I just finished reading The Last Battle, the last book in the Narnia series to my children. We all cried with joy at the end,as we read of how sweet it will be when we at last make it through this life. It is so insightful to the plan of salvation. The mercy of the our Savior, Jesus Christ. I am so imperfect, no better than a dog, as the Calormene put it. I continue to make mistakes, so often the same ones, but just as Christ has commanded us to forgive seventy times seven, so He forgives me each time I turn back to Him, and try again to do right. I have felt a great peace, and strengthening from Him over the past few weeks, as I have tried with a renewed diligence to put Him first in my life. That means I seek His approval, not the approval of my fellow mortals.
It means I follow Him, even when those around won't. In Narnia, at one point Lucy sees Aslan beckoning to her and knows he wants her to follow him, but the others she is with don't see Him, and won't go that direction, so she stays with her group and go another way. They end up in trouble and lost and have to redo the distance back. Aslan again appears to Lucy. He asks her why she didn't follow Him. She said the others wouldn't go. Aslan again asks, "Why didn't you follow me?" That part has stuck firmly in my mind.
My other favorite piece I learned is that everything is "soon" in Aslan's time. Just as the Lord told Joseph Smith "Thy troubles shall be but a small moment" Keeping things in this eternal perspective makes the tough spots much easier to endure. It is like when my lungs are burning and muscles don't want to go any more at Crossfit. I tell myself: "This is only a 6 minute WOD. You can do anything for 6 minutes!"
It means I follow Him, even when those around won't. In Narnia, at one point Lucy sees Aslan beckoning to her and knows he wants her to follow him, but the others she is with don't see Him, and won't go that direction, so she stays with her group and go another way. They end up in trouble and lost and have to redo the distance back. Aslan again appears to Lucy. He asks her why she didn't follow Him. She said the others wouldn't go. Aslan again asks, "Why didn't you follow me?" That part has stuck firmly in my mind.
My other favorite piece I learned is that everything is "soon" in Aslan's time. Just as the Lord told Joseph Smith "Thy troubles shall be but a small moment" Keeping things in this eternal perspective makes the tough spots much easier to endure. It is like when my lungs are burning and muscles don't want to go any more at Crossfit. I tell myself: "This is only a 6 minute WOD. You can do anything for 6 minutes!"
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