No coincidences

The Lord knows exactly what we need, and when we need it.

Luke 12
27 Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Soloman in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
29 And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.
30 For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.

It started when I went to check into my apartment. My RA (residence assistant) happened to be there checking people in, and after learning my name she asked if I was related to my older brother. I said yes, and discovered she had been in his freshman ward and actually knew him pretty well. For me, on that day, that gave me the extra push I needed to be ok with moving into a new place. I had a connection with my RA, and that was enough to comfort me at least for a little while.

Of course, college is hard. Leaving my family was hard. And being away from them is even harder.

After my parents left, I was stuck to fend for myself. This is where my roommate steps in. Over and over again these past couple of months she has said exactly what I needed to hear. She is perfect for me --for where I am in my life. Our rooming together was NO coincidence.

Next were the many times I heard the words "everything will be ok". When I was young, there was a time I felt lonely and afraid --very lonely and afraid. One night I prayed that I could have some relief and comfort. My answer was an overwhelming feeling that I would never be alone, that the Savior was my greatest friend, and that "everything will be ok". I wrote those words down on a peice of paper that I've kept on my wall to this day. Over and over in meetings here at BYU I've heard others tell similar stories, all using the specific words "everything will be ok". What a tender mercy!

My other roommates, I soon discovered, were on my side in everything. They all possess some qualities that strengthen me at different times, and some qualities that strengthen me all the time.

I've also found a confidant in my Bishop. His ability to say exactly what I need to hear in our interviews is a huge testimony builder that he receives revelation for me.

Next are my siblings here: my sister and brother-in-law, and my brother and sister-in-law. They've all been freshman, and have given the best college freshman advice I've ever had. Then of course there's my little baby neice --just holding her is therapy. The days I get to see and play with her come none to soon.

These all seem like small miracles --just little bits and peices of relationships that one would assume would reside in most people's lives. However, all these people revealed their importance to me at the most opportune moments of my experience here thus far. It's as if the person I happen to be around at the very moment I'm feeling rough, is the exact right person to say or do the right thing.

My Heavenly Father truly is watching out for me. I've always had a testimony of that, but I'm learning each and every day how to be less afraid, to not fear, how to hope, and trust, and have faith in my Heavenly Father that He will always make sure that "everything will be ok".

Luke 12: 32
Fear not little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

When there's a will there's a way

For those of you unfamiliar with the vocabulary of the LDS church, the Relief Society is a woman's organization within the church. Once 18 years of age, you can start attending Relief Society instead of Young Woman's on Sundays. I waited until I graduated to start attending the classes with all the older women, and was greeted by a larger responsibility in the church than I ever could have imagined myself in the summer before my first year of college. I was called as a Relief Society Instructor.
One of 3 women in this calling, my job is to teach the lesson to the other women once every month. I had started attending Relief Society with the expectation in mind that I could sit back, relax, and learn from women who were much more experienced than I in the ways of the gospel and life. Therefore it was a little bit of a shock in my system to receive my new calling.
Accepting took a leap of faith. I kept telling myself, "If the Lord wants it, he'll help me do it."
The nice part is I only had two lessons to teach before leaving for school.
I have already had the privilege and blessing of preparing and giving one lesson- the topic: our duty as member missionaries.
Basically it was the preparation you would expect from a Relief Society member: quotes printed out and ready to assign people to read, handouts with inspirational messages backed onto pretty paper, and cookies decorated to go along with the lesson. What felt different to me, were the last couple of days leading up to the Sunday I would teach.
To put it in few words, I was bombarded by a cascade of awful and rather traumatic events. Emotionally overwhelmed that Saturday night, I did not feel like getting up in the morning to go to church. I felt tired, sick, and depressed. But I remembered the faith I'd had in excepting my calling, and what I told myself, "If the Lord wants it, he'll help me do it." I knew that if I couldn't have the faith to follow through with my responsibility, then my initial faith in accepting the calling was half-hearted.
So I got up the next morning. I went to church. I was nervous, and I gave my lesson. I still don't know what was so important about my lesson that the adversary desired so badly for me to skip out that Sunday, but I know that there was a reason, if only for my own Spiritual growth. I do know that the Spirit was with me, guiding me in what to say.
I have a true knowledge that the Lord provides a way for us to do the things He desires us to accomplish. I know whatever is good and worthy can be achieved through His help.
When there's a will there's a way. When God has a will, He provides a way.

