Little Lights, Important Warnings

We were on the way to a baptism that was 30 minutes away. We jumped into the car and the moment that the car turned on, a little light began flashing on the dashboard.
"Oh, no..."
"What?"
"I think we have a flat tire."
We reluctantly got back out of the car into the pouring rain. Looking at the tire there was no doubt in our minds that the tire needed to be changed before we could safely go anywhere. My companion looked at the job at hand and said, "Ok. Do you have a jack?"
The woman we were with looked at her. "What? Do you know how to change a tire?"
I answered for my companion: "She's done it many times. No worries."
 My companion proceeded to find all of the equipment that was in the recesses of the trunk and take off and replace the tire. Meanwhile, it began raining even harder than before.
Finally the tire was replaced and we were on our way, slowly, to the baptism. The next day, the car was taken to the shop and the tire fully replaced. All was well.

There have been times in my life when a little light has gone off. That little flashing light, be it a sore throat, guilt for something said, or tears, are warnings that something isn't right. President Boyd K. Packer said, "All of us sometime, and some of us much of the time, suffer remorse of conscience from things we did wrong or things left undone. That feeling of guilt is to the spirit what pain is to the physical body.

But guilt can be harder to bear than physical pain. Physical pain is nature’s warning system that signals something needs to be changed or cleansed or treated, perhaps even removed by surgery. Guilt, the pain of our conscience, cannot be healed the same way." (The Touch of the Master's Hand, April 2001)

God has given us "flashing lights" so that we can turn to Him to be healed, both physically and spiritually. If we follow the instructions implicitly given with the warning - to turn to Someone who can help us - then we can begin the process of fixing the problem immediately. However, if we do not take the time to fix the problem and to seek help from those who can help us, then we will run into trouble further down the line.

If my companion and I had ignored that flashing light and had tried to drive to the baptism without checking and eventually changing the tire, we would not have made it very far. The same principle applies to sin and to the guilt that comes as we sin. If we ignore that guilt and do not seek to repent, change and return to God, that guilt will continue to grow until it is an undeniable weight. When we stop and check and change a tire before we get onto the highway, it takes time but it is a simple fix. When we wait until we are on the edge of a highway to change a tire, it becomes a little bit more difficult. When we hold onto sin it becomes harder, as time passes, to let it go. However, if we are willing to be humble and seek the Lord's help and the healing and cleansing power of Christ's Atoning sacrifice, the weight of sin and guilt can be lifted and we can receive the comfort and strength that we need and have our burdens removed from our hearts.

May we ever seek immediate repentance and cleansing through the Savior's sacrifice. If we turn to God in prayer and humble ourselves before Him, "...then is [Christ's] grace sufficient for [us]...and...then will [He] make weak things become strong." (Ether 12:27)