Consider the Lillies
From Music and the Spoken Word
Delivered By: Lloyd D. Newell • Program 4362
In this remarkable age, everything
seems to be moving faster and faster. The Internet provides almost
instantaneous information; communication crosses oceans and continents
in a flash. Nearly all of us live fast-paced, hectic lifestyles. Like
the view of the countryside from a speeding car, life sometimes seems to
go by in a blur.
The speed of life can be exhilarating
but also exhausting. Fulfillment is usually found not in something up
ahead that we’re pursuing but in the good things around us that we rush
past in our haste. From the sacred suggestion to "consider the lilies”1.
to the modern admonition to "stop and smell the roses,” we have all
been invited to slow down, even for a few moments, and enjoy the beauty
of the earth.
When we dash past a flower, we have
missed an opportunity to consider one of nature’s most beautiful
creations. Sunsets happen every day, but how often do we stop to let
those moments of serenity and beauty lift our spirits and increased our
peace? A short pause to feel the breeze on our face, to appreciate a
towering tree, or to listen to the song of a bird can clear our minds
and refresh our perspective, giving us renewed energy and motivation.
A kindly grandfather sat with his
young granddaughter on a park bench. "Listen,” he said to her, "to the
sound of the wind in the trees. The trees are speaking to you.” With
innocent awe, the child asked, "What are the trees saying, Grandpa?”
"Whatever you need to hear,” he replied, "Whatever you need to hear.”
Perhaps God has a message for each of
us in His glorious creations—if we will only take a moment to stop,
observe, and listen. As a wise man once said, "Where there are eyes to
see, there will be visions to inspire.”2.
1 Matthew 6:28.
2 Spencer W. Kimball, personal notes.
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