Divine Canvas

In this episode, Cydni shares her childhood dream of becoming a delicate, beautiful ballerina, while Sher dreamt of being a truck driver. Together, they share laughter and lessons, grateful that God is the master sculptor—shaping them through every experience, even when life feels like a messy work in progress.

This Week's Challenge
This week, we challenge you to reflect on a time in your life when a trial turned into a great blessing—and to express gratitude for it.

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Show Notes

Drip-Drip Drop, Words and  Music by  Matt Hoiland
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Transcript

Episode 101 - Divine Canvas

Cydni: [00:00:00] I did just recently go to the ballet and took me and Iana to go see Cinderella for Valentine's Day the ballerina was so beautiful. I was like, that is a lady. She is feminine and delicate and gentle. It's everything I wanted to be. When I was five year old Cydni, I was like, I'm gonna be a ballerina and , I walk in the doors and I eat too much and I really laugh inappropriately. So I'm not a ballerina. And that's okay. 

Sher: When I was really little, I wanted to be a truck driver.

Cydni: Did you really? I did. I love that so much. you actually could still go for that. I don't think I have a chance at ballerina, but you do have a shot at a truck driver. The dreams. For you are endless. 

Sher: Okay, Cydni, last week we talked about that Through this fun filled life of ours, we're going to have sorrow and joy. They're going to [00:01:00] coexist. We're going to experience both of them. , all these experiences that we have in life build upon each other. And the best part of having all of these experiences is that we get to learn and understand that God is with us the entire time and He'll keep being there for us over and over again.

I think this scripture sums up perfectly what I'm trying to say in Romans chapter five, verses three through five, it says, but we glory in tribulations also knowing that tribulation worketh patience and patience experience and Experience hope and hope maketh not ashamed because the love of God is Shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us So from the scripture we learn that joy and especially tribulations, that's going teach us patience, and patience is going to give us experience, and is What we are building and this is what gives us hope Because during those times we learn not to be ashamed to be followers of Christ Because the experiences or trials that we [00:02:00] have throughout our life This is when we can feel God carrying us through, and that is what gives us hope. Knowing that He is there for us over and over again, and this is the process that we want to talk about today, it is through these experiences we learn how much God truly loves us. 

Cydni: And to bring up last week as well, we talked about wisdom as being God's perspective, and I have thought about this the entire time because the only way that you could believe our trials and the hard times are going to benefit our life are either if you're crazy or if you have some wisdom. God's perspective. Also a mix of both, at least for me. Definitely you.

Sher: How come I got thrown under the bus there? Under the truck. 

Cydni: I love that so much, that you want to be a truck driver. I love when kids want to be something that's like everyday life. , I want to be a garbage man, that's what I want to do. Good for you, man. I was like, I'm going to be a lawyer, are you serious right now? Can't even bake. [00:03:00] I burnt freaking pecans the other day. I meant to toast them, it said that it helps if you toast them And I burnt them. I forgot about them.

Sher: You don't need to know how to do that to be a lawyer. 

Cydni: if I forget that I am toasting pecans, I'm gonna be like, I actually forgot if you're innocent or guilty. I forgot. I don't remember. I have no idea. Adjourned.

Anyway, I'll just stick to ballerina. You stick to truck driver. Perfect. Okay. I love the idea that we either get to think of our trials and our pain and experiences as something that will.

Discourage us or it's going to be something that will develop us and if we have the wisdom to understand that they are in our life Everything we go through builds upon Each other prepares us for what's to come. And there are many stories out there that I love. I've always going to be a fan of Kobe Bryant, who his first summer camp of basketball was the worst player in the entire camp. And he went [00:04:00] home after basketball camp, not scoring one basket. It's amazing that he didn't make any shots and took from that. the best. I love that. He didn't give up and he used it as fuel. He took that pain and that discouragement and he used it for the fuel that he would run off of for the rest of his life.

It's amazing. And it shaped his life so much because he is known for saying there's no such thing as failure. It is a class. It's a process. Everything I'm doing, I'm taking and I'm learning and to have that experience at 11 and become the player that he was is incredible to me. I love the stories of people out there who had something happen and then it shows up later of why. Sometimes you just want answers and even Ezra Taft Benson, I like listening to his biographies because one of his callings took him to be very involved in World War II and we know him as the prophet who loves America.

What he saw in another country helped him to appreciate what was going on in America [00:05:00] and not just appreciate it but to passionately tell us to hold on to it and to understand what it is and to keep it and to love it. He would not have been that person without going through what he saw Helping rebuild after World War II. Another story though that is one of my favorites is about a man, a farmer named Cliff Young. He was not a marathon runner. He did, though, run after sheep. And in Australia, in 1983, there was an ultramarathon that people traveled all around the world to participate in. Cliff said, I think I'm going to do that race. And his family and friends were like, what are you talking about? That race is full of professionals. That is their career. They're professional runners. It's 550 miles. 

Sher: 550? 

Cydni: Yes. Good grief. And he had never ran. A 5k or anything And he thought, how much different is it to run after sheep all the time than to run [00:06:00] 550 miles?

And his friends are like, Cliff, bro. They have shoes that make you run faster and jump higher. They're sponsored. They have trainers. This is their profession They have special food and supplements to help them be their very best. You my friend have farmer shoes and overalls What are you thinking? And he's like, I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna go So he shows up to the race with his brother who did support him His brother's name was Sid by the way in Cydni, Australia look, the brother encouraged him. He's like, yeah, do that.

Sher: So he's like, yeah, I want to see you suffer. I want to see 

Cydni: what happens with this. I get it now. Because that is what you would do. It is what I was thinking. Anyway, I'm named after a long line of males anyway, so it's fine. Okay. So they show up. And sure enough, there are. Men and women who have ran their entire life marathons in their fancy clothes and their fancy shoes with their fancy supplements and he showed up in a pair of jeans that he cut holes in for ventilation and an old pair of tennis shoes that he [00:07:00] happened to have. When he lined up people were like, is this farmer serious? This isn't safe for you. You will die. trying to do this. And he was like, No, I've been shuffling after some sheep. I'm totally fine. I've got this. a man next to him said, Well, Cliff, when you win, what are you gonna do with the money? And Cliff said, money? What are you talking about? And he's like, yeah, the winner gets 10, 000. He said, I had no idea. I thought we were just running. with that, this man and him became buddies. It was a young man named Joe and they made a deal that if one of them won, they would split the 10k. Well, the journey began, and all of the professional runners, they took off, and they were on the way. But Little Cliff Just did his little shuffle that he did. It didn't even look like a real run and people immediately were like, have the medical staff on hand for this man, because he is clearly not equipped for this race and cliff would end up being hours behind everybody. They were far ahead and nobody thought he would even finish the race. [00:08:00] He kept running until he found out when he stopped for some soup that you were actually allowed to stop and you could actually sleep. He thought that you just ran until you were finished with the race.

So they encouraged him to take a little break and sleep for at least five hours. So he set an alarm he slept and the alarm went off and he got up and he was running he noticed it was very dark, fact, very dark, and he thought, this is very bizarre. Where is the sun? And then he realized that he had slept for about 30 minutes and didn't see the right time. he decided he felt pretty great in his cut up jeans and running shoes that he would continue. And because of this time, He caught up, and then the other runners, when they woke up, they would learn that Cliff, was in the lead. A reporter asked Cliff, why did you go to the front so early? And Cliff replied I like the first position. then he talked about how running in the dark was what got him to the front. 

Of course on the run he did get hurt a few times. He tripped over a rock and he [00:09:00] really did hurt himself, but he continued. I'm sure you're wondering what's gonna happen. What's the end of the story? Well, the news did pick up the story about Cliff Young. the sheep shuffler. And people from all over came to encourage and watch and see what happened. Cliff ran through day and night. He kept going and he would look behind him because he's starting to feel really tired. And he saw Joe, the professional runner behind him, the young, youthful, professional runner. and he kept running and he kept running.

And would you believe it? Cliff Young crossed the finish line first. The sheep shuffler. The sheep Shuffler crossed first. Now, the funny thing about that he was wrong. Joe was not behind him. Nobody was behind him. Cliff young. one by 10 hours. He broke the record for this ultra marathon by two days. 

Sher: What? Are you kidding? 

