Wow, it has been a very crazy month! I have had so many experiences that have been both overwhelming and an answer to my prayers all at the same time. First off, I have been dating a young man, who I thought in the beginning, was my Mr. Right. But, as we continued to date and as I continued to get to know him, I realized that we both wanted different things. For starters, I am not sure he truly even wants to be in a relationship. I realized he was being selfish and only thinking of himself, not making me one of his top priorities. He was more concerned about his material things than he was in building a strong relationship. It was through dating him that I realized I was looking for all of the wrong things. I wanted somebody who was done with school and who I knew could provide for me. Of course I wanted someone who could make me laugh and the happiest person on Earth. Someone who would do whatever they could to spend time with me and learn and grow together in unity. But, my focus was on the wrong things. So, as I have prayed and pondered these things, an old boyfriend kept popping into my mind. Finally I called him up and asked him out to frozen yogurt. Things went incredibly well and I realized that in a year and half since dating him, I have grown through experience and have learned so much. Matthew treats me like a princess. He wants to do whatever he can to make me happy. He is incredibly easy to talk to and can make me laugh. He does whatever he can to make time for me, even in his busy life. He makes me feel special and treats me like I am the daughter of a King. He is all of the things I want in my future spouse and I know that with him, we can grow as one in unity.
Matthew only lives 8 minutes away from my work. This is such a blessing since we work completely opposite of one another on most days. I am also blessed with flexible lunches, so I head to his house to eat. We make time for one another. There is effort from both ends and this is the way a relationship is supposed to work. We both want to make the time and we DO make the time to see each other as often as we can! I am just lucky that he is still around after a year and a half!
I am so grateful for the hard things in life that make us stronger, the challenges that make us better people. I am grateful for my Heavenly Father and the knowledge I have that I can go to Him in time of need. He guides and directs me and knows the experiences I must have in order to understand things of the future. I am so happy now and I know that things will work out.
"But the Lord knoweth all things from the beginning; wherefore, he prepareth a way to accomplish all his works among the children of men; for behold he hath all power unto the fulfilling of all his words. And thus it is. Amen" (1Nephi 9:6)
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Trust in Him
Learn from the HARD things in life and move forward a STRONGER person with a GOOD attitude!
Monday, February 4, 2013
Book Review: Making Sense of Suffering
Here's our first Book of the Month Review! This month's book: Making Sense of Suffering, by Wayne E. Brickey. I LOVE this book!!!
My grandmother gave this book to my mom and our family after my grandfather passed away as a gesture of thanks and consolation. Little did she or we know that she'd given us a gift to help us mourn her own death when she passed away from cancer only three months later. Just thinking about that time makes me tear, it was very, very H.A.R.D. HARD.
I didn't start read Making Sense of Suffering until a couple of months ago. Brickey organizes his book into four main sections: The Gift of Growth, Endure it Well, Beneath Watchful Eyes and God Shall Exalt Thee. Each section has several chapters, only a few pages long, which are little vignettes that can be read and taken alone. I really liked this format because I could read one or more sections a day that I was pulled towards and could skip from one to another as I pleased. It just so happened that I started reading the book when some particular events were happening in my life that I needed a lot of perspective on. Making Sense of Suffering far fulfilled every need I had for insight in chapters that I wouldn't have expected. Each of these chapters are truly jewels for the heart and mind.
Here are a few gems Brickey offers in his book:
"Trouble is an essential part of the plan of salvation for the same reason that buildings require a foundation. The base we build in this life stays with us ever after. Preparing to meet God is deep work. Perhaps finishing touches can be added later, but the foundation, including patience and cheer, must be set early." ~Pg. 13
"Some of our present circumstances may reflect previous agreements, now forgotten, but once freely made." ~Pg. 30
"Our worth is related to our potential for everlasting happiness. It is a big mistake to assign worth to one's self or another based on anything less...Joy in the private experience of a soul is the one treasure that must not be neglected and cannot be replaced." ~Pg. 77
"Constant, intense pain is a great consecrating purifier that humbles us and draws us closer to God's Spirit." ~Pg. 85
"[God's] chastening alters us, as the stone made precious by the agonies of nature or as gold refined by excruciating heat. What only glittered with possibility before is made glorious after. Pure gold is sometimes a symbol for the celestial, but it is just a symbol. The purified life is the real thing. And the Great Refiner personally supervises our transformation." ~Pg. 85
You'll have to read the book yourself to get the full effect and perspective it so readily gives. I recommend Making Sense of Suffering for everyone, no matter what your past or present circumstances may be, even if you are not going through deep suffering such as a serious illness or loss of a loved one. I have no doubt it can deliver comfort and insight to all.
