Skip to main content

A Perpetual Instruction in Cause and Effect

A few months ago I was skiing on a beautiful snowy day with my good friends. All was going well, and the skiing was amazing. My friends and I decided we should go to the terrain park since we had skied most of the powder runs earlier that day. 

"Week A - Revision Skis Rail Jam" by Camp of Champions is licensed with CC BY 2.0.
To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

As we arrived at the top of the terrain park, I had a decision to make. Should I go on the big rail to the left or the little jump to the right? At that moment, I made a rash decision and decided to go on the big rail. Immediately, as I jumped on the rail, I knew I had made a mistake. The rail was unexpectedly slippery. I tottered for half a second before flying back and landing on my shoulder, hard. I felt a sharp crack and knew something was broken. Fast forward to the radiologist’s office;, they told me that this was no sprain, but a large crack through my humerus. My poor choice to go on the rail, even though I knew it was probably unwise, created a deleterious effect on my body and life for the next two months. 

We become more thoughtful about our decisions when we experience the side effects of poor decision-making. Breaking my arm allowed me to see the full potential of cause and effect and how it can change lives for better or worse. The Bible also illustrates cause and effect in the book of Galatians chapter 6, verse 7, when Paul wrote, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Paul understood that the kind of seeds you plant in the ground are important, and what you do with the seed after it has been planted. If we choose to nourish the seeds we plant we will see the fruits of our labor. Sometimes we forget we are in charge of our lives. We can choose our path, and we can choose our outcome.

Ultimately, although we may experience challenges, it's fully up to us to how we react to those difficult things. If we nourish the seeds we plant, many good things can arise from it. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Cause and effect, means and end, seed and fruit cannot be severed. Life is a perpetual instruction in cause and effect.”

Josh


Comments

  1. Lindsey PMay 18, 2021 at 11:04 AM

    What do you think are some examples in our society of us failing to see cause and effect? Or us avoiding cause and effect, and then the consequences of that? I'd love some youth insight in teaching my younger kids.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Battle Raging for Our Minds

I had some amazing insights today that I wanted to quickly write. So this post is a bit hurried and not as polished as I usually like, but posting it will help me remember. And if you happen to read it, I hope you gain something from it as well. From my scripture journal: Amazing insights today! I read Alma chapter 47 and into chapter 48 today, and discovered something I had not seen before. Chapter 47 details how Amalikiah becomes king of the Lamanites. Specifically, I learned from the part about how he tricks Lehonti into giving him a position as second in command of the Lamanite armies, and then poisons Lehonti. We talk over and over about how Amalikiah lures Lehonti away from his stronghold and his fixed determination not to join with the rest of the Lamanite armies and fight the Nephites. And all those things are true. But like so many stories in the BOM, it has a counterpart. Lehonti’s fixed determination wasn’t enough. If he had such a fixed determination to not join w
Post a Comment
Read more

Get Behind Me, Shoulder Devil

My kiddos are huge Studio C fans.  Our Monday night Family Home Evening schedule is pretty strict, to make sure that we are all ready to watch Studio C at 8:00.  It's fun, clean humor, which I really appreciate.  Recently, though, it had more than just a humorous application for my family. One of my daughters has a particularly difficult time controlling her temper.  She is extremely sensitive, and very spiritually mature, but get her in a bad mood and none of that matters.  I try to calm her to the point that she can make better decisions, but when she is mad, she seems determined to stay that way.  She expresses a desire to not feel so out of control (when she is in a contrite state of mind), but how to help her with that has been somewhat of a mystery to me and my husband as we try to love and teach her.  Finally, my husband expressed that perhaps she is more than just sensitive to THE Spirit, maybe she is sensitive to all manner of spirits. I had had the same thought.  Th
1 comment
Read more

A New Beginning

A couple of months ago I was preparing a Relief Society lesson on developing talents. As part of my preparation, I went to the Personal Progress manual, which was recently revised and updated, to see what it said about my lesson topic. It spoke of "reaching your divine potential," which is the greatest desire of my heart. But, alas, I never completed my Personal Progress. I was always active in church and in the Young Women program, but I never caught the vision as a teen of the blessing and benefit of Personal Progress. I had other things to do and focused on those things instead. Fast forward a few (okay, many) years, and now I wish I had put forth the effort to complete it. But more than that, I want the spiritual benefit of Personal Progress NOW, at this point in my life. I want to enjoy the structure of the program as I set and pursue goals. I want to learn more about my divine purpose and potential. I want to strengthen my testimony of Jesus Christ.
2 comments
Read more