Caffeine...

When I was a new member of The Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints I learned about what we referred to as the word of wisdom, and the promises that God makes to us if we will choose to refrain from partaking in substances that will not be good for us like drugs, alcohol and a few other things. I was so impressed and filled with gratitude at the promises Heavenly Father was willing to bestow on me if I would keep the word of wisdom that I decided to make an additional promise to him. I would choose to not only keep the word of wisdom but that I would also choose to refrain from caffeine for the remainder of my life.

I feel the desire to expand on my choice to refrain from caffeine though. In school I struggled and this created an attitude of inferiority. If I received C’s, D’s or even F’s or if I lost at a game or race, I didn’t mind much because I figured I wasn’t capable of much better anyway. I thought of myself as lesser than in many regards.

But when I became a member of Christ’s church I wanted the best for myself. I didn’t want religion or keeping the commandments to be something I was halfhearted at. I knew that being human there would be many things I would do imperfectly. I would need the saving grace of the atonement daily as I strive to achieve perfection in keeping all of the commandments. That said I felt that there was one commandment, and one promise I could make that I could keep with perfection and in so doing show my dedication to my Father in Heaven and my gratitude for his gospel and his teachings.

When I think of standing before My Savior and Heavenly Father I want so badly to stand in the brightest light, at the highest of Kingdoms, to know I won the battle and achieved all that was asked of me.

I choose keeping the word of wisdom be the commandment that is most easy for me to keep. I stress it is a choice because when I get temptations to break that commandment I remind myself how I want to feel when I stand in front of the judgment seat, and in that moment when my heart is turned to him my choice is made easy. So the simple act of giving up caffeine represents so much more to me❤️