Replace It.
Something I learned a while back that came to my thoughts today was; if you want to get rid of a bad habit or sin, you can't just stop doing it. If you really want to get rid of a bad habit or sin, you have to replace it with something good.
I have a horrible time focusing when I pray. I probably pray in earnest, for two minutes total a day. Because once I get on my knees, my heart lifts out of my chest and I feel like I can't say anything of importance. I used to have a really good system for prayer. I would set the alarm on my phone for three minutes, and I would focus on praying for those three minutes. When the alarm went off, I could keep going, or I could stop. The choice was mine, and I gave it my best effort to focus. I'm not exactly sure why I stopped doing that.
I have a bad habit of saying mean things that I don't mean. Like telling people I will punch them, or saying stupid stuff. I guess it's supposed to be funny, but in the long run it just makes me more violent. I tend to think more negatively when I talk in that way, and then my day is ruined because I drew myself into a corner. Often times I find myself in this corner because I try to fit in with the people I talk to. Something I need to work on is humbling myself enough to not gossip, talk badly, make fun of, or bring down other people. This happens a lot at work because (this is a horrible excuse) that is just "how we are". Who ever said that I needed to do that too?
The whole point in being a Latter-Day Saint is to follow the example of Christ, and lately I am finding that harder and harder to do. I want so badly to be more like my Savior, I mean I'm planning on serving a mission, but to do that I really need to change a lot about how I interact with others. I'm rude, brash, unkind, and that needs to end.
In church today one of the speakers said something that I found enlightening. "Do not get off the boat before you reach your destination." Seems logical right? Often times I find myself trying to stretch ahead without all the preparation. JUST THROW ME IN THE GAME! I yell. But God doesn't appease me. Thankfully. He takes me by the arm, and sits me back down and tells me, "Do not get off the boat before you reach your destination." Heavenly Father knows how to prepare people. I mean, if you take a look in the scriptures you will find tons of examples.
Moroni was stuck wandering alone in the wilderness for YEARS because of all the fighting, and death. He was alone for so long, but during that time he wrote some of the greatest and most important chapters of the Book of Mormon. Chapters where we are tested to pray to God to know if the book is true, and to find for ourselves the truth of it. If Moroni had gotten off the boat before he had reached his destination, there would be no great promise. "And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost." (Moroni 10:4)
So even though, I have a horrible time with prayer, speak unkindly to others, and need to work on SO many things. I know that if I trust in God that I will be able to get rid of my bad habits and replace them with new, better habits, that will help me grow closer to Christ. Because I know, and I've learned this the hard way, that if you just delete something from your life, without filling the gap, there will always be a space there for it to come back. Don't let bad things come back, don't feed the bad wolf. Change yourself, change your attitude, and replace the bad with the good.
I have a horrible time focusing when I pray. I probably pray in earnest, for two minutes total a day. Because once I get on my knees, my heart lifts out of my chest and I feel like I can't say anything of importance. I used to have a really good system for prayer. I would set the alarm on my phone for three minutes, and I would focus on praying for those three minutes. When the alarm went off, I could keep going, or I could stop. The choice was mine, and I gave it my best effort to focus. I'm not exactly sure why I stopped doing that.
I have a bad habit of saying mean things that I don't mean. Like telling people I will punch them, or saying stupid stuff. I guess it's supposed to be funny, but in the long run it just makes me more violent. I tend to think more negatively when I talk in that way, and then my day is ruined because I drew myself into a corner. Often times I find myself in this corner because I try to fit in with the people I talk to. Something I need to work on is humbling myself enough to not gossip, talk badly, make fun of, or bring down other people. This happens a lot at work because (this is a horrible excuse) that is just "how we are". Who ever said that I needed to do that too?
The whole point in being a Latter-Day Saint is to follow the example of Christ, and lately I am finding that harder and harder to do. I want so badly to be more like my Savior, I mean I'm planning on serving a mission, but to do that I really need to change a lot about how I interact with others. I'm rude, brash, unkind, and that needs to end.
In church today one of the speakers said something that I found enlightening. "Do not get off the boat before you reach your destination." Seems logical right? Often times I find myself trying to stretch ahead without all the preparation. JUST THROW ME IN THE GAME! I yell. But God doesn't appease me. Thankfully. He takes me by the arm, and sits me back down and tells me, "Do not get off the boat before you reach your destination." Heavenly Father knows how to prepare people. I mean, if you take a look in the scriptures you will find tons of examples.
Moroni was stuck wandering alone in the wilderness for YEARS because of all the fighting, and death. He was alone for so long, but during that time he wrote some of the greatest and most important chapters of the Book of Mormon. Chapters where we are tested to pray to God to know if the book is true, and to find for ourselves the truth of it. If Moroni had gotten off the boat before he had reached his destination, there would be no great promise. "And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost." (Moroni 10:4)
So even though, I have a horrible time with prayer, speak unkindly to others, and need to work on SO many things. I know that if I trust in God that I will be able to get rid of my bad habits and replace them with new, better habits, that will help me grow closer to Christ. Because I know, and I've learned this the hard way, that if you just delete something from your life, without filling the gap, there will always be a space there for it to come back. Don't let bad things come back, don't feed the bad wolf. Change yourself, change your attitude, and replace the bad with the good.
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