Daily Preparation

Wednesday night I forgot to charge my phone.  Because I had spent quite a bit of time Tuesday night playing games, the battery was nearly dead.  I wasn't meeting James at our usual time and place after work, so I turned the phone off to conserve what battery I did have let.  It was hard not having use of my phone during the day, and to make matters worse, I only got one message to James about extra bad traffic before the phone died all together.  It's a first world problem to be sure, but it reminded me a lot of the story of the ten virgins.  I wasn't prepared.  I hadn't charged my phone.  I didn't have an extra cord to charge my phone at work or in the car.  It was cold outside, and my lack of preparedness affected more that just me. 

We read about the story of the ten virgins in chapter 25 of Matthew.  The consequence for those who were not prepared was that they were not received into the presence of the Lord.  D&C 45 also talks about the ten virgins, how "For they that are wise and have received the ^atruth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their ^bguide, and have not been deceived". 

As I sat in traffic Thursday, I reflected on how I am doing spiritually, and how much I want to be welcomed into the presence of the Lord.  Preparations from my youth and previous service are not sufficient.  We must prepare regularly to have the Holy Spirit as our guide.  We need to constantly build and share our testimonies to be prepared for the challenges of today.  Recent counsel from church leaders have even indicated that we need to increase our efforts to hasten the work of the Lord. 

I definitely have room for improvement.  It's easy to spend time playing games, or otherwise become distracted by my own comfort or entertainment.  There are times relationships are hard and I am tempted to ignore them rather than work to fix them.  Satan is a great deceiver.  I'm grateful for the prayers of others on my behalf.  I am grateful for the gift of the Holy Ghost.  I am grateful for reminders of how I need to live.  I am grateful for gentle reminders of how I need to improve.  I am grateful for inspiration.  Heavenly Father wants us to pray ALWAYS.  Life is hard, but I know that if we remember the Savior, we will be lead and guided.  If we loose our focus, we will be lead away and will be unprepared.

I'm glad that I was able to reach my destination Thursday night in safety.  James was waiting for me at the temple, where we were able to enter together into the House of the Lord.