Insights

Digging My Testimony

I recall this analogy first appearing in my mind when I was still in Young Womans, my first or second Youth Conference. It has only come back to me now.

I have a testimony, buried deep inside me. It has always been there, it just has been buried.
Each worldly trouble and life distraction is another shovel of dirt that buries the precious gem inside. Over time, this testimony can become entirely buried. However, like a precious treasure box it is still there, just as shiny and new as it always has been.
As I grow and I learn I am given shovels and tools. As challenges arise I start to dig.
I dig tirelessly, working hard. I am putting forth the work, but it takes more time and effort.
Finally the corner of the box is revealed! Poof that a testimony does exist! Working from that small corner I shine, polish and uncover. Taken from the mud more is uncovered.
Every time I become distracted more dirt covers my treasure. As life is full of distractions, if I lose focus it becomes covered rapidly.
It takes work, dedication and focus. This is not always a huge backhoe or construction equipment, this is often tiny spoonfuls at a time. Bits and pieces of shining when the corners are revealed.
Sometimes it feels this makes no difference, but it does.
I see now, looking back from the time I first discovered my testimony to now the treasure box is no longer underground. Parts are still buried, but what is seen is becoming shined, polished and beautiful.

Each of us have a testimony. It is already there. It just takes work and digging to discover. When we are diligent and use the tools given to us it becomes easier.
We should not feel discouraged when all we have found is a corner, or the treasure becomes hidden again. It does not mean you do not have one. It IS there.
It is not something we create, it is something we find and uncover from within ourselves.
I know that each and every one of us has a testimony, and I know that each person I meet has one too. I know all testimonies are treasures and beautiful.
Must we never forget what we know, and let us never stop searching for what we cant remember. Keep your testimony polished, and keep digging.