Elijah and the Priests of Baal (1 Kings 18)

As I draw near the end of this pregnancy I am becoming more tired, more uncomfortable and not so capable of raising my 3 little men. I am also reminded that even though I may feel exhausted or low energy my three little men do not. They are healthy and strong little boys and full of energy and adventure. This is hard for me to keep up with these days. I am so grateful for the lessons we learn as a family through our morning scripture studies. This week we have been talking about Elijah and the Priest of Baal. These priest were wicked men worshiping Idols and things of the world. This upset Elijah and he didnt understand how they could rely on such foolish things. He had enough and wanted to show the people their Idols dont have power. He made them Pray for answers loud and clear to their Idol (Baal- A Wooden Statue) He brought a calf and some wood and told the Priest they had to make Baal burn the sacrifice without their help. The priest prayed all morning and shouted with demand but Baal did not answer them or burn the sacrifice. Elijah then told them that He would pray to God and show them real power. He had the priest cover the calf and wood with barrels and barrels of water until it was impossible to burn. Elijah then prayed to God for help in burning the wet sacrifice. God sent down fire and not only burned the calf but also dried up the wood. The people then saw the real power of God. They then knew their Idols had no power.

It really made me ponder the things in my life that I find impossible. Theres been a lot weighing on my mind lately about our soon to be babys health and the energy I crave as a Pregnant Mother of 3 active little boys. Im so grateful that I have set aside my Idols and found more time to sit and ponder the things in my heart. To converse with my Heavenly Father more and find answers and peace through my savior. As I face these struggles I now know from this story that no matter how much water my struggles are immersed in through or Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ all things are made possible through faith and obedience. Nothing is impossible to achieve when we put our idols and the worlds perception aside and rely completely on the Lord. This is never an easy thing for me and it seems new idols pop up after weeding out the old ones, but no matter how many times I fail to achieve them on my own and the more water I poor on my trials I am reminded that id I lean on my Savior for guidance he will burn and dry up all my imperfections and mistakes that make that trial seem impossible. I am grateful for this lesson I learned this week in our scripture study.

It was through this lesson that I spent my week pondering for answers. I am grateful for the stillness I have created in my heart and soul lately. Its gives me more time to sit and think and listen. As I sat and waited for Tyler at his buss stop I realized something. I discovered the answer to one of my trials. I sat and watched the neighbor kids running and playing together in their neighborhood. I could only imagine the joy in those kids hearts as they unleashed their energy after school. I could only imagine the Mothers.... inside their house resting or preparing dinner uninterrupted. A Luxury our kids and I dont have. We live in a different kind of neighborhood. I neighborhood you dont want your kids running the streets in or playing with the neighbors. So i have now realized the chaos that exists in our home after school is merly a scream and plead for some exercise on their end.

So with this inspiration I have decided that from now on every day after school we will either go to the park or go to McDonalds to play depending on the weather. I will give them a good 45 minutes to get their wiggles and giggles out and then we will return home and slow things down a bit. Do homework and let mommy prepare dinner. So far this idea has work wonders. The kids know I respect their desire to play hard and in return they respect my desire to fix a good meal and have a peaceful home while doing so. I am grateful for the scriptures and the lessons I learn by pondering them throughout my life as a Mother. Im grateful that ive filtered out those extra life sucking additions such as Facebook and TV and allowed more time for my soul to search for answers and direction. This is all part of Motherhood. My most favorite part. I love knowing that my trials may seem drenched in water and unrepairable, but theres always hope when you turn to your Savior through prayer and through Elijahs story we can learn that our Father in Heaven can dry out those unrepairable trials and make then burn bright.