Rise as you are

There were a lot of thoughts from the devotional today by Elder Gong that I thought would make good poems, but I decided to do this one for this week. I don’t know if it’s something he actually said, but it’s a thought I had related to something he said.

Rise as you are

Rise as you are,
Whoever you are.
However dimly your light may shine,
It will make a difference in the night.

Rise as the stars,
Who rise every night.
Though the world’s flashy neon drowns out their beauty,
The stars let their beauty shine anyways.

Rise as the sun,
Who rises every day.
Though clouds and storms may block his life-sustaining light,
The sun shines on the world anyways.

Rise as the moon,
Who rises every night,
Though sometimes the best she has to give is no light at all,
The moon rises, anyways.

Rise as you are,
Whoever you are.
However dimly your light may shine,
It will make a difference in the night.

Christmas Stars

Stars are something that always pique my sense of wonder and amazement. And I think they make a wonderful metaphor for Christ and some of the lessons we can take from this Christmas season.

Christmas Stars

In the bustle of the trees
The presents, the wrapping,
The parties, the traveling,
The fun and the family,

Don’t forget the stars. 

The stars that remind you 
Of the first Christmas,
And of the shepherds who left their flocks
To witness the Lamb of God.

The stars that belong together,
And remind us of the Shephard’s flock.
There are lambs left to be gathered
Even when the tree is packed away.

The stars that point us ever onward,
That show to us the Way,
Our path back home,
And the covenant mile markers.

The stars that I hope we each see,
This Christmas season,
As we reflect on the Light of the world,
And our sky He lights with stars.

Gratitude Day 5: The Plan of Salvation

One of my favorite verses in the Book of Mormon, as well as one we are studying this week for Come Follow Me, is Ether 12:4. In that verse, Moroni teaches that “whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.” In short, our faith in God leads us to hope for and seek something better, His plan is for us to become like and return to Him. I want to #GiveThanks for the Plan of Salvation and it’s impact on my life.

This poem is kind of based off of one of my favorite poems, Choose Something Like a Star, by Robert Frost; and one of my favorite quotes, which I first heard from President Thomas S. Monson, in his devotional Decisions Determine Destiny: “Ideals are like stars; you will not succeed in touching them with your hands. But . . . you choose them as your guides, and following them you will reach your destiny.”

The Plan of Salvation

I walk along life’s paths,
with many blind corners,
many unknowns ahead,
and few road signs —
I often get lost.

The only things constant are
the world changing around me,
and the ever unchanging stars.

Some travelers I’ve met on my journey
have told me that the stars should be guides —
“You can’t walk far enough to reach them,
but they’ll always lead you true.”

Others say — “Stars are useless,
all that matters is the path.”
Though if you don’t know where you’re going,
there are so many paths to take,
and I don’t know where to go.

I try to follow the stars.
They remind me that, in the chaos of the universe,
something is eternally true,
eternally pointing
to a final destination
where God knows I belong.

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