Wherever You Are, God is There Also

When Alma was approached by the poor and the outcast while preaching among the Zoramites, they were distraught that they could not worship in the right way, having been barred from the places of worship. What Alma and Amulek taught them is that there is no one right way to worship the Lord. Which isn’t to say that we suddenly have license to never go to church again, or never pick up the scriptures again if it doesn’t suit us. What it does mean is that reaching out and drawing close to God can and should happen pretty much anywhere and everywhere. We can worship at a ball game, or at the opera. We can pray while we’re on the train, or by replacing a flat tire. We can love our neighbor by playing video games, or pushing our kids on the swings. Sometimes we feel like we have to just quit the whole thing because we’re not conforming to some set of cookie cutter expectations. There are as many ways to put off the natural man and become a saint as there are people on this earth. Inviting the Spirit into our lives is definitely going to look different from one person to the next, and from one stage within our own lives to the next. God will consecrate our efforts to be near Him and to love Him with all our hearts, might, mind and strength, even if those efforts may look or seem strange to others or even to ourselves.