Sacrifice

So, I have been thinking about sacrifice. In life we sacrifice a lot of things. Some things are not really a sacrifice, but to us, we could consider it so. Like we may feel like we sacrifice having pizza to not ruin our diet.

One big sacrifice we have as mothers is giving birth to our children. We sacrifice our bodies (oh those lovely stretch marks). We get the closest to dying by giving birth. Then the babies are here and we sacrifice our sleep and time. Because we love our children with every cell in our body, it does not feel like a sacrifice. Well -- I take that back because there are times when those cute little ones are being not so cute and we feel the sacrifice. But underneath all that, we love them and would die for them. Hmmm -- so another sacrifice -- one I hope no one I know ever has to make, and that is if one actually had to choose to die for their child. Not a good pathway of thinking, so changing subject . . . .

Michelle Christensen sacrificed a kidney for her husband Martin. That is quite the love story. He being married before and his first wife dying. Michelle and he getting married. He having lots of family, but it ends up that she is the one that is the perfect donor match for him. She sacrificed a healthy part of her body to let him live because she loved him. She is the one having the most trouble with the surgery and her body having to get used to only one kidney. He is thriving. But it has brought them closer together.

So -- Jesus sacrificed for us. He paid for our sins in the Garden of Gethsamane and then offered up his body to death for our resurrection. But then He left. I guess what I am trying to figure out is this: when someone sacrifices something, that thing they sacrificed is dead. Let me explain how I get to this: We are on a diet and we sacrifice food. If the sacrifice is successful, then the heavy person that we are is sacrificed and gone. As mom's, we sacrifice our bodies and then sacrifice our needs (I get those are mostly selfish needs) but still, we sacrifice our wants (lets change to wants) to raise those children. The person we would be without children is sacrificed. But, then our children grow up and (if all goes according to plan) they leave. So the sacrifice is over. Still a leaving. A death of something because of sacrifice.

How about others in our lives? We may sacrifice for a friend, our time, energy, talents. Maybe our wants and desires to help that friend out (visiting teaching often hits this because I swear when you are called to take in a meal it is always at the least convenient time) are sacrificed. Then where does that go? Does it go to a death of something? The person that was before the sacrifice is gone, because the person who sacrificed has now come into being. That changes things.

After Christ sacrificed for us, he became a resurrected being. Now, we are all far from being like him (man -- especially me) but He left. I know we say He is always with us, but He still left the earth. He left his disciples. He went on to other things. Yet, He did this for us, and He became better for it. But He was also changed. So -- how does this apply to us? We sacrifice and hopefully those sacrifices are for worthy things. But it changes us. Hopefully for the better. But, with sacrifice there is a change. The question is can we live with the change? I suspect that if it is a true sacrifice, it will hurt a bit. It will change our heart and mind. It will knock off some of those rough edges (the corners off the square to make a circle). However, it changes things.

I don't know if we can see right away what it changes. It may take time -- or we may even need to wait until the next life to see. But I know that sacrifice hurts. It is not an easy thing. And it changes things.

We are asked to sacrifice our time, talents, and all that we have for building up the kingdom of God. Sometimes it is easy. Sometimes it is hard. Those callings that we get that we don't like (OK, for me it is usually scouting) are a sacrifice for the church. But those are almost temporal sacrifices. We are not required to be the best scout leader in order to obtain Celestial glory. However, our attitude -- our willingness to sacrifice for something the Lord has asked us to do, is required because it is Obedience that is required. So it does take sacrifice and obedience to have that change of heart. But may I focus on that word "change". We must "change" and become different. In the Book of Mormon it talks about becoming a new creature. But that is a whole lesson in and of itself.

So, in order to change who we are, we must sacrifice. But there is a realization. It changes things. So be prepared for that change -- especially since so many people have a hard time with changes. We cling to what we know or we cling to what we want or we cling to our sins. We don't want to sacrifice and change. It hurts. So set your sights on the good things in the world and sacrifice for that. Sacrifice for the ones you love. Sacrifice for what God asks you to do in your church callings. Sacrifice for things that are (insert 13th article of faith here) virtuous, lovely, praiseworthy because we seek after those things. Just always, always, always, expect a change.