It is definitely the season of “more”. More service. More thoughtfulness. More snow. We finally got our first snow of the year, and it was worth the wait. Being from Wyoming, I enjoy getting inches of white stuff. I especially love when the combination of new snow and low clouds creates a nighttime glow.
But this season can also be a time of more frustration. More stress. More hurry. I have been thinking about which types of “more” I want to cultivate.
I came across an unexpected kind this morning. I found it in Mark 9:31-32.
The phrase “they…were afraid to ask him” hit me hard. I know what it feels like to be afraid to ask. Do you?
A co-worker of mine recently shared an experience she had on her mission. She was called to serve in a totally different location, language, and culture than what she was raised in. It was hard! She struggled. She prayed for help. Her answer was unexpected.
She was nudged to ask her questions at church. Be vulnerable. Share her hard. How scary is that? But she pushed past the fear and asked. Even though, as a missionary she felt she was supposed to be the one with the answers. And you know what? It worked! She got her answer from others as they “[met] together oft…and [spoke] one with another concerning the welfare of their souls” (Moroni 6:5). That lesson has continued to bless her through her life as she asks.
I have thought about that a lot.
I have also thought about something President Russell M. Nelson said in the April 2018 General Conference. In his first main address to all the world after he was sustained as the Prophet, President Nelson encouraged, “What wisdom do you lack? What do you feel an urgent need to know or understand?…Humble yourself before God. Pour out your heart to your Heavenly Father. Turn to Him for answers and for comfort….Oh, there is so much more that your Father in Heaven wants you to know.”
I want to be more like my friend. I want more courage to ask my questions, of both the Lord and others. I want more bravery to share my own thoughts and worries. I also want to trust more in God’s timing, because sometimes the answers take a while. I wonder what “more” the early apostles would have learned had they asked their questions at that moment.
What more am I missing because I am “afraid to ask”?
**In case you are interested, here is the link to President Nelson’s talk.
Living In The Sweet Spot 