Be Calm
This week I have studied the word calm in the Topical Guide because my life has been anything but calm and I needed some insight, direction, and comfort about how to regain that quality in my life.
The word 'calm' has many interesting roots in different languages. In French it comes from a word meaning tranquil and quiet. In Italian it relates to the "heat of the mid-day sun", which is a "time when everything rests and is still" (etymonline.com). I thought that was really interesting because noon is not the most comfortable time of the day. It is hot, sticky, and makes you feel a little gross to be honest. But they are right, it can be the most peaceful and quiet moment of our day.
I related this to the gospel in that we can be calm even when the noon-day sun is beating down on us. We can have the Savior's peace even when things are rough. In fact, we may have the potential to feel His peace more during those "hot" times, if you will.
In my study, I came across the scripture 1 Nephi 18:21. This is immediately following Nephi's release aboard the ship. His brothers had finally come to realize that without releasing Nephi, they were most likely doomed to more calamity and hardship. The verse says,
"And it came to pass after they had loosed me, behold, I took the compass, and it did work whither I desired it. And it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord; and after I had prayed the winds did cease, and the storm did cease, and there was a great calm."
The principle I chose to take from this scripture is one of faith. When we pray to our Master, even after or during great trials in our lives, He has the power to calm our waves and make our storms cease. Without Him, calm is not really available to us in our lives, at least not consistently.
I have a really hard time sometimes believing that we can always feel joy. It is proclaimed in church that you can always feel joy, even in your darkest trials. "After all," they say, "Jesus had the hardest life of us all and he felt joy."
The thing is, I don't actually believe that joy can be at the forefront of our minds all of the time. I think it can be present, but I don't think it can always be on the "front burner", so to speak. But, I do believe that God's peace and comfort and calm can be with us always. It can diffuse into our lives and leave our days with an overall feeling of stillness.
That is why these scriptures and definitions and study were so important to me this week. Because I am having a hard time finding a way to feel that calm in my life. I'm having a hard time holding onto the Spirit and letting him influence me to be calm. But honestly, the scriptures teach us that God is the giver of peace and of comfort and of calm. I think that my problem has been that I am leaving God too much out of the equation of my life. I need to seek Him, like Nephi did, and invite Him to be a co-director of my life again.
If you walk away with anything from reading today, I hope it is that God is the grantor of your calm. Look to Him to give you peace during these difficult experiences. I witness that He will absolutely guide you to calm, peace, love, and comfort.
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