He is the Gift

    This post might be a bit short, and very spiritually based, but that's okay. It's my blog, and I feel inspired to share. Lately, I have been doing a lot of service for many people. We all know service is a good thing, and we are suppose to diligently serve others, but I never grasped that concept. Sure, it was nice to do so, and I felt good after, but I never did it for fun. I never knew the true meaning to give of yourself. I have recently discovered how it feels to focus on others, and only their needs. I have felt so good, and I definitely feel the love of our Savior while doing so. 

   I have really felt the Spirit lately, and I have felt peace. My testimony of the Savior has grown immensely, and I am so thankful for that. I love my Savior and His atoning sacrifice for each and every one of us. He is very mindful of each of us, regardless of whether you think so or not, I know that He has shown us the greatest plan and a way back to our loving Heavenly Father. I know that He is the Savior and the Redeemer of mankind. I know that through Him, we can find everlasting life and true joy. I know this for a certainty, I have lived with the Gospel and lived without it and I am truly happy living it. I know that my Redeemer lives. I have a strong testimony of our Savior, and I'm still looking toward improving it even more. 

    I'm EXTREMELY grateful for the opportunity to serve others, and to have my testimony grow. I bear my witness to you, that I know He is the gift, and He is the way to salvation.

Success in the Making

 As of now at this moment, I'm disappointed in myself, I am appalled that I totally bombed a math quiz. At this time I feel pretty pathetic. How many of you doubt yourself and tell yourself that you're not good enough for something? All of you? We've all been there, done that. It's such a bad habit. We always cut ourselves short and tell ourselves, that "I can't do this." or "I'm too stupid." We always doubt our abilities. Now, don't worry I'm not calling you out, I do this WAY too much.

 How many of you know, Thomas Edison? The guy that invented the light bulb? The very one, had to try over a lot of times. I think he tried over a thousand times, to get it right. But he had also said," I don't look at them as failures, I found out a thousand ways not to make a light bulb!" (I was just paraphrasing, so if I didn't get it right, I apologize) He took the negative connotation of  the word "fail" and used it in a positive connotation as "success."

   We often compare our weakness to someone else's strengths. Everybody has flaws, not one person is perfect. Even Channing Tatum has flaws, ladies. We shouldn't compare strengths and weaknesses, at all, but we shouldn't even compare ourselves to others anyways! God has given every person strengths and weaknesses. Strengths are so we can be better instruments and tools for the Lord. The weaknesses, are so you can try to make them into strengths. It's hard to "love" yourself. It's easy to pinpoint flaws and imperfections we have.

  Thomas Edison has said that he had failed a numerous amount of times, before he got it right. That's how God intended us to be. He wants us to learn from mistakes or "fails" and transform it into a success or "strength". We don't have everything figured out, and that's okay. Things take time. Ever hear of the "Refiner's Fire"? God uses trials and mistakes to shape us and mold us into a greater and improved you. Instead of saying," I don't know what I'm going to do with my life!" simply say," I'm a work in progress." If you can't finish your 5k, give it your all, and tell yourself. " I will do better next time." Over time you'll improve, and one day, you can do it!

  "You can't rush perfection!" is my life motto. We all can become better, and succeed, the only thing that's stopping you, is yourself. Allow yourself to grow from mistakes, forgive yourself, and try again. You'll have a more optimistic outlook on things, and you'll learn "a thousand different ways not to make a light bulb!"

The Purpose of the Unknown

  Let's get something straight.. The agonizingly painful phrase of "everything happens for a reason" is accurate. Cliche. I know, but hear me out. The mortal, natural man, tends to struggle with the concept of trials. Why do we have them? Why me? Will this every end? Can today get any worse? 

  To be quite frank, I'm not a philosopher, I'm just a kid.. well, young adult. But if there's one thing I know about life, is trials. Yes, I know a thing or two about the tribulations, we go through. It took me 17 years to figure it out, but I'm pretty confident that I know what I'm talking about. Kinda. Sorta. Okay you get the memo. 

  Why do we have them? 

   We have trials to make us stronger. Totally cliche, but true. If we were to workout with  5 lb. dumbell for the rest of our lives, we would not gain muscle. We would stay the same. That's not in our books. We are not meant to stay the same. Change is inevitable. We change for a multitude of reasons, but the one that strikes me, is because of God's plan for us. I am LDS (Latter Day Saint, or Mormon) so basically everything that comes out of my mouth is centered around my faith, but I know that God is aware of what we're going through. God knows what we need most in our lives, and most the time, we change and become stronger due to trials. The things we go through, are heart wrenching and devastating, I'll admit, it's not always easy. It actually really sucks. (Sorry Mom, if you're reading this) But I know that with endurance and faith, comes strength and  hope. 

    Why me?

I've heard this too many times to count. We often don't understand why we go through tribulations, and that's okay. There's many things we don't understand, and we want to know answers. That's where praying diligently and earnestly comes to play. We don't know God's entire plan for us, we can only see what's in the past and what's in the present. We question, Why did this happen to me? I thought you loved all of your children? He does love us! That's the point, He loves us so much, that he only wants us to succeed and change for the better. Therefore, we have trials. They are meant to shape us and make us more humble. It's just up to you if you let it make you, or break you. Simple.

Trials come and go. One week, everything is going smoothly and things seem pretty good. The next day, you lose your job and your car breaks down. The things we go through, helps us really recognize the good. If you were comfortable all of the time, do you gain any strength? Is it easy to endure? We were never promised "easy" we were promised "everlasting life if we endured it well". Things get rough, I'll be completely real. I would be lying if I said life was easy. It's not. But, I know that we have all the proverbial "notes and answers" to the hardest "test". We were given: prophets, scriptures, the Atonement and Prayer. We have everything we need to get by and to make things a bit easier for us. 

 This year has been the hardest and most trying of my ENTIRE LIFE. But, it's been the most spiritual strengthening and I've grown so much. 

When things get rough, just remember that God is there for YOU. He will always listen, and you can ALWAYS talk to Him. We don't see the grand scheme of things, and we definitely can't see the bigger picture. But we all have a Divine purpose and those trials help shape you and mold you into what God needs you to be. The unknown is scary. Frightening, even, But it doesn't have to be. Let Him guide and counsel you, I promise it'll get easier, with the help of God. Through Christ, all things are possible..