Embracing Weakness

I have a good friend who told and taught me about the empowerment that comes from embracing your vulnerabilities.

She makes me feel vulnerable =P

but I have learned many things because of her, and I'd like to share some of those things with you.

This past Sunday, May 6th, was probably my last class as a mission prep teacher in my singles ward because I am moving away.

That class I looked at my students and felt the necessity to explain to them how important it was that they stayed true to who they were, because the person they are is what God needs them to be for certain individuals prepared for them to receive the Gospel.



Time and time again I saw missionaries regurgitating bland recitations that turned the Gospel into a telemarketer's sales script. It often caused me to make a face as if I had stuffed six warheads in my mouth. The problem was one of a few concerns. Either they were not passionate about the work or they were insecure in expressing themselves; unsure of what they would say if it was really them speaking. This comes from a lack of understanding of the Gospel and a fear of being wrong or rejected. They use these scripts because they are safe, and they are what could be considered expected.




Time and time again now I see the extreme opposite. People going out of their way to be something they are not out of fear of being rejected or being told that the way they talk, their humor, and mannerisms are wrong.



I spoke with conviction to that classroom of how important it is to be who you are, always. That means to not only be your strengths, not to only live within what you do best, but to embrace and accept your weaknesses, for your weaknesses are necessary components of your composition.

Ether 12:27 says, "...I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men...for if they...have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."



 Weakness is a vital part of our growth. If we only had strengths, we would be one dimensional, and non-progressive. Weakness gives us power to strive for something better, to change, and to grow. Doctrinally speaking, our weaknesses is what helps us realize our dire need for a Savior; and God says that those who acknowledge that fact will have grace given them sufficient for Salvation. God loves and accepts you, every aspect of you.

 Your laugh isn't too loud, you don't talk too much, you have every right to like the music you do, to act the way you do, to say the things you say. Don't ever hold yourself to someone else's standard, and never ever wish that you were any other way then the way you are.



When you pick out what to wear today, make it whatever it is you want and would like, don't think about looking trendy or stylin for the people you will see.



 When you get in the car with your friends, don't second guess what to play to please everyone. It's your car.

If no one laughs at a joke you made, laugh at that fact and keep joking, keep being you.

A tree never wishes to be anything but a tree, and even though it may at first be weak to elements such as wind, it is then encouraged to grow taller, thicker, and stronger. What was once weak becomes strong after a certain amount of time.

Those things that you may think are weaknesses, later on in life, people will admire you for and remember who you were because of those as much as your strengths.

My point is our "weaknesses" are only labeled as such because we choose to do so.


For example:

Everyday when I wake up I think in my mind of two lists. First the list of things I need to get done, and then the list of things that I could get done.

As you can see, one list is massive compared to the other.

 I have a weakness of being lazy sometimes. If I don't feel its that important, I tend to put it off. So that could do list usually grows larger and longer, but always at the end of the day I feel terrible. "Why didn't I do those things I could have? What's my problem? Why did I choose to play video games or basketball or longboard over things that I could have done.








So the next day I would get super dedicated, and tackle five to six things on my list that would consume the majority of my day, and when I gave an accounting of what I had done that day, I often felt no different when I had accomplished nothing off  of my "could do" list. I wondered why this was... why did I still feel like crap after doing a lot. It's because I still had so much to do, and looking back, my day wasn't perfect. I wasted too much time eating lunch, or I went to bed too early, etc. I've recently realized I can't live a perfect day, so no matter what, I would be disappointed with myself.

What would happen then, is the next day, I would do only what was needed to get done, and then blow off my "could do" list entirely because of how I felt, and the cycle would perpetuate...it was very frustrating.

It was only recently when I became of aware of my mentality that I decided to change the way I approached my day. I still had my two lists, but at the end of the day, no matter what I had or hadn't accomplished off that list, I felt good about it. "I didn't sort through my mission pictures today, man, I've been home almost a year and I haven't finished that yet?! hahaha"

I accepted the fact that some days, I'm ok with being worthless and playing video games instead of folding my laundry or cleaning my car.

Interestingly enough, since adopting this mentality, I have seen an increase in my productivity. I feel more inclined to do things off of my could do list because I want to, I mean really actually want to. Instead of doing it out of obligation or fear of disappointing myself, I enjoy any amount of work accomplished.

My weakness is being strengthened, and it only started after I accepted and embraced it as a part of who I was. Who gets the credit? God. He revealed to me my incorrect mentality, and helped me realize that my weakness isn't really laziness, it's my own discouragement, my own self-criticisms that caused me to be unproductive. He showed me my weakness, that I was unsatisfied with myself more than anything, and now he is making me stronger.

Another point I'd like to bring up is how I needed God to show me what was wrong. I couldn't do it alone. It was His grace that brought me to an awareness of my weakness. Go back to Ether 12:27. He will show you your weakness, then make it strong.

There is nothing wrong with being weak, because guess what, everybody is. No one lives the perfect life, and no one can even live a perfect day.

Accept that fact, accept that what your weaknesses are is actually a tool to motivate you to become a stronger and better person. Understand also that God is the only one with the proper judgement to label something a weakness or not. For example. If you think your hair is ugly, that is not a weakness. If you think that your ears are too big, or your teeth too crooked, well, that's not a weakness. Embrace everything that you are, and go to God for help in finding what truly are your weaknesses, then He will help you grow.

 No one is better than you, but you're no better than they. We are what we are, we exist as we were created and are becoming. There is no standard, no expectation... do what you do because you want to. Love yourself, and if you love God, follow His commandments because you want to. Do what you want, because as long as you have love inside of you, you'll do what's right.