Life is hard - obviously. Nothing new there.
But if we can remember that it is ok that it is hard, and that it is temporary, we can have hope.
Remember to have hope.
There are so many different challenges, so perfectly fitted to us, that, if chosen deliberately, will shape us for heaven because we chose to remember Christ.
Life is hard - and it can be made harder when we struggle to take the pain away, to deny it, to fight against it because we believe we alone must fix it.
So, remember to have faith, hope, and charity, and somehow, even though life is still hard, it is ok. We survive and we learn a lot. And remember, looking back, it will all be worth it. So - even though it may not make sense right now, it will one day.
My posts may not be teaching you anything new, but hopefully they help you remember what you already know and help you along your way.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Dear God, Sincerely Thy Daughter
Dear God,
I have been having a hard time lately, like a lot of Thy children. It seems that at one point or another, all of Thy children face extremely hard challenges. Life is confusing, understanding Thy promises and what "soon" means is confusing at times, and finding strength and letting it be ok to be confusing, hard, to let it hurt, to not know how to solve, or know that it is impossible for us, Thy children, to solve - at least on our own - is so hard.
I don't know how to let it go sometimes. I don't know how to believe that it will happen as Thou hast said it would, especially when all I feel that Thou has said is that it would happen. Somehow, I do believe it, even though I don't know how.
And that, is probably the hardest part.
If I didn't believe it was from Thee, then I could set about finding other answers. As it is, I am left with just the promise that it will happen. Somehow, my trial, my pain, my impossible struggle, will end. And, I know it is through the Atonement of Thy Only Begotten Son, even Jesus Christ, that it is possible.
Sometimes, I just hurt anyway. Sometimes, I just am anxious and can't remember how to let go. Some days are better than others, and I really am at peace. And then one little voice that I heed, one little doubt comes in, and it seems my faith falls away. Will Thou help me? It never seems to completely fall away, and I do always remember Thee in these moments, but sometimes it is just so hard.
As I write this, I actually am at peace. I am trying to write down what I remember feeling just a little while ago, because, I feel this way and feel that I am not alone in feeling this way. And, now I just ask that Thou help me to remember quickly, to trust in Thee more, to see Thy hand, and to enjoy the journey where I am at. I remember the last time I was down, and Thou promised to me so perfectly and so purely that my fears melted away and I felt Thy love.
Will Thou help me hold on to that feeling, and to remember it, to heed it when the winds swirl, and I am lost in the rhetoric of sin and fear?
I love Thee very much, and know that we are all trying so hard to improve, to become better, to be more like Thee, and this is my renewed prayer unto Thee.
Sincerely,
Thy Daughter
Some of my readers may wonder why I post this, or worry more about me than I intend based on the descriptions of pain. Pain is real, and I feel it at times, but this post is an attempt to show how I remember to trust my Father. Pain is real, but so is healing, and I have found it. It isn't a gloss over, it isn't a 'band-aid' it is real, and it is wonderful. It is easy to let that be distorted when pain is felt, and pain won't just go away because you tell it to. But, you can still let it go, you can still start to trust, and with time and faith, I know healing will come.
I have been having a hard time lately, like a lot of Thy children. It seems that at one point or another, all of Thy children face extremely hard challenges. Life is confusing, understanding Thy promises and what "soon" means is confusing at times, and finding strength and letting it be ok to be confusing, hard, to let it hurt, to not know how to solve, or know that it is impossible for us, Thy children, to solve - at least on our own - is so hard.
I don't know how to let it go sometimes. I don't know how to believe that it will happen as Thou hast said it would, especially when all I feel that Thou has said is that it would happen. Somehow, I do believe it, even though I don't know how.
And that, is probably the hardest part.
If I didn't believe it was from Thee, then I could set about finding other answers. As it is, I am left with just the promise that it will happen. Somehow, my trial, my pain, my impossible struggle, will end. And, I know it is through the Atonement of Thy Only Begotten Son, even Jesus Christ, that it is possible.
Sometimes, I just hurt anyway. Sometimes, I just am anxious and can't remember how to let go. Some days are better than others, and I really am at peace. And then one little voice that I heed, one little doubt comes in, and it seems my faith falls away. Will Thou help me? It never seems to completely fall away, and I do always remember Thee in these moments, but sometimes it is just so hard.
As I write this, I actually am at peace. I am trying to write down what I remember feeling just a little while ago, because, I feel this way and feel that I am not alone in feeling this way. And, now I just ask that Thou help me to remember quickly, to trust in Thee more, to see Thy hand, and to enjoy the journey where I am at. I remember the last time I was down, and Thou promised to me so perfectly and so purely that my fears melted away and I felt Thy love.
Will Thou help me hold on to that feeling, and to remember it, to heed it when the winds swirl, and I am lost in the rhetoric of sin and fear?
I love Thee very much, and know that we are all trying so hard to improve, to become better, to be more like Thee, and this is my renewed prayer unto Thee.
