We must rise above it! :)

This morning as I was contemplating life I looked on my wall, and saw this quote from one of Ben’s posts that I read quite frequently, (thanks Ben )

The core of all this is that we’re children of God, heirs to the throne, but our nobility and greatness lies latent within us. We need to wake it up, becoming the princes and princesses we’re destined to be. The world will slumber on in its misty stupor of mediocrity, but we must rise above it, piercing through the fog with our brilliant, blinding light. We must not settle for less.

I love this thought. It’s easy to get comfortable sometimes and feel like we are just fine going along just as we always have (at least I feel that way sometimes). And it’s also easy sometimes for me to forget that things could be a lot better than they are, or that I could be doing a lot better than I am.

Often when I have thought of waking up my nobility and greatness, an underlying thought is that I would be more liked, have more friends, find a good husband, etc.

But I realized today that I had gotten it all wrong. I wasn’t (and we aren’t) given so much potential for that! It’s not so that I can be popular, or well respected, or well liked. We each have great talents and gifts that if shared can really help other people. It’s about being of service. Improving ourselves so that our light can help spark light in someone else.

Then I remembered what Jesus said to let him that is greatest among you, be the servant of all. And I have noticed that when I am able to be of service to someone, I really feel good and happy.

It’s like the story of A Christmas Carol. Life is really exciting! We can change, we can make a difference. The neat thing in this story is that Scrooge was actually able to see what a difference he could make if he changed his ways, i.e.,save Tiny Tim’s life, help the poor from living in slums, etc. Sometimes it isn’t so obvious to us, but to be sure, we can make a huge difference. I love that story. The atonement of Christ is real, we can change, and we can make a difference.

Merry Christmas