Diligence is Underrated

by Autumn Dickson

There was a period in my life where my stress levels grew to problematic levels that were consuming me. I was experiencing some postpartum depression, and that was combined with responsibilities that threatened to drown me. I was tired all of the time. I was waking up at the crack of dawn with a toddler (after waking up with the baby throughout the night), and I would move from task to task to task to task until as late as 10:00 pm. This was compounded by health problems that I started experiencing. For weeks on end (maybe even a few months), it felt like there wasn’t a reprieve. There wasn’t any time to pull my head above water for a breath. Conner was swamped with his own work, and so we were both just surviving.

My sweet mother kept telling me to simplify my life, and I truly tried to do so. I looked at what tasks were filling my day and genuinely considered which of those tasks could be dropped. I wanted to simplify my life, but there really wasn’t anything that I could let go of. I was taking care of small children and all the endless tasks that required. I was making sure my house was a sanitary enough place even if it wasn’t always tidy. My health problems grew better when I started cutting out certain ingredients, but that meant I had to cook a lot of things from scratch which was also time consuming. I couldn’t give up my kids or all the tasks associated with them. I couldn’t give up the extra cooking unless I wanted to have chronic pain again. We didn’t have the resources at the time to take on some of my tasks. The only thing I could really give up was the blog.

But alas, the Lord said no. Quite forcefully actually. I even asked one too many times, and He essentially answered with, “Stop asking or you’re crossing over into disobeying Me.” So I stopped asking, but I remained frustrated. I felt like He didn’t care that I was destroying myself. Every once in a while, I would feel a whisper that I didn’t have to destroy myself; He would enable me to do what I needed to do without carrying the weight of the world.

For some bizarre reason that I don’t understand, I didn’t listen. I suppose I didn’t trust Him sufficiently yet. I felt like I had to carry myself because no one else would pick up the slack.

It would have been easy for Him to remove my stress and let things flow easily. He could have minimized other tasks quite easily for me or brought in resources that would have enabled me to delegate tasks. Some might even believe it was cruel that He simply watched me struggle for so long; there were definitely times that I subconsciously thought so.

But the Lord wasn’t there to make my life easy. Honestly, I see now that He was wise enough to let me push myself until I broke. He knew that there was no other way to soften my heart and help me learn those lessons the easy way. So He let me suffer in my bullheadedness, and He waited to teach me a lesson that would change how I lived the rest of my life.

I know that comparatively, I was blessed. However, I also know that I’m not the only one who feels like they’re being run ragged while trying to do everything they’re supposed to be doing. I know I’m not the only one who has been afraid of failing if I didn’t martyr myself. I know that each of us will have to go through periods in our life where we have to learn to trust the Lord with what needs to be accomplished.

Helaman is given a responsibility

Alma has a son named Helaman, and this week, we read the chapter where he passes the sacred responsibility of the plates down to his son. He admonishes his son to treat them with gravity, to be steadfast in his obedience to the Lord so that he could fulfill the responsibility which he was given.

Over and over and over in Alma 37, we learn about a small principle that can make a big difference in our life. Let’s start with this verse.

Alma 37:20 Therefore I command you, my son Helaman, that ye be diligent in fulfilling all my words, and that ye be diligent in keeping the commandments of God as they are written.

Diligence is a remarkably underrated Christlike attribute. It’s definitely not one of the first qualities I think of when it comes to Christ, but it has made a surprisingly large difference.

According to Preach My Gospel, “Diligence is steady, consistent, earnest, and energetic effort in doing the Lord’s work.” I have learned that the Lord doesn’t ask for some all-consuming, overwhelming effort that completely takes over our lives; He asks for diligence. Diligence is an act of faith where we show up with willingness, and the Lord helps us do what we need to do.

When I finally hit my breaking point in my stress, I turned to the Lord. I told Him I would do what He wanted me to do, and I told Him that if everything totally failed and died, I couldn’t be blamed. I had given everything I felt I could give, and if it wasn’t good enough, well…then that was just too bad. I didn’t have anything else.

The Lord taught me that I wasn’t giving everything; I was withholding my trust. Accurately practicing diligence also requires a faith that He can quicken our abilities, magnify our efforts, and bring miracles where we fall short.

Another phrase found in this chapter is, “Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings…” So that’s what I did. Every morning, I would wake up, look at my to-do list, smirk at the fact that there was not enough time in the day, and then I would tell the Lord to tell me what He wanted.