Cydni: No. And then when he got his check, he had time to go to the bank, cash the check. And he came back and he split the money for the next five [00:10:00] runners. He took none of it. 

Sher: Oh my word. Amazing. 

Cydni: obviously, the story is so fun, but there's so many lessons to learn in this one. I love so much that he said he kept running in the dark, and that's what kept him ahead. And I thought this is perfect for the lesson of our experiences, our trials, they help us to get to where we need to be. Everything he did as the man that he was, his work ethic, the way that he lived his life prepared him without knowing for the biggest race of his life.

Do you believe when he was 60 that he thought he would be first place in the ultra marathon across Australia ? He didn't even decide to do it until that day. I love this story because it illustrates that the choices that we make in our daily life, who we decide to be when nobody is looking, us for when the big races come. And those times that we keep going in the dark, that helps us to shine. And this is his story. Everything he did prepared him for a race he [00:11:00] did not know was coming, and he was victorious. 

Sher: That is a great story. I love that story. 

Cydni: It's worth finding him and watching clips cause he's funny. he makes jokes. He's lighthearted and it's worth finding his little shuffle. Actually they called it the young shuffle and it's used today still by professionals because they found his technique did help with endurance. 

Sher: No way. Yeah. That's great. I'm going to have to look that up. While you were talking , it reminded me of the scripture in Hebrews chapter 12, verses one through two. It says, and let us run with patience, the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. that's what Cliff was able to do. He was able to run with patience, and he just kept going and enduring. And that's kind of how our life is. We keep running and enduring. And then our secret ingredient is we look unto Jesus, who's the author and finisher of our faith. Which, I've always loved that scripture because it just gives me so much hope. Jesus is looking out for us. 

Cydni: I love that scripture too especially when you think about the [00:12:00] idea that sometimes it feels like our story is written and it's done. We're done for, but we have such a beautiful opportunity to repent, to change, and to have a fresh start, a new page, a new chapter at any time we decide that we want to make changes that need to be made, or we want to look at our trial in a different perspective. We have every opportunity to do that, and I'm so grateful to know that Christ is the author. And the finisher, that gives us all the reason to have hope and to also know that what's happening to us is part of the story. We're not left in the dark, but it's part of who we are going to become. 

Sher: One of the examples that I thought of was when I had the opportunity a while ago to go to Belize in Guatemala to look at the Mayan pyramids. we're in the middle of this jungle and there's these beautiful pyramids that literally are all over the place. But you can't see most of them. They look like hills because they've been completely covered up by the jungle in the forest. they're just buried under dirt and [00:13:00] jungle.

when you get up close to the ones that they're starting to unbury and uncover, they're slowly chipping away. and slowly getting rid of the dirt that is just embedded all over in the carvings that they had outside of the pyramids. Plus the roots of the trees and all the jungle stuff has all been in there and they just have to very carefully Chip away, and get rid of that dirt and roots it's a very long process, but is so amazing to see because they're still uncovering. There's so many, I don't know if they're ever going to uncover all of it, but it's so cool to see the pyramids that are mostly unburied. And then at the very top, you can see like this beautiful artwork. And then how it just kind of meshes in on the other side with where it hasn't been unburied yet. But you can see the beautiful art and sculpture that eventually that it's going to make. And it's absolutely stunning. And it made me think of a quote by Michelangelo he said, every block of stone has a statue inside it. And it is the task of the sculptor to [00:14:00] discover it. And this is what God is doing for us is he's the master sculptor and he's clearing away the dirt and the roots that were buried under.

And he has promised us. It says this in Philippians chapter one, verse six, being confident of this very thing, that he, which has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. In other words, he's going to keep. Chipping away and chipping away , and preparing us to meet our Father in Heaven and our Savior again.

this is the experiences that we're going through. Sometimes we're going to have that. on one side of the pyramid where we look great and beautiful, and then it just kind of fades into under the dirt. We're going to have all of those experiences and everything in between. But knowing that The master sculptor is the one that's working and creating this masterpiece. It gives me a lot of hope. That eventually someday I'll be worthy enough to meet my Father in Heaven and my Savior. 

