Several days ago, my mom told me a story that I think she said she heard in a General Conference talk. In this story, two men were chopping down trees with axes. The burlier of the two worked relentlessly, ceaselessly hacking down tree after tree, while the more wiry man took breaks periodically, but at the end of the day, the wiry man had cut down more trees than the burly man had. The burly man asked how the wiry man had managed to cut down so many trees despite taking all those breaks. The wiry man explained that he spent those breaks sharpening his axe.
Taking occasional breaks is a good way to refresh one's energy, especially if he or she spends that down time making sure their tools are sharp. My mom and the person from whom she heard this story went on to say that, in this case, sharpening the axe was an analogy for studying the scriptures and praying to God. Doing these things help us to be more capable, and they elicit God's help in our endeavours. Basically, when we take the time to read our scriptures and say our prayers, everything else goes more smoothly.
I could really benefit from taking this advice. I could use more down time, and if I spend it doing something that helps me more than just resting does, that'd be even better. I often find myself feeling like I need more time and energy, but maybe what I really need is to use my time and energy more efficiently, and one way I could do that is by investing some time into my spiritual upkeep. At the very least, it would help me have the Spirit with me more, which could help me manage my stress. It'd probably help me in other areas of my life, too. At any rate, it's worth a shot. I need rest, but my rest time might be even more effective if I spend some of it sharpening my axe.
No comments:
Post a Comment