it is an inconvenience.  We want to take care of our things first, then we can go help someone else…maybe. This is not as it should be however. We are counseled and learn that we are to willingly serve others long before we serve ourselves. Then, and only then, we will see that both the one giving service and the one receiving the service are greatly blessed.  Within the first week of moving out to Utah to attend BYU, I was called to be my ward’s Relief Society President. I was shocked, surprised, grateful, and stressed all at the same time. I did not know what to do and if I could even do it. I went from watching over myself to watching over 97 other girls all within a matter of minutes. I am a people person and love getting to know everyone. I have grown to love each and every girl in the ward. Since my calling, I have had 4 AM phone calls, long walks after church, and multiple knocks on my door with girls in need of help and not knowing where else to go. It would be very easy for me to complain about the time I must spend on my calling, both inside church meetings and out. But that is not how I feel. Yes, it can be trying. Relief Society President is a big calling that is associated with large amounts of responsibility and accountability. However, I love every minute of it.  I feel a deep connection with all the girls. I feel deep sorrow when they come to me in tears or in times of great stress and anxiety. I laugh, cry, joke, and pray with them, and I would not want it any other way. I truly delight in this service. I delight in my calling. Another form of service, in relation to Relief Society, is Visiting Teaching. I have been a visiting teacher since February and have grown to love it. Sometimes it is very hard to find the time to prepare a lesson and set up an appointment, but it is always worth it. Back in my home ward in Minnesota, I was assigned to be the visiting teacher to a 24 year old that had fallen away from the church when she was in the Young Women’s Program. I knew their family and, therefore, kind of knew this girl. She had made a lot of decisions in her life after leaving the church. One of these decisions lead to her having a child out of wedlock. While pregnant, this girl decided she wanted to start attending church again. I was very excited to be her visiting teacher. My companion and I visited her every month. She came to church almost every week and was eventually called as the Young Single Adult Family Home Evening Coordinator. Her and I became very close and we developed a deep friendship. A few months after returning to church, this girl had a beautiful baby boy who she had blessed in Sacrament meeting by her father. She grew to love the church again and started making a lot of personal changes. Since I have come out to BYU, I have found out that she is engaged to a man and they are planning on getting married in the temple. I was so excited to hear this. I am not saying that because I was this girl’s visiting teacher that I lead her to become active again and to live in a way that she could get married in the temple. I acknowledge with great reverence that the Spirit is what moves people to change. But I do have a testimony that both this girl and myself have benefited as we would visit with each other and as I did things for her when she needed the help. It was such a delight to serve her in this way. It is such a delight to see her being blessed for her love of the Lord and her willingness to change. It has been such a delight to see how she affected me and taught me, even though she didn’t know it. We both benefited from just this little act of service, and we both benefited from our deep friendship from each other.

By finding delight through our trials and through our service, we are finding the greatest delight through Jesus Christ. As stated in the opening paragraph, the Lord is ready and willing to bless us—he “delights to honor those” who follow him (1). Among our service and positive attitudes in trials, there are other things we can, and must, do to delight in God and our Savoir Jesus Christ. We must follow the commandments and strive for righteousness. In 2 Nephi 9:49, Nephi says, “…and my heart delighteth in righteousness; and I will praise the holy name of my God” (9). We must learn to follow God, to praise God, and to stay on the path that will lead us back to him one day. It is not an easy task—Heavenly Father knows we will mess up at times but we are able to repent and keep trying. Psalms 37:4 states, “Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart” (10). The Lord is ready and willing to give us the righteous desires of our hearts if that is what he sees for us. We need only to ask him with real intent and true faith. We must also read the scriptures and learn of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Nephi knew this was a very important aspect of following Christ. In 2 Nephi 4:15 he wrote, “For my soul delighteth in the scriptures” (11). In the scriptures we find the plain and precious truths of the gospel—truths that we are to learn and live by. We can follow Christ only through these principles. We also must rejoice in Christ. One of the most widely known scriptures related to this is found in 2 Nephi 25:26 which says, “And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins” (12). By rejoicing in Christ, we will be on the path to doing all that we are asked to do. We will be following his commandments, we will love all who we come in contact with, we will be reading the scriptures, we will be feeling of the spirit, and so many other things. When we truly delight in our Savior and all that he has done for us, we are well on our way to returning to live with him and our Father in Heaven. This is our ultimate goal, a goal I hope we all are continually striving to obtain.

Delighting in things that are not always the easiest thing to do can be a difficult and trying task at times, but it is not impossible. We all need to look at these “difficult” things and ask ourselves what is making them so trying. When we finally humble ourselves to the point where we see that it is our attitude making them so difficult, we can then change that aspect of ourselves and grow to be more Christ-like. We need to delight in all things asked of us—even when our trials seem to weigh more than the world, when serving others may not be the most convenient thing for you, and when we forget simple, yet dramatically important, things such as reading our scriptures on a daily basis. It is my testimony that the Lord will bless us when we find these delights. We will learn to find blessings that we never even dreamed of. The Lord is waiting to bless us; he delights in blessing us. It is our turn to find delight. It is our time to start delighting in the ways of the Lord.

 

Works Cited:

[1] Doctrine and Covenants 76:5

[2] Susan W. Tanner, “My Soul Delighteth in the Things of the Lord,” Ensign, May 2008, 81–83

[3] “Did You Think to Pray” Hymn #140

[4] Doctrine and Covenants 10:5

[5] Joshua 1:9

[6] Doctrine and Covenants 84:88

[7] Richard C. Edgley, “Keep the Faith,” Ensign, May 1993, 11

[8] Mosiah 2:17

[9] 2 Nephi 9:49

[10] Psalms 37:4

[11] 2 Nephi 4:15

[12] 2 Nephi 25:26