Parable of the Pickle

Today at church there was a lesson on becoming like a pickle. You gotta love that in itself! Jenni did a great job teaching it using a talk that was given in General Conference last April by Elder David L. Bednar . It was about likening ourselves to the pickling process by 1)preparing and cleaning, 2) immersing and saturating, and 3) sealing. I was obviously struck by the whole idea of being a cucumber turned pickle..but even more so by my thoughts that followed as the lesson went on. I thought about how after the process is done... after being prepared spiritually by being cleansed and then immersing ourselves in the gospel (not just sprinkling the brine on ourselves was duely noted), we are finally sealed with a stamp of approval. But then what? I don't think it ends. When we canned our pickles this past summer with many mishaps, mind you, we realized that we wouldn't eat any right now because the longer they sit the better they will taste. Every day that they remain unopened will help the flavors to meld into one and become stronger. Likewise, EVERY DAY that we remain immersed in scripture study, prayer, and obedience to gospel principles..we will "taste" better. So..there are my thoughts:)

I loved this lesson so much today that I gave a shortened version for Family Home Evening tonight. Brianna was just adorable and became very involved. Aaron had explained the whole process of canning to her when we had done it over the summer and she remembered it all so well! She pointed out many times that "if we do that..then we won't stay a cucumber and we can be a tasty pickle!" I loved all 5 minutes of our FHE lesson for that reason alone (5 minutes is all we can manage around here with a very active Kai)!

Case in Point: Let's all become pickles:)