God is a lover of effort

 I met a friend recently and getting to know him it's got me thinking a lot about how God is a lover of effort. My sweet mother growing up would always tell us kids I don't care about the grades you got, did you do your best. My mom always knew if we had done our best and if we had she always made sure we knew that she was proud of us. But, boy if we had gotten a b but she knew that we had not done our best she would ask why didn't you do your best? On the other hand I remember one time I had gotten an f in a class but I had worked the hardest I ever had before and still failed the class I was so disappointed with myself. I remember going home in tears when grades came out that day. My mom asked what was wrong like she always did when we were sad growing up so I told her that I failed my math class. I remember to this day she wrapped me in her arms and told me I am proud of you because you tried and did your best and you should be proud of yourself. I remember thinking to myself proud that I failed a class? I didn't understand then why my mom was proud, but now I understand. Even though I had failed that class I had never worked harder to understand something in my life and as such I needed to be proud of myself for trying. 

I think God is the same way that my parents always have been, he is a lover of effort. God doesn't care if we failed that class, or fall down yet again he cares that we try. My amazing dad always taught us kids that it didn't matter how many times we fall down, it matters how many times we get back up and try again. God is the same. Do you think that God cares that we sinned the same way a million times, yet we kept trying to fix the way we live our lives. God only wants us to try, try again, and keep trying until the day we finally get it. By no means does it mean that sin is ok, but if we are honestly trying that's all God cares about. So if us trying in life is all God cares about shouldn't it be enough to us? 

Like my mom wrapped her arms around me when I felt like a complete failure God wants to do likewise. His love is unconditionally there no matter how far we are from him he just wants to bless us his children. He wants us to try, to work at those things we are struggling with. God doesn't care if we are like my brother and is addicted to drugs, or something else. God doesn't care if we have broken the law, although it's not something I would recommend as it will follow you and close many doors. God only cares that we are trying every day to do better, to be better. The laws God has aren't for him, it's for us. If we follow the laws God has given those are the very things that will come to bless us in our lives. The commandments are there not to control us, because remember the whole plan was agency, for us to choose how we will live our lives. God knows what will bless us and makes us happy as such he has created laws that will bring happiness if followed.