Don't listen to the minion

Today in church, I was able to sit in Relief Society and listen to a lesson. We were visiting Sam's parents ward and I enjoyed my time to sit and be taught--I am currently the Mia Maid Teacher in my ward and I love it but it was especially nice to sit and listen to a lesson in RS. I really love Relief Society and have missed it. So as we talked about Sister Elaine Dalton's talk "A Return to Virtue" the teacher shared a story that left an impression. It went something like this.

One day Satan and his minion were sitting and watching people walking to and fro on a busy sidewalk. Satan leaned over to his minion and said, "Go over to that man, sit on his shoulder and tell him that he is discouraged." The minion did just this. Once he was settled on the shoulder of the man he said," You are discouraged." The man answered," No I am not." A second time, the minion said," I am telling you, you are discouraged." The man questioned his previous self evaluation," You think so? No, surely not. I am not discouraged--Am I?" Again the minion said," Yes, you are discouraged. I am sure of it." The man answered,"Well, I guess you are right. I AM discouraged." The minion hopped off the man's shoulder and returned to Satan.

Satan spotted another man and told his minion to tell this new passerby the same thing. The minion proceeded forth to do his shameful business. Once on the shoulder of this second man, he leaned over and began to tempt the man into believing that he should be discouraged. The man listened and then concerted," No, I am not discouraged." The minion tried again. The man remained firm the second time around," No, I am certainly not discouraged." The minion told him that he was most assuredly discouraged. The man replied," No, You are a liar. I am not discouraged." The man continued walking and the minion hopped down from his shoulder. The minion returned to Satan to give his report. He said," I could not convince that man that he was discouraged. He assured me that he was not discouraged in the least and then called me a liar after all that I am feeling quite discouraged."

This story has left me with alot of food for thought. Lately, I have been feeling quite overwhelmed in certain aspects of my daily life and stewardships. In other areas, I don't feel overwhelmed at all. After hearing this story, I wonder if I have allowed myself to be worn down by my own assertions of feeling overwhelmed that I don't leave room for growing out of those suppressing feelings into feelings of increased capacity and capability. Just because I feel overcome with certain things doesn't mean that I have to wallow in the muck of those feelings and stay in that place. But with all that is a balance--the balance of knowing when to say no and when not to overextend myself with the balance of enduring to the end and allowing myself to remember that I can do hard things when I call upon the help of the Lord.

Abraham Lincoln said," With the help of that divine being, I cannot fail. Without it, I cannot succeed." How true, how true.

In Phillipians it says, " I can do all things thru Christ who strengtheneth me."

So this week, this is my focus. I will go thru the week and remember that with the help of the Lord that I can do the things that I have a hard time with--that I can become better and that my capacity can and will increase. So here I go. I will be on watch for wicked minions and stand ready to flick them off my shoulders. Onward, ever onward.