Sincerely,
Thy Daughter
Some of my readers may wonder why I post this, or worry more about me than I intend based on the descriptions of pain. Pain is real, and I feel it at times, but this post is an attempt to show how I remember to trust my Father. Pain is real, but so is healing, and I have found it. It isn't a gloss over, it isn't a 'band-aid' it is real, and it is wonderful. It is easy to let that be distorted when pain is felt, and pain won't just go away because you tell it to. But, you can still let it go, you can still start to trust, and with time and faith, I know healing will come.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Here it is: Agency Revisited
I have a couple ideas I’ve thrown around since I said I’d be writing this blog, since the topic of agency is dear to my heart. Most of which, I am not going to be addressing in this post. These other ideas revolve around the idea that agency is vital. And, I would love to do a series one day on this – i.e., how humility is vital for complete agency, how faith and not knowing is so important to our mortal experience and how agency is intertwined, and so on.
So, what do I want to say about agency? Mostly that choices
matter. That agency matters. I got my degree in Psychology, and have heard arguments for and against it all four years. See, in science, agency doesn’t fit, so researchers often conclude that agency is an illusion we live by to give some kind of purpose to life, but that it is impossible for us to really change, it is impossible for us to really choose for ourselves. They can't prove agency is real, so it must not be. Personally, I agree—With the idea that we can’t prove
agency empirically.
I also don’t think we need to. Agency is still real and
anyone who says otherwise still acts as if they have agency anyway. I’ve known
professors who believe we have agency on Sunday, but in their research and classrooms,
proclaim that it is a myth. And, it’s just sad to me.
I want people to know that agency is one of the most beautiful
and vital gifts from God that we have. Without it, there really isn’t a purpose
to life. It’s not just something we pretend to have so we feel better. AND even
if it was, I would still live the same way.
We do have agency, so I won’t dwell on that. I’ve written
about agency a few times on this blog, and don’t know what more to say except
that we must choose deliberately. If we aren’t choosing, who is? If you say you
don’t have agency, who is accountable for your choices, good or bad? Well,
certainly not you. If you couldn’t choose otherwise, then all your bad
decisions and consequences aren’t your fault but neither are your successes and
your growth.
Agency is often described as the ability to choose
otherwise. And we do all the time. When a driver cuts us off, we have many
choices: keep driving, keep driving and become angry the rest of the day,
follow the person to where they are going and yell at them, turn around and go
home, or stop in the middle of the road and demand justice. Obviously, we have
more choices than that. But, what I am trying to get at is that we must
determine where we are going. Choose to follow God a little more consciously
today. Choose to cast anything holding you in a world of sin away. Yes, it may
be in your nature now to get offended easily, but it doesn’t have to stay in
your nature. Rise above it with help from our Eternal Savior and His Atonement
for us.
I often leave connecting ideas out when I try to be brief, but I have a testimony that agency is real. It is from God, and we are expected to choose deliberately.
Monday, October 8, 2012
FMFA
In the past I may have mentioned some training we get at work. Two weeks ago, I received a lesson which I will hopefully not forget. It was on memory. :)
Since I heard it, I have remembered and utilized the lessons, and have found deeper meanings and also an easier time remembering things.
It is this: Fact, Meaning, Feeling, Action.
First, you find the facts, but they alone will not be memorable. You must decide/uncover their meanings, then, when chosen, can illicit feelings. Once acted upon, even in small ways, we can remember it.
The other day, I was reading a passage in the scriptures. I have long since taken to writing about what I've read in the hopes of paying better attention. On this day, I still struggled: I had read this story many times and just didn't care.
It was then that I realized I needed to take a step back, find a meaning, feeling, and action that I could take about this chapter. I looked at the facts of the story. They alone didn't mean much to me that day. But, I found something that did, and I felt good about it. I couldn't act too much, but I wrote it down.
I've heard several leaders talk about the importance of taking action and/or writing inspiration down. I have a testimony that when this pattern is followed, we can remember what is important and we can learn even more.
If you are struggling with feelings of apathy towards something you know you should care about, try this. Look at the facts again, and ask for help finding a meaning and more feelings, more desire, and then do something about it. Watch miracles happen, remember what is important, and go forward.
Since I heard it, I have remembered and utilized the lessons, and have found deeper meanings and also an easier time remembering things.
It is this: Fact, Meaning, Feeling, Action.
First, you find the facts, but they alone will not be memorable. You must decide/uncover their meanings, then, when chosen, can illicit feelings. Once acted upon, even in small ways, we can remember it.
The other day, I was reading a passage in the scriptures. I have long since taken to writing about what I've read in the hopes of paying better attention. On this day, I still struggled: I had read this story many times and just didn't care.
It was then that I realized I needed to take a step back, find a meaning, feeling, and action that I could take about this chapter. I looked at the facts of the story. They alone didn't mean much to me that day. But, I found something that did, and I felt good about it. I couldn't act too much, but I wrote it down.
I've heard several leaders talk about the importance of taking action and/or writing inspiration down. I have a testimony that when this pattern is followed, we can remember what is important and we can learn even more.
If you are struggling with feelings of apathy towards something you know you should care about, try this. Look at the facts again, and ask for help finding a meaning and more feelings, more desire, and then do something about it. Watch miracles happen, remember what is important, and go forward.
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Baby Steps, Bob
As any runner will tell you, starting is always the hardest. Or, at least, that's what all my running friends have told me. I'm not a runner, so I can't tell you for sure. But, I think I agree with Doctor Leo Marvin, Bob, and my running friends, that you have to just start. I find the Baby-Steps method to be one worth trying.
Monday, October 1, 2012
Be Ok
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)