Sometimes you just have to do it. There is a time where you have to protect yourself and what is yours, for me, that is my children. I believe President Nelson foresaw this need and called it “debris”. “I invite you to pray to identify the debris you should remove from your life so you can become more worthy,” was his request in his April 2021 Welcome Message to conference.
Many, many, many things try to take us away from the Lord. They are distractions. If not seen for what they are, they consume us. They keep us busy with our time. They keep our minds and attention unavailable to pondering spiritual things. They stunt our eternal vision. This happens easily in our daily living. If our time is occupied then we don’t have time to stop and read our scriptures, or to do our church callings well, or to serve our family, friends, or neighbors. If our minds and attention is unavailable, then we cannot feel the promptings or the peace from the Holy Ghost, then our hearts are not open to learning and growing, then we are not open to personal revelation. If we cannot see our eternal and desired destination, then we cannot begin with the end in mind. We waver and wander.
I have written onto my bathroom mirror, so you see if when the room steams up, “Where is your focus?” I walk out of the shower everyday and see those words, a reminder to bring to center of my mind and heart the visualization I have of my end. What do I really want in the long run? That is what I need to see and feel in my mind and heart every single day. A large part of that visual is the feeling that comes with it. It isn’t enough to see my end, but I must feel it too – that is the inspiring aspect of it all. It is peace and calm and excitement all at the same time. It is joy beyond measure. In fact, we’ve been told in a conference talk somewhere that our joy isn’t full until we reach that end. It is everything I have been working for.
Removing the debris … if I don’t, it will litter my path towards my end to an extent that I will not be able to see my path at all.
I think it is interesting that President Nelson recommended we PRAY to identify what the debris is in our lives. I believe completely this was inspired wording of his request. Why would we need to pray to identify the debris? Wouldn’t stuff that was littering and cluttering our lives be obvious? No. It isn’t always obvious. Satan is so so so sneaky. Sometimes debris might seem meaningful, needful, and even desired. Praying about it opens our hearts and minds to the inspiration of the Lord’s all seeing/all knowing vision of our paths and lives. We must be open, willing to listen and willing to do.
In my own life, removing debris has become a pattern of following peace. I have said before, peace is my quest. I seek it, and by following that trail of peace, I am more able to decipher the debris from meaningful things/people, yes, sometimes debris are people. Let’s talk about that for a second.
There is the command, “Feed my sheep.” We are here to take care of and love God’s sheep, all of His children. To lead them to Him, to be a light unto them. So how is it that sometimes people can be considered debris in our lives? Well … that really comes down to our interactions with them. Are they uplifting? Do they bring more light and happiness into our lives? Do they inspire us to become better people? Or, Do they clutter our attention? Do they weigh heavy on us and drain us? Do they distract us from more meaningful things? Do they influence us away from the Lord? The Lord does ask us to feed His sheep, meaning take care of His people, but that doesn’t mean He is asking us to engage in unhealthy interactions with them. We feed His sheep by sharing the Light of Christ that is within us with them, by encouraging them to move toward God in their lives, by being a good example. It is through love, yes but also through righteousness. Sometimes it has been people cluttering my life. Usually, this hasn’t meant cutting them loose from my life all together, but more of establishing boundaries and protecting the peaceful places in my life. You have to work and fight for what you want, and more so now than ever, that includes peace.
I am so very grateful for a living prophet of God! I am grateful for President Nelson being the living prophet of God. His fearlessness and commitment to the Lord inspires me. I am so grateful to be a member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and to have the knowledge of this gospel available to me. God’s love is there. Follow the prophet.
Forever grateful.
