Daily Bread

I'm learning a lot from Tom Christofferson's That We May Be One. In chapter 4, he talks about daily bread. He says that we should focus on the present instead of worrying about the future. He says that we should face each trial, however insurmountable it may seem, just with each day. He asks parents of gay or transgender children to focus on each day by day, not think about how their child will marry in ten years or whatever. He also shares some amazing quotes.

Neal A. Maxwell: "Just as the capacity to defer gratification is a sign of realy maturity, likewise the willingness to wait for deferred explanation is a sign of real faith and of trust spread over time."

Tom says when we need answers, we should first pray for patience. He says we should look at trials like revelation: they reveal us to ourselves, and show us what we need to learn. And, if we handle them right, they reveal the Savior unto us as well.

I also just read a talk in the Ensign, called "Finding Answers for Myself" (https://www.lds.org/ensign/2018/02/young-adults/finding-answers-for-myself?lang=eng). In it, the author advises to go into question with the perspective of "This doesn't make sense to e now, but I'm confident that over time, when I do my part to pray and study, I can gain further understanding." She also says that we should treat revelation the same we do rain: we can't force it to come. We can go to places it might more likely be, we can store it when it does come, but we can't demand it to come, or even predict it. It's important that we just trust God and His timing, and recognize that He is the one who decides when and how we learn things. And there's a reason for that!

And Elder Christofferson: "Thoughtful planning and preparation are key to a rewarding future, but we do not live in the future—we live in the present. It is day by day that we work out our plans for the future; it is day by day that we achieve our goals. It is one day at a time that we raise and nurture our families. It is one day at a time that we overcome imperfections. We endure in faith to the end one day at a time. It is the accumulation of many days well-lived that adds up to a full life and a saintly person. And so I would like to talk to you about living well day by day."