Be Still My Soul

Throughout the years I have sought much solace in this beautiful hymn. 

 "Be still, my soul: The Lord is on thy side;

With patience bear thy cross of grief or pain."

I love the example of Abraham in bearing his grief or pain with patience. 

I have learned much from his example and tried to apply the principles he lived in my own life. 

Hebrews 6:10-15; Romans 4:18-22

I wish I could say that I never stagger in unbelief, but sometimes I have moments when I do.

Moments when I feel overwhelmed by loneliness, grief and pain. 

And then the words of this song sink into my soul,

The words of Christ, his promises, and the faith of those who have gone before me leave imprints on my heart.

"Leave to thy God to order and provide;

In ev'ry change he faithful will remain.

Be still, my soul: Thy best, thy heav'nly Friend

Thru thorny ways leads to a joyful end."

There are promises that God has given to us personally and collectively.

He will fulfill these promises, whether in this life or in the next.

"When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,

Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.

Be still, my soul: When change and tears are past,

All safe and blessed we shall meet at last."

I am reminded of one of my favorite quotes regarding sorrows, tears, and disappointments:

"The Lord compensates the faithful for every loss. That which is taken away from those who love the Lord will be added unto them in His own way. While it may not come at the time we desire, the faithful will know that every tear today will eventually be returned a hundredfold with tears of rejoicing and gratitude."

~Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin

"Be still, my soul: Thy God doth undertake

To guide the future as he has the past.

Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;"

Hebrews 10:35-37

How easy it can be at times to lose confidence, to forget the beauty that I have been blessed with already.

My sister, who is serving a mission in New Zealand currently, sent me a beautiful letter in which she acknowledged much of the good that I have done for her in her life, she expressed her gratitude to me which brought me to tears to know of the great purposes the Lord had me be a part of in her life. And then she follow with this beautiful counsel:

"Before I close my letter I'll direct you towards the Book of Mormon, liken these scriptures to yourself. 2 Nephi 31:19-20. Nephi has just laid up for us the doctrine of Christ. He acknowledges the good that we've done then asks if all is done? Nay. Ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ having a perfect brightness of hope. We must feast upon the words of Christ and endure til the end. Then will we be granted eternal life. There is nothing greater to aspire for. And what a merciful God we have whose only desire is for us to obtain it. Again, he prepares the way.

" The last scripture has been pressing on my mind the last few days. I thought it applied specifically to me, but I wish to extend it to you. Alma 26:27. Ammon speaking says, 'Now when our hearts were depressed and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us and said... bear with patience thine afflictions and I will give unto you success.' I know your desires. The Lord extends this to you bear these afflictions for a short time then will he pour out blessings upon you. As Isaiah we often beg the question 'Lord, how long?' Isaiah 6:11. Until the end. We don't know the timing of the Lord his ways are higher than our ways. May God grant you success!"

I have seen as I have applied these principles in my life of patience and trusting in the Lord's promises and timing he has brought me healing, peace, happiness, and comfort even while waiting upon the promises. 

I am grateful for those who have mourned with me, I am grateful for those who have lifted me with inspired words of faith from the scriptures, Prophets, and Apostles. I am grateful for the power of prayer, for the effects that it has on my heart. I am grateful for a God that brings peace and comfort to my soul in troubled and heartbreaking times. I used to think that it meant that things were going to change immediately that my circumstances would miraculously be different, sometimes it is different. And sometimes I have learned in patience that there is so much more the Lord would have me learn and that the whispering of the spirit is the Lord's promises that he will fulfill what he has taught me just not quite in the way I had originally thought, but that I can have hope in Him.

"All now mysterious shall be bright at last.

Be still, my soul: The waves and winds still know

His voice who ruled them while he dwelt below."

A Letter for You

Dear You,

I was thinking of you and the struggles that we go through in life. You are a (missionary, wife, mother, daughter, husband, father, son...) who desires to give all! What a beautiful thing that is! You will work your heart out to accomplish great things in the Kingdom of God. You have righteous desires to [insert desire here] and you will do absolutely everything you can to accomplish this. And sometimes when you have given your all and tried everything you can think of, it seems to not be enough and you are left asking the Lord and seeking for what more can you do. There must be something you are missing, because this is surely the desire of the Lord for you, so there must be something he can tell you that will bring about this great miracle of [insert miracle here]. Let me assure you if there is something missing he will share it with you as you seek for it!

