Sunday Talk--Providing Providently

Preparing this talk for a Sunday service entitled, Provident Providers—June 14, 2009, allowed me to reflect on relationships shared with dear friends and principles I learned by following the prophet. Below is my outline for the topic presented.

Internet search provided a list of suggestions stating that you should PONDER your topic after studying and researching. I set down the reading materials and set forth to PONDER.

Amid morning of mothering, was able to formulate outline in my mind by pondering doing other tasks—suggestion  was working. 

If you will recall, Tuesday at noon our area experienced some severe thunderstorms.  In Olathe where I was, day turned to night and the sky became ominous and dark.  Driving rain and electric lighting kept my hands gripped on the wheel and my mind focused on the road and other cars.  I was scared and ONLY concerned for the safety of my children and passengers and simply getting home and protecting the house.   Nearly an hour of being on the road in this torrential rain left my mind filled with fear.  4 hours of securing the home against water and changing my rain-soaked clothes, left no time for pondering.  This UNFORESEEN RAINSTORM left no time for pondering and the rest of the day I did not think about this talk because I was catching up.

My point is:  during a crisis (whatever it may be) you will only think about the basics:  shelter, protection, safety. Your mind will not PONDER or PREPARE  other things.  The rainstorm only caused me to FEAR as many unforeseen RAINSTORMS of life—

Robert D. Hales states, “Our challenges, including those we create by our own decisions and those we do not choose, are part of our test in mortality. 1 Corinthisan 10:13  “The Lord will never allow us to suffer beyond what we can endure.”   However, WE MUST follow his counsel given to the prophets and apostles. 

Three principles of providing.

Hales remarks, “To provide providently, we must practice the principles of provident living;  avoiding excessive debt, and diligently saving and preparing for a rainy day emergencies, joyfully living within our means, and being content with what we have,.”

The power and order and emphasis of words can change meaning  Three words:

Provide     positive    Providently-----Listen 

1.  Providing POSITIVELY—Providently—Top item in the SELF-RELIANCE PIE chart stake leaders presented to us is education and gain skills necessary to provide for your families needs. One of my favorite children's book is The Napping House. I rewrote the words as follows: 

The Rental House

There is a house,

A rental house,

Where 8 people are preparing

 

And for that house

They pay a low fee

A monthly fee

In a rental house

Where 8 people are preparing

 

And thanks to that fee

They can afford education

A cougar education

While they pay a low fee

For a rental house

Where 8 people are preparing

 

And during that education

They delay gratification

A Basement apartment gratification

To afford education

While they pay a low fee

For a rental house

Where 8 people are preparing

 

By delaying gratification

They built their savings

A “counseled by the Prophet” savings

Due to delayed gratification

For affordable education

As they owe a low fee

For a rental house

Where 8 people are preparing

 

By building a savings

They learned good habits

Lifelong habits

Of steady savings

Through delayed gratification

And affordable education

While they pay a low fee

For a rental house

Where 8 people are preparing

 

And because they paid for an education

Can it Be??????

 

There are now 8 bachelor’s degrees

 

2 phD chemistry professors

 

One Phd political science professor

 

1 MD

 

1 accountant

 

Master’s in Music theory teaching in High school

 

Computer software trainer

 

--and 17 children

 

 

Because of a rental house

Where students are still preparing

 

This was our first apartment 23 years ago. The house contained 4 Apartments and we lived there for 3 years. The house still stands and I know I could add hundreds more degrees to this list. Families that lived in house over 23 years ago, even though achieved many or their dreams, have not dismissed trials

---Infertility resulting in adoption, 

--loss of a child to cancer,

--one friend was a surrogate mother for a sister-in-law who could not conceive on her own,

--debilitating illnesses resulting in multiple surgeries,

--emotional struggles--

Yet through all this they continued to provide providently for their families.

2.    Providing Providently Positively —NO DOOM AND GLOOM—remain positive throughout events not of our choosing ---Joyfully Living within our means  even though we live in “TOUGH ECONOMIC TIMES”  hear that everyday everywhere!  Times are changing, but…………5 articles were from 20 years ago and one was 30--

"Constancy Amid Change"  1979—N. Eldon Tanner—lists 5 principles for avoiding debt.  If you pick up any current self-help finances book in Borders or at the the library, amazingly the wealthy author lists the SAME principles.

