Smack Dab In The Middle!

As I come to the close of my mission, I've pondered and reflected on the many lessons and experiences I've had! What a journey it has been. Many people have been asking me however, "How do you feel almost being done with your mission?" Elder Uchtdorf explains it best ;)

"There will be moments of beginnings and moments of endings throughout our lives, but these are only markers along the way of the great middle of our eternal lives. Whether we are at the beginning or the end, whether we are young or old, the Lord can use us for His purposes if we simply set aside whatever thoughts limit our ability to serve and allow His will to shape our lives.

Being always in the middle means that the game is never over, hope is never lost, defeat is never final. For no matter where we are or what our circumstances, an eternity of beginnings and an eternity of endings stretch out before us."

 

Wherever we may be in our lives, never forget that we're only in the middle! Be happy with where you are and find joy in the journey :)

Smokey sky, wish you goodbye!

 While on my mission here in Montana, I've enjoyed seeing and taking in the beauty and grandeur of it's landscapes and terrain. There are endless mountain ranges, valleys, lakes and so forth. Truly fits it's nickname as "God's country."

Recently though, the air has been filled with smoke along with ash falling from the sky! Something I've NEVER experienced before and quite frankly, it's not pretty and hard to breathe :/
Anyways, it has been about 3 weeks and every morning I wake up and say, "Today is going to be the day! No smoke baby!" Then I look out the window and what do you know it's still smokey :/

Today was different though. I said the usual, "Today is going to be the day! No smoke baby!" Looked out the window and what do you know?! IT IS CRYSTAL CLEAR :) Taught me a lesson. No matter how gloomy our day may be, no matter how hazy our circumstance is, regardless of how long it may all last. There is hope! There is hope that one day things will improve if we endure and remain positive. Never lose hope and know that all things will be made right through the atonement of Jesus Christ. :)

 

Wax it up!

Have you ever made a homemade candle before?! Well it's a pretty sweet process! You start with merely NOTHING! Just a simple piece of string is all! What happens next is a miracle to me. You dip that little piece of string into a pot of melted wax. You pull it out, let it harden up and then dip it back in again. Time and time again you dip it in and pull it out and wait for it to harden before you stick it back in for another coating.
The same is with our relationship with God and prayer! It starts out by just having a little bit of faith. As you continue to pray, your relationship with God continues to grow and becomes stronger!

"And by day have I waxed bold in mighty prayer before him; yea, my voice have I sent up on high; and angels came down and ministered unto me." -2 Nephi 4:24

I know that as we pray, our Father in heaven is listening and will answer our prayers! Keep prayin' and waxin' stonger every day :)

You're supposed to say YES!

Have you ever asked your parents something and they gave you a response that wasn't what you wanted them to say and you thought to yourself, "They don't know anything! I just want to have fun. Why don't they understand?!"

You then proceeded to do it anyways. Ever done that before? Pretty sure we're in the same boat, because I've done that a few times myself. At first, I felt I was being so independent and rebellious with my defiant stance! I soon came to realize all I did was lose the trust of my parents, felt awful about doing something wrong and lastly, I restricted myself even more from further opportunities. 

We do the same thing with God's laws and His counsel at times. It's illustrated pretty well in the scriptures.

"Behold, they do not desire that the Lord their God, who hath created them, should rule and reign over them; notwithstanding his great goodness and his mercy towards them, they do set at naught his counsels, and they will not that he should be their guide." 
-Helaman 12:6

When we "set at naught" the counsel and commandments we receive from God, we lose the light we once obtained and our lives begin to be filled with darkness. Our agency becomes limited and we have no promise from God. 

Let us listen and obey and know that God is on our side and knows what is best for us!

Time to get messy!

Thinking of my childhood and reminiscing on all the crazy things I did for entertainment, I remembered one of my favorite things to do. That was to play in the mud after a good hard Texas thunderstorm! Mud in Texas is a bit different though, It's really just a bunch of clay. I could be really creative with it most the time, but usually just made a mess everywhere ;)

Clay for me, back in the glory days, was simply something fun to get dirty in and play with. Now clay has a much more significant meaning for me. My understanding has been enlarged as I've studied the scriptures.

The Lord is our potter and we are clay in his hands. He is the one who shapes and molds into what He knows we can become! :)

"But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand." -Isaiah 64:8

When we remember that it is the Lord shaping and molding us, we will have a greater understanding and perspective of why certain things happen in our lives.

"Hath not the potter power over the clay," - Romans 9:21

When we allow the Lord to shape and mold us, as He sees fit, He will use us to bless the lives of others! 

"When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay." -John 9:6

Who we are and what were made of is a great deal of how much we've allowed the Lord to work in our lives! :)

"..for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? -Isaiah 29:16

Mountains to Climb

 

I love this picture because when you look at someone on top of a mountain, you can be sure that they didn't just "arrive" at the top. It took effort, dedication, work and a desire. 

I think the same is with our lives. We don't just "arrive" at various pinnacles in our lives. We have to work everyday to climb higher and further!

Since being in Montana the past few months I have LOVED gazing at the beauty and grandeur of the mountains here! There is just something refreshing about standing on top of a mountain and knowing,

 "I just climbed this! Look how far I've come!" 

"On the mountains of truth you can never climb in vain: either you will reach a point higher up today, or you will be training your powers so that you will be able to climb higher tomorrow." 

-Friedrich Nietzsche 

Never give up hope! Sure the climb is steep. Sure it's rocky. Sure there may be cracks in your path. Just never stop! I know you can keep going :)

Get out of the maze!

Have you ever been in a predicament where you feel like you have no direction? Where you feel you don't know how to get out  or away from your current problem? Do you feel lonely and like no one is there for you? Maybe you're just frustrated about your situation and want a change!

We ALL experience feelings like these throughout our lives! Sometimes more frequently than others. Regardless, we may feel trapped in a maze with chaos and confusion all around us.

So what do we do?! 

Remember first of all that everything happens for a reason! 

Remember that we are sons and daughters of a loving Heavenly Father!

That we chose to come to this earth to progress and grow!

Remember that we must look at things from His perspective, not our limited view!

L. Whitney Clayton once said,

"Our unique individual experiences can help us prepare to return to Him. The adversity and afflictions that are ours, however difficult to bear, last, from heaven’s perspective, for “but a small moment; and then, if [we] endure it well, God shall exalt [us] on high.” We must do everything we can to bear our burdens “well” for however long our “small moment” carrying them lasts."

I testify that as we remember these things, and remain positive and optimistic, relying upon God, that we may overcome any obstacle or tough time in our lives :) When we do we will have a perspective from on high! 

HANG IN THERE AND DON'T GIVE UP! YOU'RE NOT ALONE :)