Connecting with Heaven: Meditation and Pondering

I recently talked with Greg Olsen and I described his new painting to him as one that causes me to be "pensative and meditative". He said, "I really like that description." I purchased this painting and have it sitting above my computer:

How many evenings do you think Christ spent doing this...gazing upon his creations? I LOVE this verse in Matthew that seems to describe this picture well (Matthew 14:23), "And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray; and when the evening was come, he was there alone." I believe there was a reason he loved to do this, there is great power in pondering and meditation.

Here are a few powerful verses:

1 Nephi 11:1 "For it came to pass after I had desired to know the things that my father had seen, and believing that the Lord was able to make them known unto me, as I sat pondering in mine heart I was caught away in the Spirit of the Lord, yea, into an exceedingly high mountain, which I never had before seen, and upon which I never had before set my foot."

D&C 138:1 "On the third of October, in the year nineteen hundred and eighteen, I sat in my room pondering over the scriptures". This is what led to the vision by Joseph F. Smith.

3 Nephi 17:3 "Therefore, go ye unto your homes, and ponder upon the things which I have said, and ask of the Father, in my name, that ye may understand, and prepare your minds for the morrow, and I come unto you again."  The Savior's counsel after he ministered to the people in the America's.

D&C 43:34 "Hearken ye to these words. Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. Treasure these things up in your hearts, and let the solemnities of eternity rest upon your minds."

How often do you (and I) meditate and ponder?

How often do you (and I) gaze upon the stars and think about the things of eternity?

Do you (and I) feel directed by heaven?

Have you (and I) felt the Savior's presence?

In our busy schedules, I hope we can find time to follow Christ's example and escape to a place where we can be alone to ponder upon the things of eternity.