For a while, I had the training wheels on. For a short period of time, I felt guided in every section of my day. I knew when I needed to fold laundry, when it would be wisest to work on the blog, and when I needed to let go of responsibilities and focus on my kids. I even felt very deliberate pushes to rest, nap, or read a book. He gave me way more breaks than I had given myself.

And you know what happened? It all got done. When I needed to work on the blog, the kids would miraculously play well together, and I wasn’t a constant referee. Somehow dinner made it onto the table, and my kids got an occasional bath. I had the same tasks, and sometimes the tasks still lasted into the night, but the weight was gone. I had hit my breaking point and so I finally handed the weight over to the Lord; I physically couldn’t carry that anymore so I handed Him my trust.

I still have lots to do, but the weight is gone. The stress is gone. I guess I should be careful saying that because I’m still imperfect and get tired and fall back into old neurotic habits, but it’s not killing me anymore.

A couple lessons

I have seen this principle of diligence take on many forms. I have learned that diligence looks different at different times in my life.

For a while, when I was really overwhelmed, it looked like the Lord guiding my day to know which activities to perform. Sometimes it looked like me closing my laptop because I was beating my head against a wall, and I knew that the Lord would give me what I needed when He was good and ready. There was no need to force it.

Right now, it looks like a goal and a prayer. When I found out I was pregnant again and needed to be preparing extra videos for when the baby came, I made a goal with God about how much I would work on it. I do my best to hit that goal, and I pray hard that my diligence will be sufficient and that He will help me finish what I need to do in the time I’ve been given. Under normal circumstances, I’m not sure I would be investing enough time. Under my current, miraculous circumstances, I feel like the Lord is going to bring a miracle I need. So even when I worry about deadlines, I remind myself that He has the power to accomplish whatever needs to happen in the time He has given me. I don’t have to carry that weight because He does.

Another way I saw it manifested is when I recently got called to teach Youth Sunday School. I was pumped, but that also meant more gospel study on top of the other messages I was already trying to prepare. When our bishop came to ask me, he spoke about how he had found himself immersed in the scriptures for way longer than he had ever been. He talked about how he felt a deep need to prepare and do his best for these kids. I smiled as I thought about the very individual lesson that the Lord was teaching him.

And rather than putting pressure on myself to spend multiple hours a week preparing lessons for the youth, I had a testimony that the Lord could work with the time I had. I spend about an hour a week preparing the lessons for the kids, but I’m constantly immersing myself in the scriptures and trying to be worthy of the Spirit. Even if I can’t dedicate seven hours to their specific lesson, my spiritual diligence in general counts towards preparation for them.

The principle of diligence evolves and looks different at different times in our lives. Sometimes, He’s telling me to stop being idle. Other times, He’s telling me to stop trying to carry the weight by myself. I can do the tasks without carrying the immense pressure. When I work in this manner, I find that I can still get everything done that I need to and the tasks are much more fulfilling because they don’t feel like they’re killing me.

It’s on Him

The task that was given to Helaman was not an easy one. He was asked to engrave the records of the people on the plates. I’m sure this was not the only responsibility Helaman had, and I highly doubt he was getting paid for it. Think about all the tasks Helaman must have had to just survive in a pre-electricity world, not to mention his other extra religious duties. This was an extra responsibility that was given to him by his father. Despite the extra task he had been given, his father also gave him this promise:

Alma 37:16 But if ye keep the commandments of God, and do with these things which are sacred according to that which the Lord doth command you…behold, no power of earth or hell can take them from you, for God is powerful to the fulfilling of all his words.

There are a couple of keys here. If you do what the Lord commands (not what you command or society commands or outward pressures command), then no power of earth or hell can stand against you. God will help you do the task He has given to you. Whether it’s acquiring the brass plates or finding time to invest in extra responsibilities, He will provide a way for you to accomplish the thing He commands. You will have what you need if you diligently show up with willingness.

So be diligent. Show up regularly and allow Him to work with you. Give the pressure to Him because He’s the one truly doing the work anyway, and small means will show you marvelous works.

I know that the Lord can move mountains through me. I know that He can help me find out ways to carve time into my schedule. I know that He can help me know how much time is sufficient. I know that He can help me accomplish the tasks He’s given to me, and that it doesn’t have to be at the detriment of my health or the happiness of my family. I know that I can trust Him to bring the miracle if I’m simply willing to diligently show up and be utilized.

Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives.