And charity suffereth long and is kind, envieth not and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, and is not easily provoked. Thinketh no evil and rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in truth. Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
"Is Not Easily Provoked"
From my Mission journal:
This man knows with all his heart that he is free to choose - he is aware of his wonderful gift from God - the gift of agency. He knows that anyone can do anything and he will never be offended by what another says or does, but will choose joy and happiness instead of being offended at a gift of God to another (because their agency allows them to do and say as the please). As before he will "suffer it" no matter what happens to him in his sphere of existence. He also knows that the Father's will and knowledge is greater than his and that, as it says in Words of Mormon 1:7 "I do not know all things, but the Lord knoweth all things which are to come; wherefore he worketh in me to do according to his will." So even if something doesn't make sense, even if it is very hard and constantly frustrating, and it is for the Lord - he will continue to press forward with a steadfastness in Christ and remember to cheer up his heart and remember that he is free to act for himself...to choose the way of everlasting death of the way of eternal life." He speaks no words of guile because he knows the Lord and angels are always watching. He loves his neighbor and serves him. In doing so loves his God and doesn't allow the urgings of the flesh or the natural man to come out in provocation toward others in words, acts or even thoughts. He loves them all. Because he knows the love the Lord has for him and he knows that "freely ye have been given, freely ye must give."My thoughts now:
Allowing yourself to be provoked is a choice. Like I said above, I know that I have agency and I can choose how I react to everything. No matter what someone says to me, I can choose to love them. I remember for a while it was really hard for me when people would say something totally insensitive to my situation with Chantel. I was very blessed to read a story from Les Miserables about the Bishop Beauvian from the first part of the book. I found it reading the Miracle of Forgiveness (chapter 19 or somewhere near). This story is miraculous. It inspired me SO much. The two silver candlesticks. If I ever am tempted to become provoked in any way, I just think about the silver candlesticks. That bishop could have sent Valjean back to jail for the rest of his life, but he had a higher vision for Valjean's potential, and he didn't allow himself to become easily provoked. After Valjean had already taken much of the bishop's possessions and esconded into the night, he was caught. And the bishop found him with the police, but instead of the bishop becoming provoked and enraged at having been robbed, he brought his finest silver candlesticks as well to add to Valjean's spoils. He then said to Valjean:
"Valjean, my brother, you belong no longer to evil but to good..."
To me, this such a great example of not becoming provoked. It is almost like a "pre-forgiveness" where you forgive them before they even act in offense. And not only does it emancipate the potential in the offender, but it keeps your heart pure and full of love for all. There is no reason to be provoked. Everyone has there mountain to climb. And life is SO much better without anger in your heart. This is another one that allows you to stand in holy places. And you smile a whole lot more. Especially when (no matter who the person is) you tell yourself that the person that cut you off on the road is a pregnant lady rushing to the hospital. It makes you feel so much better about yourself! ha.
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