Parable on God's Creations

A master artist had a classroom full of students.
"One day," he told them, "I will help you to become just like me."
Meanwhile, he gave them each a beautiful painting --each unique and different, but all his best work.
One student rejected the gift, and a few others did as well, jealous that they could not be the master painters.
The one who rejected the art soon became jealous of the other student's paintings. He went to one student and decided he would make him share his jealousy.
"Wouldn't your painting look cool if you added to it?"
The student was decieved by him, and graffitied the gorgeous painting, covering the beautiful shapes and colors with cheap paint.
The rejector came to another student and said, "Look at your painting, it isn't nearly as beautiful as the student next to you."
She looked at her own painting, and at the girl's next to her. Ashamed, she hid the painting beneath an expensive cloth which she thought was more beautiful than the painting.
The rejector next went to another girl with an especially unique and beautiful painting, one pleasing to all eyes and admired by many.
"Your painting is the most beautiful of all," he said, "you could make money off of that."
The girl felt pride for her painting. Not wanting to sell the whole thing, she sold bits and peices of it to others.

The rejector was glad he was able to deceive so many, but there was one student he could not deceive. He tried all his tricks, but the student continued to love his own painting. Never did he compare his own to others, or defile it, or sell it. He loved and charished his painting and daily thanked the master painter for such a beautiful gift.

The student who had graffited his painting saw the purity and cleanliness of the steadfast student, and realized he had forever destroyed and ruined such a precious gift. He tried to clean the cheap paint from his own canvas, but found the work difficult and laborous.

The student who covered her own painting saw the steadfast student's daily gratitude, and was ashamed she had not shown the same. She threw away the fancy cloth and was grateful for the painting she had, which was truly beautiful.

The student who had sold her bits of her painting, saw the whole canvas of the steadfast student, and realized the mistake she had made that could never be fixed on her own. Her painting was lost. Only through the mercy of the master painter could she be whole again.

Our bodies are creations of our Heavenly Father. Just as we would not destroy a beautiful piece of artwork, priceless, and given to us as a precious gift, we should not defile or be ashamed of the priceless, beautiful creations of our Heavenly Father. We are his pride and joy, his supreme creations. When we repect and love our bodies, we repect and love what was made by Him.

Daily Repentance

Repenting daily has many obvious blessings; it prevents you from forgetting your sins, you learn to recognize sins and feel Godly sorrow quickly, and you strive always to become clean. However, today in our Church Sacrament meeting I realized another blessing I had never noticed before.
Daily repentance directly affects the impact on our Spirits that partaking of the Sacrament has. When we speedily repent of all our sins and transgressions, we have the opportunity to be pure and clean again each week as we take of the bread and water and renew our baptisimal covenants. This in itself is a blessings, however this also brings with it another less-noticable blessing.
When we are pure, clean, and perfect for those few moments between renewing our covenants and the next mistake we make, our Spirits are as open as they can be to the Spirit. I have always felt the Spirit Strongly after taking the bread and water, but today I realized that it was more than that. This is the time of the week when I think of goals I want to make, changes I need to make, how I can help someone I've been praying for, what I need to do about a problem. The Spirit speaks to me and tells me a plethora of information that my heart opens up to while I feel pure and clean. Often this resolve does not stay, as mistakes are once again made. However, speedily repenting can bring that resolve to life again, enough to take it into action.
When we speedily repent, we not only allow ourselves to be perfectly clean for a few precious moments each week, but we also open ourselves up to the Spirit's promptings on a daily basis, as well as an onslought of Revelation that can occur every Sabbath day.