Elder David A. Bednar told a story of his friend who drove a 4 wheel drive truck into the snow to cut firewood, only to end up stuck. He decided to cut and load the firewood anyway and discovered that the heavily loaded truck had the traction to continue safely home. Here's the analogy he drew:
It was the load. It was the load of wood that provided the traction necessary for him to get out of the snow, to get back on the road, and to move forward. It was the load that enabled him to return to his family and his home.
Each of us also carries a load. Our individual load is comprised of demands and opportunities, obligations and privileges, afflictions and blessings, and options and constraints. Two guiding questions can be helpful as we periodically and prayerfully assess our load: “Is the load I am carrying producing the spiritual traction that will enable me to press forward with faith in Christ on the strait and narrow path and avoid getting stuck? Is the load I am carrying creating sufficient spiritual traction so I ultimately can return home to Heavenly Father?”
Sometimes we mistakenly may believe that happiness is the absence of a load. But bearing a load is a necessary and essential part of the plan of happiness. Because our individual load needs to generate spiritual traction, we should be careful to not haul around in our lives so many nice but unnecessary things that we are distracted and diverted from the things that truly matter most.As I have thought about my own load and how that helps me with traction, I have decided that it is those times when I am feeling burdened and weary that I rely most heavily on the Savior and my Father in Heaven. It is also at those times that I know I need most to slow down and do the important things in my life to keep me centered. It is truly a paradigm shift to see the heavy load as a blessing.
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