The idea impacted me in a significant way. Obviously, the light of Heaven was going to be superior to anything my feeble intellect and knowledge could provide the students in my Sunday School class and I wanted that light as well. I began to prepare lessons differently with this idea in mind and prayed earnestly for the blessing.
That blessing came and my classes went from a struggle to keep everyone awake to wonderful discussions led by the Spirit. It was not anything I was doing that contributed to the improvement. I simply put my own personality in check and strove to listen for the still small voice. In fact, when I would start to feel too congratulatory about how well things were going the lights would go out.
This last week as I came to the conclusion that I was a self-righteous, sanctimonious jerk (recovering), another idea about windows came into my remembrance. In a beautiful talk titled Charity Never Faileth President Monson related the following story.
“A young couple, Lisa and John, moved into a new neighborhood. One morning while they were eating breakfast, Lisa looked out the window and watched her next-door neighbor hanging out her wash.
“That laundry’s not clean!” Lisa exclaimed. “Our neighbor doesn’t know how to get clothes clean!”
John looked on but remained silent.
Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry, Lisa would make the same comments.
A few weeks later Lisa was surprised to glance out her window and see a nice, clean wash hanging in her neighbor’s yard. She said to her husband, “Look, John—she’s finally learned how to wash correctly! I wonder how she did it.”
John replied, “Well, dear, I have the answer for you. You’ll be interested to know that I got up early this morning and washed our windows!”
Can’t you hear his voice as you read that story?
Not only can we be like windows when we are teaching, but it is just as important to be that window all of the time. As we humble ourselves and allow the light of Heaven to shine through, it warms and lifts those around us. In the process we are blessed to see the beauty and goodness of our spirit brothers and sisters through the eyes of the Savior. Our impatience and unrighteous judgement of others goes right out the window. We just need to get ourselves out of the way and keep clean.
Cheers,
Brenda
How has humbling yourself led to more light in your life?
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