I wonder why

I wonder why some people say,
I can't, I won't, I will not change.

I wonder why they dig their heels,
So deep in the ground they no longer feel.

I wonder why we cover our ears,
To the love of repentance, forgiveness, and tears.

He brings back to you that which was lost,
Only if you're willing to listen, and times pay the cost.

I wonder with humility, people will say,
I can, I will, I must always change.

You can fly!

Trust me...it's possible.

Imagine yourself going to the top of a mountain. As you get to the top you look over this cliff and you can see for miles!

You see rivers and sunsets (just one) and trees (colored-it is fall of course) and you say with wide eyes "wow! this is amazing!"

"Jump." says this voice behind you.

"What?" you respond with this strange look on your face.

"Jump, if you do I'll make you fly." He says.

You notice that this man in front of you is wearing clothes a little different than yours. He's wearing all white...in the mountains. But you feel something. You know it's Him.

"I don't think I can," you respond. "I can't fly."

"Why not?" He asks. "Do you have faith in me?"

"Well...." you say as you frantically look for some other excuse not to look straight at Him and say, yes.

"Yeah, I do."

"Then jump. If you jump I can make you fly."

What holds you back from jumping? Is it fear of what might happen? Is it a lack of trust? We dig our heels so deep into the ground that we look at Him at times and say "I can't sorry, I'm stuck." When in fact all you needed to do was change our steps or direction.

What's your cliff you need to jump from?

You can fly.

Trust me...it's possible.

Jack and Jill

Jill didn't want to be "just like everyone else".

She wasn't like that. She ate different food, she liked different things, she was different.

"Why should I believe what everyone else believes? It obviously get's no one anywhere...all it is are blind sheep being led to the middle of nowhere. No thank you! I'll have none of it!"

Then an something happened.

Jill's best friend Jack, was critically injured.

He'd fallen down a hill.

Jill suddenly found herself wondering why she was here and what happens after being here.
"What happens if one day, I go tumbling after like Jack did?" What happens?"

Jill didn't know. She found herself searching for answers. One day she found them. She started attending church again every week, reading, praying--

All those things the "sheep" do.

Her friend Jack asked, "but what about being led blindly? What about being led to nowhere?"

Jill then said something that changed Jack's life.

"You can't be led blindly when you have faith in following the Shepard."

Jack and Jill went up the hill to be baptized in the water.
Jill went down, and changed her heart.
And Jack came in right after.

Hey! What the heck?

The other day my nephew and niece Jayden and Kaylie walked outside with their mother. Jayden looked up and exclaimed, "Hey clouds! Stop raining!" Then Kaylie added, "Yeah clouds! Stop it!"

How many times have you said Hey ____! Stop____! ?

"Hey dating! Stop breaking my heart!"
"Hey ward people! Stop gossiping!"
"Hey family members! Stop discouraging me!"

It happens all too often I'm afraid. Reality is, as much as I hate to admit it---

Rain happens.

Dating sometimes hurts, people sometimes gossip, family members discourage you. It just happens.

The rain also brings nourishment to plants, life to animals, and puddles to jump in.

So next time you see a storm cloud, think about Jayden.

"Hey clouds! Thanks for the good that you bring to me."