Something that happens all of the time when I walk is I get rocks in my shoes. Occasionally I'll ask my companion to stop so I can empty my shoes of the annoying little bits of earth, but most of the time I just deal with them. Usually I can adjust my foot just so the rocks are underneath or in front of my toes so they can sit in those open spaces and not irritate me. By the end of the day I'll take off my shoes and socks and notice that those tiny little pebbles have nearly worn a hole in my socks or have created a strange blister under my toe. I think to myself, I'll make sure to clean out the rocks next time so they won't cause damage like this again.
I once heard a story about a girl who was running a race with a rock in her shoe. As she was running the race she discovered that a pebble was in her shoe, but rather than stopping to remove it, she kept running. She didn't want to waste precious time removing a little pebble from her shoe. So she kept running, over time the pebble moved around in her shoe to a spot in the arch of her foot. Rather than being bothered by the rock she began to appreciate it. It was hitting on just the right spot to be comfortable.
The storyteller went on to describe unresolved sin as a pebble in our shoe. Sometimes in our lives, each of us will sin and not repent quickly, before long we forget the sin is even there or we become comfortable with its presence. Forgetting about the sin or becoming comfortable with it does not remove it's effects. As it is explained by the prophet, Nephi, "no unclean thing can dwell with God". So if we hope for Eternal Life with our families and with God we need to take our shoes off often and dump the rocks!
* There are many amazingly wonderful members of our congregation who offer us rides. But they can't chauffeur us around all of the time (neither do we expect them to).
I once heard a story about a girl who was running a race with a rock in her shoe. As she was running the race she discovered that a pebble was in her shoe, but rather than stopping to remove it, she kept running. She didn't want to waste precious time removing a little pebble from her shoe. So she kept running, over time the pebble moved around in her shoe to a spot in the arch of her foot. Rather than being bothered by the rock she began to appreciate it. It was hitting on just the right spot to be comfortable.
The storyteller went on to describe unresolved sin as a pebble in our shoe. Sometimes in our lives, each of us will sin and not repent quickly, before long we forget the sin is even there or we become comfortable with its presence. Forgetting about the sin or becoming comfortable with it does not remove it's effects. As it is explained by the prophet, Nephi, "no unclean thing can dwell with God". So if we hope for Eternal Life with our families and with God we need to take our shoes off often and dump the rocks!
* There are many amazingly wonderful members of our congregation who offer us rides. But they can't chauffeur us around all of the time (neither do we expect them to).
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