Women's Conference

I came home from Women's Conference on a spiritual and emotional high. That lasted about 3 hours until the reality of my life settled back in. Broken dryer, broken car, children fighting, it goes on and on.  Lucky for me, Sunday was only a day away and that rejuvenated my elevated status.
Both years I have gone to this conference, I've gone with a question for my Heavenly Father.  It's interesting to me that although the questions were very different in every way, the answers were so similar.  The answers both had to do with this year's theme-

Elder Bednar and his wife spoke on Friday at the conclusion of the conference.  Elder Bednar said that by doing the small and simple things, consistently, are great things brought to pass.  The answers to my prayers from both years were that I needed to more of these 'small' things- consistently. I've often heard it referred to filling our lamps with oil.  We don't fill it all at once, it's a process of adding oil drop by drop. Slowly, perhaps, but constantly.

My answer from last year is in the process of being realized.  I know that sounds a bit cryptic, but I will post about it when the time is right.  Suffice it to say that I have seen the Lord's hand in my life and know He is blessing me for doing what he asked.  The answers that came were not at all what I expected.  Did I look for an angel?  Hope for a vision? No.  I just thought there would be something a bit more 'involved' than saying my prayers, reading scripture and attending the temple. 

This is such a testimony to me of the power in doing these small and simple things.  Elder Bednar called it a gospel pattern.  I had never thought of it that way.  But, the scriptures are filled with stories of people who are blessed for doing the simple things and those who lose their way when they don't.  I'm sure that one of the big differences between Nephi and Laman and Lemuel is that the latter rarely said their prayers or read scripture.   It's hard to lose your way when you are consistently doing the things that keep you on the path.

Each of the classes I attended also taught ways to achieve greater things by doing the small things- whether the goal is to have more self-esteem, stay humble or to get your son to the MTC, the answer is the same. Step by step, one drop of oil after another, one day at a time.