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Wednesday, September 11, 2013

patches

i was patching my favorite pair of jeans today.   i love these jeans!   i inspected them and kept finding places that needed little reinforcements before they tore out.   i am determined to continue patching these jeans until i am patching patches and there is nothing left but patches.   in an effort to better use my time, i was also listening to a talk by craig a. cardon entitled, the Savior wants to forgive

i took me until the end of the talk to realize the object lesson in this.  

"Peter once inquired how many times he should forgive his brother and then asked, “Till seven times?” Surely that would be more than enough. But the Savior’s response opened wide the door to His merciful heart: “I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven."

i realized that i was doing for my jeans, is what the Savior does for our spirits through the Atonement.   he patches, and patches, and patches, and patches.
as i was finding those thin spots, and applying some backing to strengthen them, i realized the same thing happens in our spirits as well.

"The Lord knows our weakness and the eternal consequences of “the world” upon imperfect men and women. ".   
ether 12:27  And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

 God strengthens us, He sees the weak spots and will bolster us so that those places do not completely wear through.     of course, we have to do our part.   like my jeans, passing through the heat of my iron, we have to read, pray, have faith, all of those simple primary answers that just seem too easy to have any effect.   all of those things put a patch on our weak spots.   the simple, daily things that God has asked us to do, strengthen us.    the Atonement repairs us.   Christ wants to patch us up, heal our souls, because he loves us.   He loves us more than i could ever love my jeans that i am putting so much work into.   He does so much more than patch.      

i don't know how crafty you are, but if you have ever have to patch a pair of pants, a tire, a stuffed animal, a roof, or anything else, use that moment to teach and learn something deeper.



the references for the underlined quotes from brother cardons talk
Matthew 18:21–22; emphasis added; see also Luke 17:1–4.

Doctrine and Covenants 64:2; emphasis added.

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