Confidence

let virtue garnish thy thoughts, then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God . . ."
Today was a little rough. For some reason I just found myself in a bit of a rut. I was very irritable and feeling overwhelmed. The worst part about these feelings is that I recognize that they are wrong immediately, but yet it is still difficult to free myself of them. A combination of my cheery, wonderful wife and some long hours of dedicated studying pulled me out of my hole, but at the end of the day I am still disappointed; upset w/ myself for not making the most of the day I was given. Why waste time, effort, and energy on such trivial things? If only I could have today back. I can only make sure not to repeat it tomorrow. As I conclude my day I read the above verse in D&C. These are words that I have thought a lot about over the years, particularly on my mission. I want to know these words better! I have had my fair share of moments where I could say my "confidence waxed strong", however, I want to sustain those moments. How can I maintain virtuous thoughts at all times (especially when 80% of my thoughts are consumed by membrane potential and all the latest heaps of material medical school is piling on me)?

I think the key word here is "garnish." When you garnish a meal or a food item, you place some frilly foliage of some sort on top--you know, give it some presentation--put the cherry on top. I can't believe that the Lord expects to be singing Hymns in our head 24/7. He knows we are busy; we may not be of the world, but we sure live in the world and the world is a busy place! Thoughts of all varieties consume our minds, but what I believe really counts is the garnish. It shows Him we are trying. I may have smooth endoplasmic reticulum on the brain, but I throw on a little man-I-love-my-wife-garnish every once in a while. My brain may be consumed w/ a whole lot of other mumbo jumbo, but every so often my soul chimes in his 2 cents.