The first memory was about one summer when I attended scout camp. The scout camp was up in the mountains for a week. The camp was great and it was a great time for learning how to survive. This was a large gathering of many scout groups. Our group was rather rambunctious. My father, as he was through my whole scouting career, was my scoutmaster. One night I lay in my tent, I sat there and said my nightly prayer. During my prayer I remembered that the next day we were suppose to go to a shooting contest. I thought about how cool it would be if I were to win the shooting contest. In my head, I asked the Lord if I could win.
The next day, a close friend of mine and I went to the contest. I had only shot a gun once before. He was an expert for his age. He gave me a few pointers. After we had finished, we went back to our camp and I didn't think much of it. We enjoyed the rest of the day playing and having fun. The next morning, like all mornings on scout camp, we woke up to a big gathering of all the scout groups surrounding a flag. The scout camp leadership lead us in the national anthem and our group shouts. Towards the end, they named off the three winners of the shooting contest. I was halfway asleep when they called out the winner. I was stunned that it was me. I walked up and received a necklace. It was pretty awesome necklace, it was a lether string with feathers and whole in a quarter shot out my an expert marksmen. On our way back to camp, I bragged about how great a shot I was. I totally forgot that I had prayed the night before for that exact thing to happen. Not long after, I returned again to the shooting range to prove how great a shot I was to the scouts in my group. To my suprise, I did very poorly. My good friend looked at me and said with a reassuring nudge, "you'll do better next time."
There were only two times in my life that I excelled in sports: my last year on my Pony league baseball team and my sophomore year of football. My sophomore year of football I had made a promise with God that if I could start that I would keep the commandments the best I could. For the most part, I kept the promise and so did he. I started as an outside linebacker and I was called to be a Captain of the football team. I was pretty good. I enjoyed that year. I never made that same promise with God the next two years and each year was filled with disappointment. I never started again even though I had the ability to be a good football player.
My last year of Pony league was probably the first time I thought about using prayer as a means to improve my ability at sports. A friend, who was a year older than me, would always say a prayer everytime he went to bat. I decided to use the same technique. I went from a .200 bating average to a .600 bating average. I was actually one of the best in the league.
As I drove home and these memories fooled back. I realized I had not prayed for help in my current situation. I was amazed to remember these events and how unimportant they are to me know. Even though, in the grand scheme of things, these were unimportant things. The Lord answered my prayers. I know our Heavenly Father will answer our prayers even when they are for unimportant things, like winning a shooting contest.
This morning experience remind me of a scripture Christ said, "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost...he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance..." - John 14:26
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