The Crystal Ball

This is a post about something that does not exist.  Would it be nice or awful if we could look into the crystal ball and see where we would be 5 years from now, 10 years from now?  Heck, I'd love it if I could look at see what time my husband is coming home from work!  Unfortunately, or fortunately, that is not how it works.

But, sometimes, we confuse personal revelation with a crystal ball.  Sometimes, we get a piece of inspiration and we see it as a revelation of an end point, rather than a compass arrow pointing us in a certain direction.

There are some things we need to remember when looking at personal revelation.

1.  One person's personal revelation does not negate another person's revelation.  Just because you receive revelation that you need to be a stay-at-home mom and homeschool your kids does not mean another mom who feels prompted to pursue a career is wrong.  It's different paths for different people.

2.  The Lord does not use personal revelation to put us at an end point.  This life is about the journey, not the destination.  We may feel prompted into a certain direction, and then find ourselves in a different place.  That's okay.  We learned something we needed to learn while we were on that path.  Sometimes, we may not even know we needed to learn that thing until years and years later. 

3.  What we need is ever-changing.  So, you feel prompted to go get a job.  That doesn't mean you will always work that job.  You feel prompted to homeschool your kids.  That doesn't mean you should always homeschool your kids.  You feel prompted to move to a certain state.  That doesn't mean you will always live there.

4.  Personal revelation comes in big and little things.  You can receive personal revelation for which path to take to work that day.  You can receive personal revelation on what to make for dinner.  You can receive personal revelation that you need to just up and move to another place.

5.  Personal revelation can come in the form of righteous desire.  You know why God said we don't need to be commanded in all things?  (See D&C 58) It's because He knows us.  He created us!  He put a certain something inside of us that draws us to good, righteous things.  Sometimes, the right thing IS what you want to do.  We don't always have to sacrifice our own personal desires for what the Lord wants us.  As we live closer and closer to God, as we strive to live the commandments, what we want becomes the same as what the Lord wants for us.  It's a wonderful thing, if you think about it.  I've talked to people who have said, "I want to do x, but I'm not getting a firm answer from the Lord."  Well, if x is a good thing, and it is driven by a righteous desire, maybe you are getting the answer, you just don't know it.  Trust yourself. 

6.  Sometimes, the answer really is "whatever you want."  Our lives are not predestined.  There is not some map out there that we are supposed to follow, but aren't given.  We don't get to the next life and find out that we were supposed to turn left, but we turned right.  Life is not some complicated scavenger hunt that we don't have the list for and will be docked points because we didn't find what we were supposed to find.  Life is a journey of growth and learning, and God knows we will learn and grow.  Sometimes, it just doesn't matter if that growth happens in New York or Colorado, at a job or at home.

My decision making process goes like this- I make a list of options.  I make a list of pro's and con's for each option.  Then, I pray about it.  I study the options further to make sure I understand them, and then I pray about it again.  Then, I pick an option that seems the best for me.  Then, I get on my knees and I say, "Heavenly Father, this is the direction I want to take my life right now.  If it's wrong, please tell me.  I want to do what is best."  Then, I listen.  If I feel peace, I go for it.  If I feel a "stupor of thought" (confusion and discomfort), I go back and start over.  Maybe there was an option I didn't consider.  Maybe there is a piece of information I missed.  More times than not, though, I find the peace the first time, because I put my own study in first. 

Yes, it's systematic.  But, that works for me.  I feel like I have a bit of a deal with Heavenly Father.  I will change my course when I'm instructed to, but He has to tell me when to change course.   We work well that way. 

It's a process of walking a path, though, not the crystal ball.  It doesn't tell us our future, only what to do in the present.