The past couple weeks have been pretty rough with sales and whatnot. We came here with very high expectations for our success, but its been underwhelming, to say the least. I think there are a few main reasons that its been a struggle. The first being that the economy stinks and so nobody has money. The second is that it has been pretty cold around here, so the bugs aren't coming out as much. Its really hard to convince someone that they need pest control if 1)they don't have money, and 2)they're not seeing bugs anyway... You see the problem? Anyway, we're just hoping and praying that things will get better, and that the weather will get hotter.
Lately, in our scripture study, its been interesting to see all of the verses that can relate to success in the workplace. The first scripture that stuck out to me was Alma 34:20,24,25. Earlier, I had been thinking that I didn't really know if it was appropriate to pray for us to do well in our jobs, to get lots of sales and whatnot...because to me, that seemed kind of greedy, like saying, "help us to get lots of money." But when I read those verses, it struck me that it is good to pray for success in our "flocks and fields," and to pray that they will increase. In fact, I feel like its better that you do pray for success than not at all, because then you are more able to recognize the blessings that are pouring in from Heavenly Father, and you realize where the credit is due. I think it keeps you humble, to acknowledge that you need divine help, and can't do it on your own. You recognize that your success isn't all yours. Not only that, but it requires faith to trust that the Lord will bless you in the way and time that will be best for you. I feel better about praying for that now.
Something else that we've been thinking about lately is what can we be doing better in our lives, so that we can be worthy of the blessings and success we are asking for. There are so many verses, and general authorities that talk about keeping all the commandments so that you can really be worthy of the blessings you ask for. So, we've been working on being more consistent in those areas where we've been slacking. Even though sales haven't picked up a whole lot, we are more at peace than before. The nice thing is that we know that if we are doing the things we should be doing now, then whatever happens in our lives is what is supposed to happen, and we will have the help we need to get through it.
Anyway, that's just been on my mind recently, and it was exciting to me to come to those conclusions on my own!
1 comment:
I've been thinking about your blog today. I saw it earlier, and have been thinking about it a little here and there ever since. You are right, it is not bad to pray for success. But it's about your motives too. (Don't worry, I know your motives are good.) ;-) Jacob 2:18-19. This was the scripture that came to my mind. I think asking for success, or wealth or money is good as long as you are asking for it for the right reasons. For example you guys are looking for money to avoid debt while going to school, something we believe is a good thing. If you were asking for more money so you could have that shiny new car that's really expensive, your case may not be so good. Money is a means, not an end. It all depends on what the end in mind is. And you will find that if you have a good end in mind, that Heavenly Father will help you achieve it, although he may take you on an unexpected path to get there.
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