Because It Led Me Back to You

I listened to one of my favorite songs from the Greatest Showman the other day, and as I listened to it, I thought about Heavenly Father:
​
From now on (The Greatest Showman)
I saw the sun begin to dim
And felt that winter wind
Blow cold
A man learns who is there for him
When the glitter fades and the walls won't hold
'Cause from then, rubble
One remains
Can only be what's true
If all was lost
Is more I gain
'Cause it led me back
To you

​From now on
These eyes will not be blinded by the lights
From now on
What's waited till tomorrow starts tonight
Tonight
Let this promise in me start
Like an anthem in my heart
From now on
From now on
I drank champagne with kings and queens
The politicians praised my name
But those are someone else's dreams
The pitfalls of the man I became
For years and years
I chased their cheers
The crazy speed of always needing more
But when I stop
And see you here
I remember who all this was for
And from now on
These eyes will not be blinded by the lights
From now on
What's waited till tomorrow starts tonight
It starts tonight
And let this promise in me start
Like an anthem in my heart
From now on
From now on
From now on
And we will come back home
And we will come back home
Home, again!

Sometimes we get a little distracted in the world- a world where power, fame, fortune, and opinion of others tends to crowd out the important things at times.  Sometimes we are so busy that the things that keep us connected to God go forgotten.

But, when we face that moment of despair, darkness, and confusion, we are reminded of the one person that we left, still standing there waiting for us with outstretched arms-our Heavenly Father-the one that all this was for. We chose to come to Earth because we wanted to follow His plan and return to Him someday. 

It is in this moment that we can pledge to ourselves:
From now on
These eyes will not be blinded by the lights
From now on
What's waited till tomorrow starts tonight
Tonight
Let this promise in me start
Like an anthem in my heart
From now on

It is love that gravitates us to people and gravitates us back to people. We may be blinded for a season, but sooner or later, we will turn to truth, light, and the ones who love us most.

We know consciously that God loves us, but subconsciously, we struggle at times with our beliefs and perceptions about God. 

In the article "How Do We 'Judge Righteous Judgment'?", the author says, "Of all the judgments we make in life, however, the most important and influential is how we judge God."

He reminds us of the Parable of the Talents in the Bible.  The three servants were given different amounts of talents.  The first two invested their talents and multiplied them; the third hid his talent in the Earth. 

"Contrast that with how the third servant judged the master. One can visualize him approaching the master in fear and trembling as he dropped the recently unburied talent at the master’s feet and said, “Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed” (Matthew 25:24). Notice how the third servant’s unrighteous judgment of the master negatively affected his behavior and character: “I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine” (Matthew 25:25)."

It is apparent that our perceptions and beliefs about God influence our behaviors and actions and can also influence our judgments of others. 

"If we assume that the Lord is angry, over-controlling, vengeful, self-interested, or a being to be feared and not trusted, how much easier it becomes for us to superimpose those same negative motives and character traits upon people around us" (Griffin, Tyler J. Ensign March 2019).

 God is love and love is God. 

Remember that God loves you-not if you are a certain way or because you are a certain way; He loves you in spite of who you are and in spite of what you have done. 

If we can adopt the beliefs and perceptions that God is a completely loving and accepting Father that is proud of us and knows we are doing our best, and wants us to be happy, prosperous, successful, healthy, etc, then our lives can become fueled with hope, and our paths will truly lead us back to Him!
​
Like an anthem in my heart
From now on
From now on
From now on
And we will come back home
And we will come back home
Home, again!