Looking for the Sunshine amongst the Storms of life.
March 26, 2016
Garbage Into Gardens
We all have baggage, garbage, and a past we care around with us. The idea that our lands and our lives can be reclaimed and that what was once garbage can be a beautiful garden, is cause for rejoicing. This can all be done through the great gift of the of the Savior, Jesus Christ, and His attonement.
When I watched this film, showing us how our garbage, baggage, and ;past mistakes can be reclaimed by the Savior, a sense of peace came over me. He can use our garbage, our crap, and our sins to create something beautiful and functional like a park, or a garden, or an airport. Just like fertilizer helps a garden grow, our sins can help us grow… If we hand them over to the Master Gardener. In Alma 7:11-12 we can read all that Christ suffered for us, and all He can make beautiful again:
“And he shall go forth, suffering…”
pain and
afflictions and
temptations of every kind
sicknesses of his people.
“…He takes upon him…”
death
their infirmities…
“that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.”
This covers everything! Everything we will do, feel, or experience. Our Heavenly Father thought of everything. We just have to let it go and allow Christ to take it and bridge the gap, the gap of our mistakes, weakness, and suffering. He is the Master Gardener; he knows how to bury it, use it, and bless it for our lives… if we let Him!
But just as Christ can do that for you, we can do that for others as well. As Jeffrey R. Holland said in a BYU devotional. (skip to min 4:00)
“Let people repent. Let people grow. Believe that people can change and improve. Is that faith? Yes! Is that hope? Yes! Is it charity? Yes! Above all, it is charity, the pure love of Christ. If something is buried in the past, leave it buried.”
The Savior can help us all bury our garbage/sin/pain, even those that were caused by others. Alma continues to ask, “And now my beloved brethren, do you believe these things?”…(Alma 7:17). If you believe Christ can do this for you, let Him do it for your loved ones, your parents, your spouses, and your siblings. Let the world be beautified by the saving grace of Christ and His atonement. During this Easter time, let us bury the sins of our past or the pains of another’s and allow the springtime of this season to spring up new blossoms of hope, faith, and charity for others.
And as we do this, I hope you can find peace as Alma describes, “And now, may the peace of God rest upon you, and upon your houses and lands, and upon your flocks and herds, and all that you possess, your women and your children, according to your faith and good works, from this time forth and forever. And thus I have spoken. Amen.” (Alma 7:27)