The Little Things

"As we turn to our Heavenly Father and seek His wisdom regarding the things that matter most, we learn over and over again the importance of four key relationships: with our God, with our families, with our fellowman, and with ourselves." ("Of Things That Matter Most," Dieter F. Uchtdorf, 2010)

I would be lying if I said that I didn't get down on myself for not doing or being good enough. I constantly tell myself that I need to communicate better, or be a better wife, or be a better employee. I tell myself that I need to strive to become a better Christ follower by being a better human being. I know that it is healthy and more than necessary to have goals, especially when it comes to growing spiritually; as Larry R.  Lawrence explained, "We will have to go beyond the grave before we actually reach perfection, but here in mortality we can lay the foundation."("What Lack I Yet?," Larry R. Lawrence, 2015).

Lately I have been pondering my Spiritual Foundation, and I thought to myself, "what if I am looking too close at the big things, when really I should be looking at the little ones? Instead of focusing on the big things that I feel I am doing wrong, why not reflect on the little things I am doing right?" I am not suggesting that we should neglect the idea of progression when it comes to our Spiritual Foundation. You should pray to know how you can improve as a Christ follower, but you should also pray to recognize what you've done to make Heavenly Father proud of you as you are right now. 

Brothers and Sisters - the little things you do can make a remarkable difference.

My husband and I live in Utah while my family lives 18 hours away in Minnesota, so I try to call my parents at least ones a week. A few weeks ago my mom and I were talking on the phone about my two younger brothers, Tanner and Skyler. Let me tell you - my two grade school brothers are honestly the busiest people I have ever met. I seriously don't even understand how they sleep at night. Both of them literally play every sport in the history of sports: basketball, football, soccer, hockey...the list goes on and on. My family is not a member of the church. My brothers go to a Catholic school, and I attended the same Catholic school from first to eighth grade. When I was talking on the phone with my mom, she suddenly said "Hey Vannessa, do you remember that Faith Hero project you had to do when you were in fourth grade? Well, Skyler is doing that project right now, and he chose you as his Faith Hero."  

I remember instantly growing teary eyed. I was so surprised! I remember thinking "What have I done to deserve this?" My mom then explained that she had no idea that he even had homework that night, until she got an email from his teacher expressing that the students needed to choose a Faith Hero to write about. My mom, assuming that Skyler wanted to get out of doing homework, confronted Skyler about the project. He responded with, "Mom, I already chose my Faith Hero. I chose Vannessa." When I heard this my mind briefly flashed back to when I was living in Minnesota and was just recently baptized. I thought about the many Sunday's when I would walk upstairs in my church clothes, and Skyler would curiously say, "Sissy, are you going to church again?" I would tell him yes and explain that I would be back later. Come again the next Sunday and I would get the same question from him: "Are you going to the Mormon church again?" He always thought it was interesting that I went to church for three hours instead of one.

When I came home from church, I would often come home and sit on the couch and read the Book of Mormon while my family watched the latest football game. A lot of the time Skyler would come and sit next to me. Sometimes he would ask questions, other times he would just sit and look at the pages as I read. I remember chucking as he stated, "You read the Book of Mormon a lot!"

In January of last year, my fiance, Ethan (now husband), left Minnesota to attend spring semester at BYU. I stayed home with my family in order to work and save money before we got married the following August. Ethan and I would frequently skype each other and read scripture together. More often than not, Skyler would knock hesitantly on my door, with his then-toothless smile on his face. He would walk slowly to my bed and shyly say, "Are you reading the Book of Mormon together? Can I read it too?" And he would.

Brothers and Sisters - I am sharing this to let you know that those "little" things you do - such as read your scriptures in your living room while your family watches football - THEY MATTER. I chose to read my scriptures in my living room, and it sparked some curiosity out of a nine year old boy. God is soo great! I didn't even think anything of these experiences until he chose me to be his Faith Hero, but skyping my husband and reading scriptures in my living room ended up making a surprising impact on my younger brother. The Book of Mormon helped me bond with him! In fact, the Book of Mormon, my baptism, all of it has brought me closer to my family. 

Do the best you can where you are right now. If you have Heavenly Father by your side, chances are you are doing better than you think.

I am not writing this to say that I think my brother is going to jump into the waters of baptism - that is not up to me to decide. I am writing this to testify that the Book of Mormon can change your life if you let it do so. Because of my choice to read the Book of Mormon, a choice that seemed rather small and simple to me, my brother grew curious, and we grew closer.

So keep doing the little things, even if they seem simple to you. Heavenly Father may use these little things for something bigger than you could ever imagine.