Have you led a Celestial Life today?

On my mission one of my companions suffered from OCD. I say "suffered" because really she seemed to be controlled by her obsessions. They weren't bad things to be concerned about, like she wanted the apartment to always be clean, and when we were challenged to do something by the mission president she wanted to surpass the challenge...and perfection just isn't always possible. I think in some things we can be perfect in terms of the letter of the law, like tithing, or fasting, but so often we fall short....that's why we're here, right?

Anyhow, it became debilitating for her in many respects. She would become upset if she couldn't fulfill her goals perfectly, and it inhibited her ability to feel the spirit. She would get upset at me for not doing things the way she thought they should be done, and then she wouldn't tell me about it, she would just silently hold it against me. So one day, after our personal study session we began our companionship study session and I loved what she shared with me. She told me that it was too much for her to think about making it to the celestial kingdom by the end of her life. She couldn't fathom living a life that merited eternal glory with family, friends, and our Heavenly Father, but that she decided that she would ask herself at the end of everyday if she had lived a celestial life that day. Then she could analyze that which she had done that was not celestial and focus on it the next day, taking one bad--or less than celestial-- habit at a time and mastering it. I loved it!!

It's true, I love the gut-check at the end of the day idea. Just think if we all asked ourselves once a day if we were living a celestial life how much better off the world would be.

I've been thinking about this because of Christmas. Thinking about Mary and Joseph taking on the awesome responsibility of caring for Jesus Christ as a child is crazy and wonderful to me at the same time!! How often did Mary contemplate the example she was setting for Him, or others? How often she considered how important His role was, and that she was actually a part of it all. Such potential. She must have experienced some very humbling moments as the mother of Jesus.

I loved how my companion learned it and actually put this idea into practice. She wouldn't always tell me what she was trying to improve, but she was good about asking herself at the end of everyday.

So I'm working on it. I've got a lot of work to do, but at least I can concentrate more on where to start. You should join me, it's not an easy question to answer, but give it some thought, you may be doing better than you realize!! Have you lived a celestial life today?