Cydni: Well, since you talked about Michelangelo [00:15:00] and I love that quote, I have to tell you about a book I'm reading right now is The Secret of the Ages, , and he talks about that throughout history people have found priceless art that has been painted over it's happened in churches where a mural is hidden underneath a different painting or wallpaper or something like that where there is a famous artist who painted some of their most beautiful work, but then it was covered by an amateur.

Sher: All I can think of is my students tagging on the top of all these masterpieces. 

Cydni: Maybe they're the master artists though. Like maybe their graffiti is gonna take them somewhere, you know? Because they're just covering up the freeway, like whatever. It's the freeway. Look at that 

Sher: My current students know that. It's not going to be them. 

Cydni: They're like, Rob, still, that's beautiful. But they found a picture of Christ that one went for 40 million, but they found using technology underneath it, that it was the beginnings of Madonna and child, which is a very. well known piece that people love, and they [00:16:00] have found masterpieces on top of masterpieces and they have found masterpieces underneath amateurs art.

 They found this by also the same process of having to chip away. And it's a very delicate procedure to not mess up. But the way that this can apply is that we are born as divine daughters and sons with a purpose and with God's love in our heart, and sometimes other people come with their splashes of paint and they cover up our canvases. And I think we often wear what other people say about us or feel about us or what we say about ourselves or feel about ourselves. And we are covered up with amateur painting, but underneath is a divine masterpiece who we are supposed to be.

And it feels like a lot of the experiences and trials and challenges we face As part of the chipping away, . I know who you are. I know who you could be. Let me work and we let the master artist, if we allow him to take over, even if it be by chipping away, even if it's one of [00:17:00] those terrible, bloody challenges that we don't understand, It then allows the master art to shine of who we're actually capable of becoming. And as it says in Jeremiah 18, Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in my hand, O house of Israel. 

Sher: I love that image that God's the one taking care of it and that he has a plan and sometimes his plan may hurt a little or a lot, but he has a plan and he's going to see us through it.

Cydni: I love it too because everything we talked about is a very creative outlet. pottery and sculpting and painting, and I love the idea that God is the creator. And he's creative. And when he is creative, he can take these things that, even if we are the ones that bring our own trial upon us, he's creative enough to take that trial, even if it's our own fault, and make something beautiful with it. I love the idea that God is the creator, that he is creative. We're in good hands guys. And some of us really challenge that [00:18:00] creativity. Look at the mistake I did. What are you going to do? And yet, time and time again, he does do something with 

Sher: us that he really is God.. I have one more example that I thought of. I'm reading a book right now called The Happiest Man on Earth, and it's by Edward Jaco, he talks about his experiences living through the holocaust and how people turned on the Jews. he was Jewish and he was loyal to Germany. He loved Germany and He couldn't believe how people turned on him being a loyal German. His friends joined the mob against him and his family.

He ended up going through terrible experiences in the concentration camp. And as he was getting spit on and beat up and treated. fact, he even mentioned how he wished at times that he was a dog because the Germans treated dogs better than they did the Jews. even through all these difficult, hard times, he vowed to never treat people like that. He did not want to become these terrible people and make the [00:19:00] horrible choices that had been made.

He had a hard time when he got out of the concentration camp. But he had a choice to make, and the choice was made more clear, he said, when he had his first son. he didn't want to be miserable and let what had happened to him in the past ruin his current family now. He was grieving, and he had a lot of loss. He lost almost all of his friends, his family. He had his best friend and sister left. But everything else was all taken away from him. And all of these sorrows that he'd experienced. He didn't want that to ruin the family that he had. So when he had his, first son, he knew that he needed to make better choices. And this is what he said. Happiness does not fall from the sky. It is in your hands. Happiness comes from inside yourself and from the people you love. 

So his life was chipped away with a sledgehammer, but the sculpture that was left in his words, was the happiest man in the world. And that's who he became. That's how he saw himself. Even through all [00:20:00] of these horrible and terrible tragedies and experiences and loss that he went through, he came out of it what God created, sculpted with him. was the happiest man in the world. 

