Time Flies on Wings of Lightning

I like music. Not nearly as much as some of the people I've met (including my awesome brother), but I like the interesting methods that artists use to fascinate the mind and tickle the ears. Some especially important songs are hymns, or sacred songs, and I've decided to repeat what I did in a previous post and start with one of them.

Boom! Lightning, there for a brief moment.

Improve the Shining Moments is a hymn encouraging us to, simply put, improve our use of time. The second verse begins with the words found in the title to this post, and contains great wisdom in poetic form. Looking back on my life, I can say that time really has felt like it has flown by incredibly fast. Like the message of the hymn, we should not sit idly by while we could be improving our futures, others' days, or the world's destiny. While there is always a chance that things could get better on their own, the only way to affect that change is by being involved and changing what you can.

It is easy to look back with regret and say "I wish I had [done something different]..." but this reminds me of a saying, which I can't find the original due to its popularity; "the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is today." Yes, it would have been better to have done a few things differently in the past. I wish I had applied myself more in school, to have tried more activities and to do my best more often. I can't change that, but I can change what I'll do next time such as striving for excellence in college, being active in class and outside of class, and not letting my past worry me more than pushing me to do better today.

Fortunately our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ do not judge the way man does (1 Samuel 16:7). They will judge us with perfect justice and mercy, considering the difficulties we've suffered through as well as our actions, our desires, and our faithfulness. One parable that explains this is the parable of the laborers in the vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16). I like to notice that despite some laborers only working for one hour, they still received the same pay at the end of the day. I then compare this to our individual lives, that if at the end of the day we are laboring we will receive the same reward as those that have been laboring from the beginning of their lives. It is not too late, for you, your neighbor, me, anybody! My testimony is that you can change your life with the Book of Mormon. Try it out!