Filling our spiritual potholes

Spring is upon us, and I am seeing the effects of winter on my yard and driveway. I have one area of my drive that appears to have a sinkhole. The hole just gets deeper, and it’s to the point that I drive around it. I plan to fill it, but things have not thawed out enough for me to access fresh dirt and rocks to fill it up, so there it sits. I see it every day and wonder how it happened. I had the driveway graded last year, and it certainly appeared solid. As winter came, it gave no sign of failing l.

My wife is a hydrogeologist (she studies how water moves through the ground), and she educated me on how sinkholes form. Water can erode the foundation even though the surface appears stable. Then all of a sudden, the surface gives way, and you are left with a hole. You may have seen pictures of cars and such swallowed up by these. Her point was that you can still appear to do everything right, but underneath, danger lurks.

Over the last couple of years, church services have been canceled during the pandemic. I have not rubbed shoulders with my fellow members like I used to. Many of our accustomed activities have been disrupted. Some of our regular service projects, such as woodcutting, have been postponed.

My family has tried to maintain a Christ-centered home with regular prayers and scripture reading. Sometimes we do well, and other times we fall flat. I imagine this is true for most folks. I have lagged by not having my weekly spiritual booster shot of church attendance. I may appear solid on the surface, but underneath, my foundation was losing some of its support. I have faith and believe in my Lord and Savior but miss engaging in opportunities to provide service to others as Christ did.

As a physician during a pandemic, I kept very busy--maybe too busy, but I justified it as I felt I was helping the greater good. I was struck by several scriptures that inspired me to refocus on Christ. “But be ye doers of the word, and not hears only, deceiving your own selves” (KJV James 1:22). And in ESV 1 John 2:6, “Whosoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.”

I don’t feel that I intentionally drifted from Christ but felt that my life was somehow missing the mark. As one of my heroes, Thomas Monson, said, “If you wake up in the morning further from Christ than you did yesterday, you can be sure who moved.” Having noticed the distance between where I am and where I want to be, I am working on making my way back. The question is, how do I do it?

I believe spiritual progress is like filling a sinkhole, bit by bit, being more fervent in my prayers, reading my scriptures a little bit longer and more intently. I listen to music that builds the soul, spend time with those I love, and serve others. I know it will take time. Much like the hole in my driveway that requires several wheelbarrows of dirt and gravel, I will need to spiritually replenish and restore my foundation. I know the Lord helped me build it, and if I come to Him with a humble heart and contrite spirit, I know He will bless me. With His help, the two of us can fill my sinkhole much faster than I could ever do it myself.

As the snow melts away both physically and spiritually in our lives, I pray that we might know that the Lord is always there to help us rebuild and restore us. The Lord sees what we can become but accepts us just as we are, imperfect but with the potential to improve.

John Boston is a local physician, husband, father, grandfather, a believer in Christ, and a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.