Sabbath Day

I love the Sabbath Day. I love that it is a day to go to church and renew our covenants with God. I love that we draw strength and new resolve from the testimony of others as we see their happiness in serving God. I love that we learn through the hymns we sing - even though I sing like a frog.
I went to bed last night - and therefore arose this morning - fully frustrated and irritated at a relative. She is very much addicted to prescription pain medication. She is constantly in pain (which, from what I've read is part of the addiction) and lives her life in a drug-induced fog. She is sometimes hard to be around because her reasoning is skewed. All of that was on my mind as we left for church.
As we sat in our pew singing the sacrament hymn, the words were very powerful to me. "In humility, our Savior, Grant thy Spirit here, we pray. As we bless the bread and water in thy name this holy day. Let me not forget O Savior, thou didst bleed and die for me when they heart was stilled and broken on the cross of Calvary." The second verse then spoke to my heart and was something I needed to hear and heed. Fill our hearts with sweet forgiving; Teach us tolerance and love. Let our prayers find access to thee in thy holy courts above. Then when we have proven worthy of thy sacrafice divine, Lord, let us regain thy presence, let thy glory round us shine.
Obviously, in my frame of mind last night and this morning, His glory could not around ME shine!
In Relief Society, the lesson was on prayer. It was a beautiful lesson taught by a beautiful (inside and out) young lady. She said more things that I needed to hear. She quoted Bishop Peterson on several occasions about how to pray and how to receive answers. One thing she said was that we need to be in tune with the spirit. If we aren't loving and forgiving and living the gospel of Jesus Christ, how can we expect to hear Him when He answers us. Obviously, loving and forgiving and living the gospel of Jesus Christ weren't forefront in my mind.
Well, that's what going to church is all about. It's to remind us of those things we already know and to teach us things we do not yet know or perhaps have forgotten. Today was a good learning day for me. I'm so thankful for the opportunity we have to worship freely as we see fit. I'm thankful for the sabbath day which is a time to honor Him and refrain from wordly activities. It is a good day.