But sometimes his purposes are not completely known to us, sometimes even though he has the power to change or soften hearts or other miraculous miracles that we think are needed it is not his will at this time. We can trust that all righteous desires will be fulfilled at some time, but those miracles will come about in the Lord's time. We have the opportunity to exercise our faith in knowing that the Lord can accomplish these miracles, because we've seen it, and trusting that he will be in all the details no matter the current outcome. As we exercise our faith and do our part to act we can learn to put our trust in his will and remember it is His plan, not our own, that we chose to be a part of.

Elder Bednar in his talk titled "That We Might 'Not...Shrink' (D&C 19:18)" stated: "a principle that applies to every devoted disciple: strong faith in the Savior is submissively accepting of His will and timing in our lives—even if the outcome is not what we hoped for or wanted. Certainly, [we] would desire, yearn, and plead for [insert desire here] with all of [our] might, mind, and strength. But more importantly, [we can] be “willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon [us], even as a child doth submit to his father” (Mosiah 3:19). Indeed, [we can] be willing to “offer [our] whole souls as an offering unto him” (Omni 1:26) and humbly pray, “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42)."

You are a wonderfully devoted disciple and have much to do in the service of God. I am so happy for the choices you have made for you will be continually blessed and constantly learn throughout your life as you continue to give your heart to the Lord. You will continue to learn of your weakness and you will be able to envision how much the Lord loves you and glimpse throughout life the great purposes he has for you. There will be many struggles that come and there will be great happiness that you can't even imagine. Always the Lord will be with you, even if you feel alone you can trust he is there and he hears your prayers, he understands your desires. Hold onto that knowledge and the time will come when you will see his purposes fulfilled and you will rejoice in His will and that it was greater than your own.

Love, 

Me

Let's Dance

Kid President always makes my day!

Saturday Adventures!

Free Zoo Day!

Mt. Lemmon

If only these next two pictures could do justice to the beauty we witnessed when we hit the top of this ridge.

This area had been hit by fire back in 2003, hence some of the scraggly trees. But what a beautiful view it was beyond the trees. 

The voice of His servants

Becoming Meek

I have been pondering what it means to be meek.

Today this definition worked its way into my mind and resonated with my heart for what I had been searching for to help me better apply meekness in my life.

Meekness: being gracefully grateful for the blessings of today while continuously hopeful for the promises of eternity.

What does that mean for me? 

It means showing, expressing and acting in gratitude for the wonderful blessings I have.

"It means staying with something and doing all that [I] can—working, hoping, and exercising faith; bearing hardship with fortitude, even when the desires of [my] heart are delayed." ~ Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf - "Continue in Patience" (April 2010 General Conference)

It means moving forward from the broken hearts of yesterday and embracing the promises of the Lord for my eternal happiness.

It means not allowing the fear of a broken and pained heart stop me from acting in faith.

It means not letting the disappointment of today's unchanged status dash the hopes of my bright future.

Update: The very scripture and thoughts that led me on my search for understanding of meekness in my life was spoken in General Conference* today. When I heard this talk I felt the Lord was speaking directly to me saying I know you, I love you, and I know you are listening to me. Grateful for tender mercies of the Lord.

*General Conference is a world wide broadcast conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Millions of members and others gather every 6 months to hear the words that our Prophet and Apostles have to say. They seek for questions to be answered and to understand what the Lord would want them to know and do. They ponder on the messages and try to apply them into their daily lives seeking to know of truth and to be a disciple of Christ. 

New Adventures

 Want to frame my picture of Christ and put it above the lamp.

 Art created by my sisters. :)

 I get to pretend I am at the beach when I do my dishes! :)

It's beginning to feel a lot like home! :)

As I was putting up things on the wall and placing things around I was rushed with beautiful memories of my friends and family. Gifts of love that they have given to me or experiences I shared with them. My apartment feels full of love. A few more touches to add. 

A picture of my siblings and me being silly that I am getting printed up. 

An Arizona art project.

A Saguaro cactus art project to be similar to the tree above. I have been out hiking for inspiration. :)

Random: They have green trees out here.

Every time I see them I think of Elphaba.

 And what my sister and I like to call Bob Marley Cactus