Wouldn't it be nice if we knew when our scheduled time was to meet with God?
Although we may not know when that day or hour will be, we have been told what we should do in the meantime. We have the opportunity to plan ahead. Alma taught that there is "a space granted unto man in which he might repent; therefore this life became a probationary state;a time to prepare to meet God" (Alma 12:24) We would do well to "search our heart" while in this life for God knows it.
As to matters of the heart, let me interject for a moment with a story:
Paul Cardall is a very talented and successful musician, a beautiful pianist. Paul was born in 1973 with Congenital Heart Disease and had only one working ventricle. He was expected to live a few days after his birth but instead lived into adulthood. For most of his growing-up-years, he lived quite a normal and healthy life. Then in 2008, his one working ventricle began to decline rapidly and he was listed for a transplant. As he waited for a donor to provide him with a new heart, he started writing a blog called "Living for Eden" named after his daughter, Eden. I followed his blog through this struggle and was constantly inspired by his wisdom and his unique outlook.
I remember one particular blog post, he said that he viewed his situation as a blessing, a wonderful gift! He said that he wished more people had the opportunity to face the prospect of death everyday. The paradox of this outlook was that it allowed him to appreciate life more, to be grateful for the smallest things. It helped him to keep his thoughts and his actions in line with the Savior because he was in a constant state of preparation to meet Him.
Most of us are not faced with a life-threatening disease like Paul was. We have not been given an expected time of death by our physician. Life just keeps happening for us and dying is not something we think much about, not for ourselves at least. But what if it was tomorrow? What if this was our last day on earth? Would we see things differently? Would we soak up the little things more, like being able to walk or run and breathe fresh air? Would we take the time to show our children that they mean everything to us? Would we show a little more affection and appreciation to our spouse? Would we be slow to anger, slow to judge, and quick to forgive or assume the best in others?
Alma also teaches that "It was appointed unto men that they must die" - Alma 12:27 We have an appointment! We just don't know when or where that appointment will be and we most likely won't get a pop-up reminder on our phone. But I believe God in his mercy has given us "appointment reminders." They're called the scriptures! We have this time to prepare. What does it say in Alma 12:24? How do we prepare?
We repent!
The Bible Dictionary describes repentance as the following: "The Greek word of which this is the translation denotes a change of mind, a fresh view about God, about oneself, and about the world. Since we are born into conditions of mortality, repentance comes to mean a turning of the heart and will to God, and a renunciation of sin to which we are naturally inclined."
I love this! I love that repentance means a "change of heart" a new heart. We all suffer from "spiritual heart disease" it's absolutely fatal and we realize that our life is on the line! We need a transplant and thankfully the Lord is our "donor" - he laid down His life for us that we might have this "new heart" we are in such desperate need of.
He said, "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them." -(Ezekiel 36:26-27)
Paul finally received his new heart after waiting 385 days and he is vibrant and alive as ever today. But what a blessing those 385 days were! What wisdom instilled upon his soul as appreciation for his life and the life of his family became his daily reflection. He was given a fresh view about God, about himself, and about the world around him.
The reality is, we don't know when our last day on earth will be. And maybe it's best that we don't know because maybe we would "procrastinate the day of our repentance." Maybe instead we should anticipate our "appointment to die" like Paul did - every day! And by doing so, we might experience a change of heart and have a fresh view too.
May we have eyes to see clearly, to focus on the beauties and wonders all around us. What a gift we have to be alive! We are so blessed. If today was our last day, would we be more grateful for what we have?
We would all do well to take the advice of President Hinckley and "stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight. I am suggesting that as we go through life, we 'accentuate the positive.' I am asking that we look a little deeper for the good, that we still our voices of insult and sarcasm, that we more generously compliment and endorse virtue and effort... turn from the negativism that so permeates our culture and look for the remarkable good in the land and times in which we live; that we speak of one another's virtues more than we speak of one another's faults: that optimism replace pessimism; that uncertainty and worry be pushed aside by an enduring feeling of hope."
There's my appointment reminder for the day.
-Alicia
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