To paraphrase and totally change a scripture from Mosiah. “But Sarnic was frightened by the advancing day of her talk, for with much responsibility comes great expectations. But Sarnic went forth and stood among her notes and exhorted herself that she should not be frightened by the open endedness of the topic she was given, but she should remember the Lord her God, and trust that she will give the message the Lord wants given, for God does not suffer one to be tested above what they are able, but will with the trials that come into her life, make a way to escape, that she may be able to bear it. Therefore she hushed her fears, forgot herself and got back to work.
In a
world where sorrow will be known, where many are found needy, sad, and alone.
How much joy and comfort can I really bestow?
The
solution is; to scatter sunshine everywhere you go.
Often
we are made to believe that in order to truly let your light shine, you have to
be a beacon set upon a hill, a blazing sun to those all around you. Only then
will you be able to help those in need. If any of you are like me, the thought
of being so brightly seen is overwhelming. The thought of being a huge
influence to the world, impossible. So perhaps you take refuge from the
responsibility, going into Standby Mode, waiting for a Miracle to fall into
your lap as you stare at your computer screen, lost in an online fantasy world
where there, you truly can make a difference.
Don’t
give in. Don’t give up. And don’t Give out. You can scatter sunshine everywhere
you go. By doing the small things, even something as simple as smiling to a
stranger, or opening a door for another can cheer and bless and brighten every
passing day. It’s easy to feel like you Fit Out more than you Fit In, that you
can’t make a difference in anyone else’s lives, but don’t let that stop you
from going out and seeing how much joy and comfort you can bestow. Hush your
fears. Go and Do.
A
couple of days ago, a Facebook Friend of mine posted a unique experience she
had while riding the Frontrunner to Work one morning.
A
young man sitting behind her started playing his cello. Intrigued, she removed
her headphones and watched others do the same as melodic music starting filling
their train car. She doubted the man even noticed, but within minutes almost
everyone in her car had unplugged from their devices and perked up to listen to
this young cellist. People boarding seemed to pause and many decided to find a
spot to stand in their already full box just to listen to the beautiful music.
It was so cool to watch everyone relax from the hustle and bustle of their
morning routine to enjoy the energy and vibrations coming from this musician as
he played.
It
could have been easy for this young musician to keep his Cello in his case.
Only practicing and letting his light shine at his home, in front of his music
teacher, or even at a concert when he could truly show his skills with the
piece he’d learned after a lot of practice. Yet, instead, this young Cellist
chose to share his gift. Who knows what he’d been thinking beforehand. Maybe he
had doubts that he wasn’t good enough to play in front of people, maybe he had
fears that everyone would boo him and make him stop. Yet, he hushed his fears
and played. Giving passengers on that train a taste of his talent, sharing in
with his joy in his work, grateful that he’d been able to play for them. It may
have been one instrument, one player. But it was enough for those around him to
have the chance to relax and listen to sweet music. Not all need to have their
talents perfected in order to help others out in their time of need. Not all
need to be part of a big production to make a difference. In sharing our
talents, in serving the Lord and others “We can be blessed to conquer our fears
and strengthen our faith as we follow the Lord’s instruction: ‘Look unto me in
every thought; doubt not, fear not.’”
Will
we, in our lives, be like the servant who upon being given his talent by the
Master, go and hide it in the dirt, never to let it see the light of day? Or
will we choose instead to invest it, multiply it, and gain more talents by
working with what we have? After all, ‘There is no good soil without a good
farmer.’
Don’t you ever let this world push you
around. And
tell you you’re not good enough. Use your
head and keep your feet firmly on the ground. And if you get knocked down, get
back up and try again. Don’t you ever lose that sparkle in your eyes, don’t
bottle up your passion like a jar of fireflies. If you ever lose sight of your
light, and you feel like givin’ in. Don’t you forget your faith in God above.
Don’t you forget your family and friend’s love. When you fear, when you fail, when you feel you’re gonna fall,
follow your heart and always believe in the underdog. You can get through
any trial in your life, even if it seems impossible, you will overcome it, you
will win in the end even if the chances seem very slim now.
Too
often it’s hard to feel and hear the delicate and sweet spirit of the Lord when
we are surrounded by an overwhelming Orchestra of the World. Sometimes it is of
our own doing, when we plug into our technology, creating our own soundtrack to
listen to, ignoring all other music that goes around us. Other times, the world
itself becomes too overwhelming with screeching white noise of music that once
was nearly in tune with the Lord’s Gospel, but now sounds nothing at all like
the music that we have been told is best for our ears, that will help us not go
tone deaf to the needs of others, and to the bettering of ourselves.
