Monday, August 8, 2016

WEEK 62- The storm before the calm




Week 62
 
What a week. So many mixed emotions. But when is it not in life?? This
week I've been learning a lot about unexpected lessons to be learned.
Time goes way too fast and is way to precious. Every second we have
here on earth is so so precious and is here specifically for us to
learn and grow. Never waste it.

Well this week was one of those wonderful weeks where my testimony was
stretched, then tested, then stretched some more. As much as it kinda
hurts a bit, it's so so good. And you know what, I think thats just
part of life....there are just some days, some weeks, some years where
it feels like everything kinda gets thrown at you. I remember talking
with a Sister a while ago...it was one of those times for her. She had
had a long road choosing coming on a mission and after a few months of
tough it was taking its toll. She asked me "is it really supposed to
be this tough?! I thought that since I came on a mission, a made a
good choice, it would be easier than this! It seems like the second
things start going good, then everything gets tough all over again."
And I was thinking about that a lot...why does life do that? Once
things get good, shouldn't they just stay good?! Should we really have
these roller coasters? Well the conclusion we kinda came to was that
the answer is yes. Yes it's tough some times. Actually, yes it might
be tough a lot of the time. But the "why" behind it is so much better
than the "what". So the what: life can be tough. Wooho. But the why:
So we can become more Christlike. So we can have eternal life with our
families. So we can live with God. Well that's a pretty good trade.
How are we supposed to become better and more Godlike if we don't get
stretched at all? If we don't have our faith stretched and tested at
all, then there is no reason for God to step in, help us out and grow
it.

So many times we hear the saying "the calm before the storm". I think
sometimes we live our lives with our hands clenched and our eyes
squinting, just waiting because we know that as soon as this calm,
beautiful section of life is coming to a pause, then the storm comes,
the trials hit, the hard stuff comes. Whose idea is that?? Its
Satan's, that's whose. Because when we do that, we miss the beauty. We
miss the little miracles, the tender mercies that the Lord gives us
each and every day. It's kinda just one of the beautiful things about
life that we have hard times. It's part of our condition as mortals
that we get to endure trials a bit. But the beautiful thing is that
things always get better. So much better. And that's because we have
God on our side.

We had one of those weeks with a little bit of storminess. The storm
before the Calm. But you know what that means...it means that the
beautiful, wonderful growth comes next. The calming assurance that God
lives, that He loves us and He is here to help us every step of the
way.

I absolutely, 100% know that God lives. He loves each and every one of
us no matter what. He is there to help us through everything, as a
loving Heavenly Father does. He wants the best for us, and sometimes,
it's really what we don't feel like we're ready for. It's what we
don't want. But He knows us and loves us enough to let these hard
times shape us. But the beautiful promise is that He is right there
through every step of it. He even gave His Son, Jesus Christ, to
suffer so that we might find strength. I know that it's through this
earth life, through the storms and the unexpected opportunities to
learn, that we grow. We become more so that we will one day be
prepared for this wonderful, beautiful next life. It's through this
plan, the power of the Priesthood and our Savior Jesus Christ that we
can live forever, with our families. Isn't that just the best? I love
this gospel. Love my Savior. I love you!!

W/<3
Sister Hodgson

Berry Picking for PDAY

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