Sharpen Your Saw

Today we had our high councilman speak during sacrament meeting. He is actually a member of our ward and was just released as one of my primary teachers. He told the congregation that if it were his will, he would still be a primary teacher. That does my heart a lot of good; I pray that my teachers will not only want to do their calling but they will love it!

Anyway, he told a story that was probably meant for me: One day there was a man visiting another town and while there stopped to watch another man sawing a large log. The visitor noticed that the sawyer's saw was very dull and that he labored much in cutting that log. He thought, "if he would just stop for a few minutes and sharpen his saw, not only would his task become easier but he would get more done." So, he decided to approach the sawyer. After hearing the question, the sawyer replied, "I can't stop now; I'm too busy."

How many times have we said, "I don't have time (or don't want) to read my scriptures" (or pray, or attend stake/general conference, etc.)? How many times do we feel down or overwhelmed with all the many tasks we are called upon to do? Do these coincide? The point of the story is that our lives are much more difficult and we can not function effectively if we don't take the time to sharpen our own spiritual "saws" through prayer, reading scriptures, attending conferences, etc.

I loved this because one of the things I am always saying to myself is "I'm too busy" or "I just don't have time." I admit that I am not as diligent as I should be at "sharpening my saw" -- in fact, I'm feeling pretty dull. So this story was the perfect lesson for me. I have felt such a longing to go to Sunday School and Relief Society and I realize it is mostly because I need to fill a void. (However, I really do enjoy a classroom environment; I love learning from other people and their experiences.) At any rate the lesson is taken to heart: sharpen your saw!