We None of Us Expect to be in Smooth Water All Our Days
This last month was hard. Sometimes... well, often, life changes in ways one would never expect. I feel, often, that I seem to forget that I really don't have much control over my life. I always expect it to go exactly how I laid it out, and not take any turns. Because plans mean progress, right? It means you are moving forward, right? But what about when God has a different plan for you? No, not a different plan... just a different approach to the plan? My plan... well, really God's plan for me, since I never had moving to Salt Lake and working at the U as part of my plan, but I have embraced it, so it has become my plan- took a turn this past month. Someone who has been like a sister to me for the past six years walked out on me. It was kind of coming all summer, so when it happened I wasn't as lost as I would have been if she had just ended things right then and there. I wasn't thinking, "why is this happening?," but more "Ok. This happened. How do I move forward and not get stuck dwelling on the past?" And maybe because I didn't show a lot of emotion, people really believed I was fine. No one questioned why I was so tired all the time (staying up crying all night) or why I wasn't at a certain party (I was no longer welcome) or what I was doing all the time (I was basically living at the temple).
No one.
Not a single person, outside of my family, asked if I was ok. I think that part was a shock too. That really got me- how insignificant I was to most people. I suppose I could have let that pull me down, sink into depression, and break my testimony. I could have turned on my fellow men and said, well, you don't care about me, why should I care about you? But instead this experience opened my eyes. I started thinking about a lot of people in my ward who I knew were going through hard times, and yet no one was reaching out to them. With social media as it is, we are very much the type of people who like to show off our accomplishments, and forget about those who are having a bad day, because we want to make sure Instagram gets the best snapshot of us looking better then everyone else. Have you noticed how there's always that one friend in the group who spends the entire night on their phone, either taking pictures, or looking at all the other pictures people who have posted, comparing theirs to them and spending the whole time trying to figure out how to put out an even cooler picture? We are so focused on making sure the world knows we are doing good, we have forgotten to take care of those in need.
"When you find yourself a little gloomy, look around you and find somebody that is in a worse plight than yourself; go to him and find out what the trouble is, then try to remove it with wisdom which the Lord bestows upon you; the first thing you know, your gloom is gone, you feel light, the Spirit of the Lord is upon you, and everything seems illuminated."~President Lorenzo Snow
You have no idea how much I have embraced this doctrine! I am not sharing this experience to have your sympathy, or for you to ask questions, or feel bad, or whatever. I really just needed to share what a wonderful doctrine this is! Service will change your life! I think back to years ago in college, when something similar happened to me, and I was crushed! I sunk into a hole and pushed everyone away, and didn't learn the important lesson of serving others in times of "gloom." I cannot tell you how much I see God's love in my life. I can't believe how much He loves me enough to work with me, and imperfect person, to help me understand this doctrine. I wish I had learned it earlier, but I am so glad God prepared a way for me to learn this lesson, and not give up on my because I failed to learn it last time.
I've seen a lot of quotes that I really have grown to love, and wanted to share:
No one.
Not a single person, outside of my family, asked if I was ok. I think that part was a shock too. That really got me- how insignificant I was to most people. I suppose I could have let that pull me down, sink into depression, and break my testimony. I could have turned on my fellow men and said, well, you don't care about me, why should I care about you? But instead this experience opened my eyes. I started thinking about a lot of people in my ward who I knew were going through hard times, and yet no one was reaching out to them. With social media as it is, we are very much the type of people who like to show off our accomplishments, and forget about those who are having a bad day, because we want to make sure Instagram gets the best snapshot of us looking better then everyone else. Have you noticed how there's always that one friend in the group who spends the entire night on their phone, either taking pictures, or looking at all the other pictures people who have posted, comparing theirs to them and spending the whole time trying to figure out how to put out an even cooler picture? We are so focused on making sure the world knows we are doing good, we have forgotten to take care of those in need.
"When you find yourself a little gloomy, look around you and find somebody that is in a worse plight than yourself; go to him and find out what the trouble is, then try to remove it with wisdom which the Lord bestows upon you; the first thing you know, your gloom is gone, you feel light, the Spirit of the Lord is upon you, and everything seems illuminated."~President Lorenzo Snow
You have no idea how much I have embraced this doctrine! I am not sharing this experience to have your sympathy, or for you to ask questions, or feel bad, or whatever. I really just needed to share what a wonderful doctrine this is! Service will change your life! I think back to years ago in college, when something similar happened to me, and I was crushed! I sunk into a hole and pushed everyone away, and didn't learn the important lesson of serving others in times of "gloom." I cannot tell you how much I see God's love in my life. I can't believe how much He loves me enough to work with me, and imperfect person, to help me understand this doctrine. I wish I had learned it earlier, but I am so glad God prepared a way for me to learn this lesson, and not give up on my because I failed to learn it last time.
I've seen a lot of quotes that I really have grown to love, and wanted to share:
Gosh, there are so many more. I just wanted to remind everyone that they are important! We are all God's children, and He LOVES us! He didn't send us down here to be miserable, or selfish, or forgetful... he didn't give us the blessing of the Internet just to be used as a way to put ourselves at a higher place then everyone else. He did it to hasten the work! I loved Elder Bednar's talk this past month about flooding the social media world with the love of Christ! We need that reminder! We need to be sharing the gospel, and spreading love. We need to be reaching out to those who are having hard times, because we ALL have them! We all have our ups and downs, and social media sometimes allows people to think that everyone else has the ups, and we are the ones having the downs, but that's not true! Everyone is fighting a battle. Please remember that in sharing on your social media. Please remember those who are having a hard time. We weren't sent here to put others down; we were sent to lift them up! Here's another favorite:
We can be instruments in the Lord's hands if we choose! I really encourage you all to reach out to others and serve them. Christ spent his whole time on earth serving! He wasn't posing in pictures, or touring the world, or worried about wearing the latest fashion, or being seen with the best of people- he was serving! He was healing, and teaching, and finally sacrificed himself for us. Wow. How much good could we be spreading if we followed His example? Because, friends may leave, turn their backs on us, pass away, but Christ is always constant. He will always be there for us, so lets remember to be there for Him!
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