Pleased but not satisfied

I've been listening to Gerald Lund's book, Hearing the Voice of the Lord, on CD. It has been wonderful. I've learned a lot. As I was listening on Saturday, I was really struck by something that Lund says. He says that the Lord is easily pleased but not easily satisfied. Then he explained by comparing this to us as parents. When our child takes her first steps, we are so pleased. We are excited to see their growth and development. However, we aren't satisfied with just a few steps. We want them to learn to walk, run, skip, climb and so on. Or, as I've been thinking. Gabby now knows her alphabet. She recognizes the letters and can write most of them. I am very pleased. But I'm not satisfied. I want her to learn to read. Ella and Michelle are good readers in English and Spanish, but still I'm not satisfied. I want their vocabulary to increase, the level of the books they read to increase, the knowledge they gain from reading to grow in both languages. I am so pleased with where they are right now, but I am not satisfied.

So, too, our Heavenly Father is pleased, so very pleased when we make good choices. He is pleased when we reach out to rescue or when we study the scriptures or when we repent. For every step we take further along the path toward eternal life, He is so pleased. However, He isn't satisfied with where we are. We must continue to progress. He doesn't want me to finish my life as I am now. He wants my thoughts to turn increasingly to Him. He wants my heart to turn to others in love and compassion. He wants me to continue taking steps along the path toward exaltation.

Sometimes it is easy to get discouraged because we see where He wants us to end up and where we want to end up. And we recognize that the road is long and that we still have many steps ahead of us. But we shouldn't get discouraged. As long as we are on the path and continue taking steps forward, then He is pleased with us. And there is no one I would rather please than Him.