Road Maps

Today in church, I realized something about my "willingness" to be obedient. The lesson in Sunday School covered Nephi's return to Jerusalem with his brothers to obtain the brass plates. Many many times I've heard and read this story of Nephi's willingness to listen and obey.

Sister Thompson was giving the lesson, and she was asking us whether we would be willing to do as Nephi did or what our thoughts would have been if we had been in Nephi's shoes. Some people said they would have asked why they had not gotten the plates before they left. Some people thought that they would not have wanted to walk back the 200 miles and then return 200 miles. I thought that I would have been willing as long as someone (i.e., God) was going to give me a step by step road map/plan of every last thing I had to do before I left.

Of course that is not what happened. They had two failed attempts before Nephi got it right. Maybe that is part of life. We have to make mistakes while learning to understand what the Lord is trying to tell us - you know - all part of learning how the Spirit works when it speaks to us. Or maybe it required an effort on their part first...a demonstration of their willingness to do what was asked by coming up with a way to accomplish the task.

And then the miracle happened, and Nephi was indeed guided, step by step, through the task, and he obtained the plates. But he had to take it step by step, and he wasn't given a road map for the entire task before hand. He went one way, received the confirmation to go forward and then he took the next step. And so it went.

I've been thinking a lot about writing, and I think that I've wanted to Lord, as funny as this sounds, and please don't laugh at me, but I think what I've secretly wanted was the Lord to show me what to write. In fact, I'd go so far as to say I've wanted Him to give me the entire story. Oh my goodness, I'm a silly silly girl. Of course that isn't the way it works.

And besides, I do think He's given me the go-ahead through various little things that I won't go into here. I'll just say that I think He has been trying to tell me that I can do it. So I need to stop waiting for the road map because I know that there will be no road map. There will, however, be help along the way to guide me in the right direction.