A few years ago, my son Taft played on one of the top ten competitive soccer teams for his age in the state of Arizona. The team was young and fun and Taft was the only one on the team who didn’t play on Sundays. He missed a handful of important Sunday games but we made a decision early on that Sunday would never be a day for soccer.

There was a team parent that was very passionate about soccer who couldn’t really understand why soccer wasn’t more important than a Sunday day of rest. He felt soccer trumped everything in life. I could appreciate his passion and enjoyed him, but obviously felt much differently about Sundays and youth soccer.

As the spring season ended and we were preparing for the new season to start in the Fall, he called to ask me a question. He said, “has anything changed for the next year(season)?” I knew exactly what he meant, but I couldn’t resist making him ask me in a more simple manner. “What do you mean,” I asked? He said, “You know, with Sundays.”

Finally, I said, “Nothing has changed, Taft will still not be playing on Sundays.” There was no conflict. We had made the decision years earlier when we ventured into playing club soccer. He was hoping Taft’s commitment, Taft’s decision, Taft’s desires, or Taft’s values had changed. A different decision would have changed Taft’s reflection. Every coach and every parent on that team knew what a remarkable young man Taft was, and he reflected it.

The information we need to make powerful decisions is readily available to God’s children. God also repeatedly reminds us of the support He will provide as we make righteous commitments and decisions. We are lovingly told, “Wherefore, he will preserve the righteous by his power, even if it so be that the fullness of his wrath must come, and the righteous be preserved... Wherefore, the righteous need not fear…” (1 Nephi 22:17).