Sher: And for me, what I have learned studying all of this is that as we go through all of these trials, really the best part, the thing that I want to hold on to is God is with us and He will be there for us over and over again. , I am so grateful for that. And I find so much comfort in it. Cydni and I were just looking and found some, favorite scriptures and a quote, 

Cydni: just lying bold face right now. You found these. It just happened to like it. Okay, we'll read the first one.

well, the first one, I've shared it before because I had an impression for our family to learn this one. And then it was the same year that I was hospitalized for a long time. And Rock was five years old and he would recite this to me while I laid in a hospital bed.

And you never know why those promptings come. If we follow them, I like how sometimes the Author lets us see the [00:21:00] reason behind what's happening to us. In Joshua 1, 9, it says, Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. Do not be dismayed. For the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. And I ended up going to the hospital that year, so he was with me still. 

Sher: Then in Isaiah chapter 41, verse 10, it says, fear thou not, for I am with thee. Be not dismayed. For I am thy God. I will strengthen thee. Yay. I will help thee. Yay. I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

He's not gonna leave us. Even in those dark times where you feel like. Man, nobody knows, nobody sees, he's there for us, he will help us. And then one of my favorite quotes is from Max Lucado, and he said, God never said that the journey would be easy, but he did say that the arrival would be worthwhile.

So as we go throughout these experiences in life just remember that all of this will eventually be worthwhile. When we are finally sculpted into the person that God wants us to be so that we're worthy to meet our Father in Heaven and our [00:22:00] Savior, 

Cydni: I don't think it's a coincidence that you and I both. refer to different stories to help illustrate this because we see this over and over in history that people have been given difficult things and they make something beautiful out of it They put purpose in their pain. They don't get bitter. They get better. They don't get discouraged. They let God develop them. And I personally rely on other people's stories of this to help me shape my life. So when something difficult happens, I can refer to different situations to help me continue on. Elder illustrates this. In a way I love as well where he talks about a man who got a new truck and he takes it up to go get wood for the winter and there's snow everywhere and his wife's like, I don't have a good feeling about this. I don't think you should go. And he doesn't listen because it's a truck and he's excited to go out with his dog and cut some wood like a man. And the man gets stuck in the snow, just like his wife knew he would, and he cannot get out. And he prays and he [00:23:00] asked for help and no help comes and he doesn't know what to do. So he starts loading up the truck with the wood and he's like, at least when someone gets here, I'll have wood to take home. So I'm not completely in trouble. And nobody came and he prays again and he's like, I really did think that you would send somebody. And he felt discouraged, and he didn't understand why it was happening, Then he had the thought, I'm gonna try again, he starts up the truck, and the truck moves, and he's fine.

Elder Ben Nar said, it was the heavy load that helped him to get out. If that heaviness was not in his truck, he would have stayed stuck, but because of the heavy load, It created traction, and he said, often in our life, the situations that we're going through the trials and the challenges that we might not understand is just the right load to shape us and give a spiritual traction to move us forward to where we are supposed to be.

Sher: This brings us to our final thoughts. Life is a journey of experiences, joy and sorrow. Trials and triumphs. They all build upon [00:24:00] each other, shaping who we are. Through it all, God is with us, guiding us and refining us like a master sculptor, revealing a masterpiece. These challenges teach us patience, build experience, and strengthen our hope, helping us become who He intends us to be. No matter what we face, we can trust that he has been with us before and will be with us again. 

Cydni: We challenge you this week to ponder on a time in your personal life that you went through a trial that ended up blessing your life greatly and give gratitude for that. And I challenge you personally shared. to become a truck driver. Not too late. Dream big. This is our prayer from Cydni and Cher. [00:25:00] sports people, preachers, a nun. I've been listening to nuns lately. Oh, good. Sorry. I just had to pull up a different tab. I have 9, 000 of them. They would split the five out or they would. That was how much it is, was 5, 000, because 10 divided by 2, and there's two of them.

Sher: Thanks for explaining that to all of us. 

Cydni: Behold, as the day, Nope, that's just clay. I'm not getting old.

What? It looked like day. It did. Did I say it right? No. I think I said ye, or me, not ye.

One more time? Try it one more 

Sher: I would have figured that out because I wanted to be a truck driver when I was little. 

Cydni: I was going to say the story was inspired because he's a truck driver. Okay. Have a good 

Sher: week. Bye