Pathways Press.com

MEDITATION:

Written by Alicia Stanton. The following was an excerpt from a commencement speech she gave as a representative of her graduating class.

Once upon a time there were two men named James Watson and Francis Crick. They went on a quest to discover the structure of DNA, arguably the most important molecule in the universe. As you might guess, there were also other people on that same quest. There was a physicist named Max Delbrück, who had made some speculations based on quantum physics, and there was a biochemist named Erwin Chargaff, who was studying the chemical makeup of the molecule. There was also Rosalind Franklin, an X-ray crystallographer who was focusing on visualizing the crystal structure of DNA. All of these scientists contributed important information to the discovery, but none of them was actually able to figure it out. So, back to our heroes, Watson and Crick. These two connected the dots between all the pieces of information from the other scientists and correctly solved the puzzle. Because they made connections between different branches of science, they were able to see a bigger picture that nobody just working within their own narrow fields could have ever seen. Brilliant, right?  Now let me share my experience. It is somewhat related. I was a molecular biology major finishing my first semester when my attention was caught by a paper taped to one of the doors where I attended church. It was an advertisement for the editing minor, and it changed my life…For  me, the most rewarding things I have done at school  have come as I have found opportunities to combine my diverse interests—like working on writing curricula for science classes and writing magazine articles for the College of Life Sciences magazine. Connecting the ­different parts of my education has been a huge blessing for me. That brings me to the thought that I would like to share with you. I think that making our lives as connected as possible is helpful. This doesn’t just apply in the academic world, where we make connections between ideas and disciplines. It also applies in our daily living, in the way we connect truths we know in our hearts with decisions about our words and actions. It is not easy. I don’t think any of us will go through life without facing situations in which we will feel tremendous pressure to disconnect our words or our actions from our knowledge of what is right—whether it be a high-stakes social situation, an important business deal, or an uncomfortable question from an angry accuser…Are you the same person wherever you are and whatever you are doing—the person our Heavenly Father wants you to be and the person you know you should be?  I think there is a lot of spiritual safety and peace in being able to answer yes to that ­question—in knowing that all the parts of your life are firmly connected back to the most important truths of Christ’s gospel. In summary, when we make connections between different aspects of living—the physical, the intellectual, the emotional, and the spiritual—we see the big picture more clearly. When we integrate our different talents and interests, we find unexpected opportunities to do good. And, perhaps most important, when we apply the gospel to all aspects of our life, when we avoid compartmentalizing our roles or compromising our values, we stay true to ourselves and connected to our purpose for living.

PRAYER:

From the Mozarabic Rite, a liturgical rite of the Latin Church once used generally in the Iberian Peninsula (Hispania), in what is now Spain and Portugal.  Developed during Visigoth (Arian Christian) rule of the Iberian peninsula  in the 500s AD.

Make us, O Lord, to flourish like pure lilies in the courts of Your house, and to show forth to the faithful the fragrance of good words, and the example of a Godly life, through Your mercy and grace. Amen.