For
are we not all musicians practicing for the Lord’s Orchestra? If we are not
attuned to the Spirit’s note, how easy it is for us to lose the pitch, the
cadence, the melody of the song the Lord is trying to teach us to play. Our
part in this Lord’s Orchestra may not be the big drumroll that we wished it to
be, yet the Lord has a piece for each of us to play.
I
played a simple piece of my part earlier in this week, a piece that I did not
think was that noticeable, nor one that took too much effort on my part because
I had played the part many times before, even if it was not recently. You see,
my roommate had a friend over, they hadn’t seen each other in a long while due
to life and work getting in the way. And it so happened that the friend brought
her three kids with her. And like all little kids, they were rambunctious,
hyper, trying to get their mom’s attention while she attempted to chat with my
roommate…talk about a loud Orchestra! The more it appeared that the mom was not
listening to them as they ‘played their music,’ the louder and more demanding,
and out of tune they became. So, I simply decided to be an audience to them.
Giving the them attention that they needed, listening to them, and applauding
their accomplishments, giving their mother a much needed break to recharge and
have some ‘duo’ time with my roommate to reharmonize their own instruments to
each other so that sweet music could come from them as well.
It
was not an action that I took much thought of, but meant the world to the
mother and my roommate. It’s often the smallest of our actions that have the
greatest effect upon others. It may have seemed an inconvenience to others if
they were in my place. After all I could have shut myself in my room and
bemoaned the fact that my quiet afternoon had been invaded and destroyed. I
could have gone into a worldly mode where I ‘focused on Me and Mine instead of
Thee and Thine’….but often best services are performed when we choose between
something that is good and something that is better. Our slightest actions often meet the sorest needs. For the world wants daily little kindly deeds. Oh, what care and sorrow you may help remove, with your songs and courage, sympathy and love. By scattering sunshine all along your way, cheering, blessing and brightening every passing day.
It is expected as we practice towards our great performance, our judgement day, that we will miss cues every now and then. After all, we are not perfect, we are still learning and growing in our talents and skills.
‘But if you’re not hearing the music in your life, or are confused as to why the people in the car next to you are dancing like crazy people to something you cannot hear…please remember these two words: Keep Practicing.’ Keep practicing when life is dark and dreary. Keep practicing when it’s sunny and bright. For you never know when your music, when your light, will be called upon to lift another.
Even when it’s performed well, the music in our lives will not solve every problem. Service to others may fall flat, the joy found in performing may disappear, yet if we endure through the hard parts of the sheet music provided for us, lean unto others while we again find the melody in our own lives, we will find that we will all move to a harmonious balance becoming the great Orchestra the Lord wants us to be and not the screeching strings, overbearing bass, and discordant piccolos that Satan wishes us to be. There will still be crescendos, staccatos, decrescendos, and legatos in our lives, but even the most difficult challenges will add rich plaintive tones and moving motifs to the music of our lives.
As every accomplished musician knows, it takes diligent practice to perform beautiful music. “Even as we encounter difficulties and face the uncertainties of the future, we can cheerfully persevere and live a “peaceable life in all goodliness and honesty.’” Joy is possible in this life, it’s not a Plan of Sorrow, it’s a Plan of Happiness, and the easiest way to be Happy, is to forget yourself and look unto others and their needs. For while you are helping others in tuning their own instruments, you to, learn better the music the Lord wishes us to hear and to play.
I hope when you take that jump of trust, that you don’t fear the fall. I hope when the water rises, you have built a wall to protect yourself and others. I hope when the crowd screams out, they’ll be screaming for your name, I hope that if everyone else chooses to run for their own safety, you’ll choose to stay and help. But the only way you can know is to give all you have, and I hope that you don’t suffer but take the pain in stride, that when the moment comes you’ll say, I did it all. I owned every second that this world could give, I saw so many places, people, and things that I did. With my soul worn out in service, I know I lived.
May we all have joy, peace, and gratitude in our lives as we tune our music to the Lord and Hush our Fears concerning the World.
I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen
Hope you liked it!!
^^ For added fun.
Can you name the three songs and movie that I quoted in this?
Can you guess the General Conference talks I used as the subject of this talk? :)
Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
The Dream
I was in the red rock area, on a dirt road. My family and I were camping in an old trailer. And we were trying to move to a different spot, but there were all these car racers that were driving all over, and we were trying to move to get away from them to save the animals.
And I encountered this older woman, in an orphanage of sorts with those old glasses that have beads attached to them, and she was very suspicious and very closed fisted on her orphans, not willing to let them go to just anyone.
Then the unholy tones of daylight pulled me away....
and I became myself again. :)
-S.N.D
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