Helaman 10: 2-4

How have you been blessed because of pondering the words of God?

"2 And it came to pass that Nephi went his way towards his own house, pondering upon the things which the Lord had shown unto him.

3 And it came to pass as he was thus pondering—being much cast down because of the wickedness of the people of the Nephites, their secret works of darkness, and their murderings, and their plunderings, and all manner of iniquities—and it came to pass as he was thus pondering in his heart, behold, a voice came unto him saying:

4 Blessed art thou, Nephi, for those things which thou hast done; for I have beheld how thou hast with unwearyingness declared the word, which I have given unto thee, unto this people. And thou hast not feared them, and hast not sought thine own life, but hast sought my will, and to keep my commandments." (Helaman 10: 2-4)

And here's the commentary entitled: "Pondering the word of God invites revelation.": 

"When you feel downtrodden, anxious, or confused, you might learn an important lesson from Nephi’s example in Helaman 10:2–4. What did he do when he felt “cast down”? (verse 3).

President Henry B. Eyring explained, “When we ponder, we invite revelation by the Spirit” (“Serve with the Spirit,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2010, 60). How might you create a habit of pondering?"

Nephi decided to ponder when he felt "cast down". This has been my tendency as well--to ponder...Yesterday when I was having a conversation with someone (over lunch at work) who tend to say things which are off, when I heard something off I pondered. And the thought came to me that her mindset is different than mine. There's a huge gap in our mindset. I've been operating from my abundance mindset for already quite awhile now. While she's operating from her scarcity mindset. Because of pondering, these thoughts came to my mind and I am able to understand where exactly she's coming from. 

Because of my own type of personality, it's been a challenge for me to be patient with people who are operating from a different mindset. It's easier for me to patient with little children while I easily get turned off with adults who seem to be so wrapped in their own selves and not able to do their part well as they are working with me. It's not easy for me to understand why those people are making choices the way they do. It's difficult for me to see where they are coming from. Praying and pondering has been helping me to soften my heart more. Seeing others' example of gentleness and being more considerate of others is also a great help for me. 

I can create a habit of pondering by taking that space between "stimulus" and "response" and use it to ponder and figure out a better way to respond before responding to a stimulus (a word which sounds off because it's coming from a different place than where I am). 

There are a lot of opportunities for me to ponder daily actually. While I'm on the bus on the way to work and from work, I choose to ponder more on what I've read and studied from the scriptures instead of taking a nap. 

Through pondering, the Spirit has been inspiring me recently with ideas on what I can share in my story on Facebook. Did share three stories this past week, the most number of stories I ever shared so far. Grateful for being able to do what Elder Bednar has admonished the members of the Church to do. Grateful that as I do what I can, I'm able to get reconnected with people like my old classmate in grade school.