Frozen

For some reason the word frozen came to my mind this morning. It has so many meanings I don’t even know where to start.

For the most part, the word has a lot of negative connotations. When a person is cold, they don’t function that well, their facial expressions become tight and there is a feeling of being closed off, untouchable and unapproachable.

However, the term being frozen in our tracks, can sometimes be beneficial if we do not know where to go next.

Being still in those moments when being frozen can save your life. If a wild bear or animal was following you, being frozen in a safe environment would probably be the best choice to make.

We freeze vegetables to preserve them. Women freeze their faces with botox injections to get rid of wrinkles. Some of us choose to freeze time, hoping that the one moment that we feel God’s love penetrating in our life will never go away and we want that moment to last forever. The term frozen in time can be very positive when we want to hold onto something that is dear to our hearts.

Frozen can be used in terms of not feeling something, being numb to the pain, not progressing in a way that brings light into our lives. It can also be a defense mechanism to protect us from physical pain, emotional trauma and letting go of past sins or mistakes.

The opposite of frozen is melted. Melted is to become unthawed, letting our guard down and becoming vulnerable to feelings and emotions that create an inner vessel and trying to break free of things we really have no control over.

Some days we stay frozen, we never come out of our hiding places and our bodies remain empty and shallow because the sun has refused to shine.

I have never liked winter much, I don’t like to be cold. I love to feel the sun on my face, take hot showers, go to as many hot yoga classes as I can possibly find time for. But most of all, I love to fill the warmth of someone’s smile who can light up the room by just being present.

I realized today how important it is to feel safe, loved and valued as a human being.

In Sunday School this morning I sat between two men. One man was our bishop, and the other man was my husband. I felt so empowered, so blessed and so LOVED being sandwiched in the middle of two great men.

I wanted to MELT🩵

I cannot believe how many people made me feel loved today. But for some reason, a part of me is still frozen, afraid to share what I’m really feeling, because of my desire to please the natural man. I also don’t want to offend God because I do know, and have always known how much he does love me.

Because of his love, I know my burdens, insecurities, weakness, and shortcomings will be erased. He knows everything about me and he still loves me.

It’s easy for me to talk with God and to feel close to him because his love never changes.

We are the ones that leave Him. He never leaves us, and he always loves us. Disobedience, sin, anxiety, pain, loneliness and depression can draw us away from him, but faith, hope, charity, and love ever ceasing, will always draw us closer to Him. We get to choose which emotion will govern us each and every day.

The natural man has a tendency to criticize, mock, put down or belittle us if we let them know our weaknesses. God does not do this to us, we do it to ourselves. Satan delights in self-loathing, pity, despair and fear. He rejoices in making us feel guilty, shameful and unworthy. All of these attributes are negative and can be very damaging to our inner vessels.

February is the month of showing love. It’s a time to be kinder, gentler and more accepting of others.

I think there is a purpose for winter, and being still and frozen in life can sometimes prepare us for what lies ahead.

I am coming full circle with winter and I do love the snow on the mountains, skiing on a sunny day, and eating chile in a warm lodge with great people sounds amazing to me.

Winter has a purpose, and being outdoors is a happy place for me.

I have decided that for today, I will think of the word frozen as safe, untouched and unbroken.

If time could stand still today, I would never get any older, my wrinkles would freeze and not become more visible to the naked eye, my eyes would be childlike like the picture Tyler sent to me of our two youngest grandsons.

I would feel peaceful, sing with perfect pitch and make a comment in church that would make people stop in their tracks because I actually am incredibly smart and understand pure doctrine.

My greatest desire has always been to please God, and sometimes in order to do that, we have to remain still and frozen because the time to unthaw may be in another place, another time and another opportunity.

Things sometimes left unsaid are safer, smarter and wiser than saying something that we can’t take back or erase.

Sometimes the spirt speaks the loudest, when we say nothing at all.

I know by the witnesses that I have received over and over again, that when the day comes that I get to meet the Savior physically for the first time, I hope that I am worthy enough to see his beautiful smile and his countenance will penetrate my every being. My greatest desire is that his eyes will be the windows to my soul, SPARKLING, but most importantly, I hope His open arms will embrace me with unconditional love, and I will truly know what MELTED actually means🤍.