Get Out of the Rut

I've been in a bit of a spiritual rut. 


Mmm I don't know if rut is exactly the right word, but it was that feeling of plateau, where you're just plodding along but feel like you're getting nowhere. I'd been studying my scriptures and praying every day and attending the temple weekly. I was trying to serve my family and look for opportunities to do good. 

But I was just feeling kind of bleh. 

Last Sunday, I decided for the new week that I would go back to studying the basics: Lesson 3, The Gospel of Jesus Christ from Preach My Gospel. And that study led me to this verse in Alma 34:28: 


"And now, behold, my beloved brethren, I say unto you, do not suppose that this is all; for after ye have done all these things, if ye turn away the needy, and the naked, and visit not the sick and afflicted, and impart of your substance, if ye have, to those who stand in need—I say unto you, if ye do not any of these things, behold, your prayer is vain, and availeth you nothing, and ye are as hypocrites who do deny the faith." 

That hit home. I had been pleading in my prayers with Heavenly Father to help me get out of this rut, to feel closer to Him, to feel connected with heaven. Amulek reminded me that feeling often comes not when I'm focused on myself, but on others. It comes in ministering like Jesus Christ would. 

Let's go back to 2015 for a minute. 

It was late spring in a small town south of Naples, and I was lying in bed, sicker than I had ever been in my life. I'll spare you the details and just say my insides had decided to come at me with a vengeance. I remember staring up at the ceiling of the bedroom and thinking this was about as close to dying as I had ever come. I was perfectly miserable.

My angel of a companion lived up to her future aspirations of becoming a nurse and gave me the most loving, attentive care I could have hoped for. She pulled my hair back and stayed next to me as my stomach wrung itself out (kudos to her—that was incredibly selfless. I'm usually in the opposite corner of the house in similar situations :P). She brought me food and water, arranged for the elders to come give me a blessing and bring more food when we ran out (I was sick for about a week). She set up our small DVD player and turned on the New Testament videos for me to watch; she told me stories when I thought I might explode from boredom and the mental drain of being sick. When she wasn't with me, she was calling our investigators to see how they were doing; she began to go through the area book and call old contacts to see if they would like to visit with missionaries again. She reached out to everyone she possibly could in her usual love and kindness.

She is the person that comes to mind when I think of the following verses:

"For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

"Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

"Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

"When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

"Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

"And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

I love these words of the Savior. I doubt my companion thought twice about who she was really serving day in and day out for that week or so. She just saw my need. And when she had taken care of me, she saw there was more she could do, even if at a distance, for the people in our area. She radiated with a love and light that led her to reach out in service to others. Like never before, her example taught me to understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ in tangible, everyday ways.

And the wonderful thing is, being a disciple of Jesus Christ isn't limited to full-time service in the mission field. Post-mission, I have realized that there are opportunities all around to reach out in these small yet tangible ways—there are opportunities all around to help the needy, visit the sick and afflicted, impart of my substance. And these moments of service still fill me with a sense of purpose because they are always accompanied by a quiet assurance of the Savior's love, both for the individual I serve and for me.

Elder Uchtdorf says, "It is not enough merely to speak of Jesus Christ or proclaim that we are His disciples. It is not enough to surround ourselves with symbols of our religion. Discipleship is not a spectator sport. We cannot expect to experience the blessings of faith by standing inactive on the sidelines" ("The Way of the Disciple"). Though personal worship is an essential element to following Jesus Christ, it has to go beyond to "learning to be like Christ—learning to think, to feel, and to act [like] he does" (Riddle, qtd. in Perry).

And how does He think, feel, and act? I love the words of "The Living Christ" that describe His day-to-day ministry: "He 'went about doing good' (Acts 10:38)…He entreated all to follow His example. He walked the roads of Palestine, healing the sick, causing the blind to see, and raising the dead" ("The Living Christ").

Do you need to get out of a rut you've been stuck in? Do you want to feel like the channel between you and heaven is open and clear? Do you want to feel Heavenly Father's love for you and all His children?

Send that text/message you've had on the back of your mind. Invite that person over to make brownies with you. Stop by someone's house just to let them know you were thinking of them. 

Don't hesitate; just reach out. You won't regret it.

:)

Anika