Survived each trial by turning to the savior and his atonement and maintaining and cultivating positive attitude—which is my second point.  Patty Hammond—blog of humor and seeing positive aspects of trials—Last summer her son was hospitalized for 3 months with a serious staff infection.  She wrote this amazing perspective while enduring her trial:

 

Last night Jared had a low grade fever of 100.1. Now any first year medical student will tell you that extensive medical studies have shown that in children there is no cause for concern until the temperature gets above 101. Well, I spit on extensive medical studies and I spit on first year medical students also. It is lots of fun, you should try it sometime. A mother has a right, even a duty to be concerned. Medical system let me introduce you to Mother Bear system.

 

So I called up my old friends, Anxiety and Fear to come over for a slumber party last night. And they even brought their best friend Panic. But they didn’t even bring any nacho cheese Doritos or chocolate or anything. How rude! Not very good guests are they? We were just getting reacquainted and ready to play truth or dare, when my other good friends Faith and Hope stopped by and asked if they could join the fun. And since Hope had a large bowl of popcorn, I said "Why not, the more the merrier." And then Faith pulled out her IPod and offered to let me listen to my favorite song "My Savior Shall Supply My Need."

 

And at that point Anxiety, Fear, and Panic remembered that they had a previous engagement and abruptly left the party. This was fine with me, because I am not good at sharing my popcorn, and I had already eaten all the peanut M&Ms and Swedish Fish, anyway. Besides which my son kept saying "Can you keep it down over there."

 

And so Panic, Anxiety, and Fear didn’t spend the night after all.

 

But my BFFs Faith and Hope said they were full and didn’t want any of the popcorn, so we had a great time remembering all the good old times we have shared. Like the day I married my sweetheart. Or each of the days when my children were first placed in my arms. Or the one time I lost my wedding ring and three days later had the impression to go and look in some old grocery bags and found it again. Or the time we needed to move so that we could be in a better school district, and we found a house that was perfect and then sold our house the first day we put it on the market.

 

Yes, we talked, giggled, and reminisced late into the night, like the chums that we are. We were snug as three bugs in a rug, together on my camp cot, except Faith sometimes hogged the covers. But that's OK.. I had such a good time, that I just might invite them back tonight.

 

And wouldn’t you know it, in the morning Jared’s temperature was back to normal. So I called up Anxiety, Fear, and Panic for nothing after all.

 

 3.  POSITIVE Provident Providing Not coveting

---Centuries ago, Moses proclaimed in Exodus 20:17, “Thou shalt not covet.”  ‘

 

Chariot with gold wheels—house built out of stone instead of mud—water well less than a mile away—not meaning to trivializing the societal laws and institutions of Israel,however--2009 has taken coveting to an entire NEW LEVEL—

 

Hales declares, “Our world is fraught with feelings of entitlement. Some of us feel embarrassed, ashamed, less worthwhile if our family does not have everything the neighbors have. As a result, we go into debt to buy things we can’t afford and things we do not really need. Whenever we do this, we become poor temporally and spiritually. WE GIVE away some of our precious, priceless agency and put ourselves in self-imposed servitude.” 

 

Recent conversation with a friend allowed me to ponder this statement. She attended a play with family and was enchanted by the costumes—sets—music—singing and left them with a great feeling.  After the performance, they met some of the actors backstage WITHOUT makeup—and had that awful feeling of let-down—realizing that it was JUST a PERSON behind all that magic.  They probably had their own set of issues. We all have our struggles and no one lives an "enchanted" life so stop coveting.

 

2 Nephi 9:51  “Wherefore, do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor for that which cannot satisfy. Hearken diligently unto me, and remember the words which I have spoken and come unto the Holy One of Israel and feast upon that which perisheth not, neither can be corrupted.

 

---Moses people may have struggled with coveting a horse-powered golden chariot fueled by endless energy, however the fuel may have been cheap---was very stinky and messy to clean up. 

 

Today—we may covet over-priced car with many technological gadgets that when broken, require expensive, skilled labor to fix and are powered by fuel that is always fluctuating in price---

Closing:   Provident preparation requires  preparation—education which in many cases means delaying gratification, not coveting and positive attitude.  May you follow the prophets counsel and avoid the FEAR of a torrential RAINSTORM