My handcart

What are you putting in your handcart today?

Ever since I listened to the General Relief Society Broadcast on Saturday night, I cannot get that question out of my mind. As Sister Burton, President of the Relief Society spoke, it was as if that question pierced down to my soul. When the pioneers set to walk across the plains and over mountains, there were only so many physical items that could be taken with them... the necessities such as food, scriptures and clothing came first, and if room a beloved rocking chair or precious doll would make it into the cart.

We are filled with items all around us. We may not have to physically put things into a handcart but we do chose what activities go into our daily lives. We chose what goes on our "to do" lists and what we chose to participate in and what goes into our hearts.

Oh how that struck me to my core. What do I value and consider the essentials of my day and what activities do I allow to seep in with the fluff?  I realized that I really need to be more conscious about what goes into my daily handcart and what to leave behind.

I am guessing that the Ipad games, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TV and computer time should not be at the top of my list. I have justified these things and let them take up more time since I am confined to the couch or bed most days. They are easy, they fill my time and help me to forget about the pain. However, there are so much more meaningful things that I could be doing instead. I need to be more faithful on my blog. This is our family's record of our lives, it is my journal, my scrapbook and life's memories all rolled into one and that is so important to me. I need to spend more time in the scriptures, more than just family scripture study. I could be preparing better family home evening lessons, reading the Ensign, reading more books (that is when I can actually see the page-man these headaches are taking me down). I could serve more. I should be writing. The list of "I should be doings" could go on forever.

This talk inspired me. It helped me to realize that yes, I am down physically. I am doing all I can to just make it from one day to the next. The days and week after my treatments, I can barely move, it takes all my energy to stay alive. I can still chose to watch or listen to a conference talk instead of TV. I can chose to try to write in my journal. I can tell Hayden stories from the lives of the prophets or Bible stories. I can still chose better things to be filling my handcart with each day.

What a wake up call Sister Burton gave me. It always amazes me that one question can change my life. So, what are you choosing to put in your handcart today?