Moving rocks

I loved this article from a recent "Friend" magazine!  Sometimes some of the greatest truths come in the simplest packages:

Once a young boy was trying to smooth out the dirt area behind his house so he could play there with his toy cars. There was a large rock blocking his work. The boy pushed and pulled with all his might. But no matter how hard he tried, the rock wouldn’t budge.

His father watched for a while. Then he came to his son and said, “You need to use all your strength to move a rock this large.”

The boy answered, “I have used all my strength!”

His father corrected him: “No, you haven’t. You haven’t had my help yet!”

They then bent down together and moved the rock easily.

The Lord wants us to rely on Him in solving our problems. Then we can feel His love more constantly, more powerfully, more clearly, and more personally. We become united with Him, and we can become like Him.

 I was just reading the parable of the talents this morning and was struck how our meager efforts are made into many things only as we allow the Lord to consecrate our performances.   It is only through His hand and presence in our lives that we are able to have "all that the Father hath."

Yes, we must do all that we can do, but sometimes I think that our "all that we can do" in the Lord's eyes is much more realistic and much more merciful than what we think it is.  The key is to allow Him into our lives daily to help us measure and feel His enabling power through prayer and scripture study and whatever else we feel prompted to do. 

It's funny.  After all these years, I know that those are the answers but sometimes I still really have to drag myself to the altar, as it were, to partake of those mighty blessings that come through those simple acts.  I am reminded of something Quinn mentioned last night in our Family Home Evening on obedience: the people of Moses could be healed from great, deadly sickness if they would just look up at the snake on the rod Moses held up.  That was it.  Look up.  Naaman was healed of debilitating leprosy by simply bathing 7 times in a dirty river.  Do it.

If simple obedience is really the answer, why do I fight and ignore the promptings that often indicate simplicity?

Time to start inviting the Lord with me on my journey more, so I can start moving those rocks that seem to be before me.  Obedience to even the most ludicrous promptings (and maybe especially to those!) will surely yield great miracles in my life.  Why do I insist on doing it "my way", when experience indicates that my way seems to not only not move rocks, but find more to push :)?