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Build Upon a Sure Foundation
As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we know that we are sons and daughters of God, that He is our very father. As such, it is most important that we not be casual in the gospel or casual in our relationship with the Lord. We are commanded to "Always remember him", that we may always have His spirit to be with us. What a great promise, that as we continually hunger and thirst for the Spirit, we will have it to be with us and help us through each and every day. We want to be good people and live the gospel as best we can. Doing the "small" things like reading the scriptures, paying tithing and keeping the Sabbath day holy help us build our lives upon a sure foundation.
We studied this very subject in my ward today, where we were in 3 Nephi 18, but the lesson took an interesting turn when we started talking about what it means to build upon a "sandy foundation". In this chapter, Christ institutes the sacrament among the Nephites and commands them to pray always. In verses 12 & 13 He says (pay attention to what's in the bold print):
"And I give unto you a commandment that ye shall do these things. And if ye shall always do these things blessed are ye, for ye are built upon my rock.
"But whoso among you shall do more or less than these are not built upon my rock, but are built upon a sandy foundation; and when the rain descends, and the floods come, and the winds blow, and beat upon them, they shall fall, and the gates of hell are ready open to receive them."
Andrew, our teacher, made a very interesting observation here, that Christ refers not just to those who are built upon a sandy foundation doing less than what was required of them, but to doing more as well. Now the Lord has always held us to the highest standard but also says "Do not run faster than you have strength." Many of us think we have to push ourselves beyond our limits to prove ourselves. In our minds we may not think very highly of ourselves and feel we must overachieve in order to reach the perfection and eternal glory we desire. For example, we may read our scriptures for several hours each day, go to the temple 2 to 3 times a week, say incredibly long prayers or refuse to do anything outside of church on Sunday to show, even if only to ourselves, that we are more devoted to the Lord.
But here's the truth: pushing ourselves to do more reflects that we don't really understand the atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ. Our teacher put it best, "To understand the atonement, we need to understand that we need to be dependent on our Savior."
When we are trying to do more and more, we are not being dependent on the Lord and are, essentially, trying to save ourselves, instead of accepting that Jesus Christ has already saved us. We can also get caught in a trap of judgement, because we think that we have to be better than everyone else in the gospel. We naturally begin to judge others because they are doing less than us-not a good thing to do!
W.O.W. Double WOW. That was a huge eye-opener for me. I have always been one of those people that thought that in order for the atonement to work for me, I had to do everything and be absolutely perfect. Yeah, the Lord has given me several reality checks when it comes to this. I didn't truly understand the atonement. The atonement is all about repenting and us letting go of our sins and weaknesses because Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ let them go. It's about doing our best and leaving the rest to the Lord to sort out because we can't do it all. It's about being dependent on Him in every single aspect of our lives, for we are nothing compared to Him, but we are everything to Him. You are everything to Him. He always stands ready to receive you.
So keep his commandments, always remember him, and go as far as you are able to go. Don't do more than He asks of you, or you will be building on a sandy foundation that will only lead you down. Count your blessings. Count your successes. Count everything that you are doing right, not what you are doing wrong.
Look for the sunshine through the clouds, and surely you will see it and it will bring you peace.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
The Comeback Kid...
Hi Y'all! I don't know if you remember Anna Beninati, the Utah college student who lost her legs in a train accident in Colorado last year. Well, look at her now! I read this article this morning on deseretnews.com and it is so inspiring! Please follow the link here to read it. It sure puts life into perspective.
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765613957/The-comeback-kid-After-a-devastating-accident-Anna-Beninati-finds-happiness.html
Friday, October 26, 2012
When Whys Turn to Ways...
This Wednesday I had an appt. with my GI doc in which we decided I would undergo another endoscopy in a couple of weeks due to more (yes, more) gut issues I've been having the past several months. We've been digging this whole time for what exactly is causing the problem. I've made some lifestyle changes and tried different medications to see if they would remedy the situation, but none of them have. I wasn't sure how the wheels in my beloved Dr. Sossenheimer's head would be turning and what he would suggest but felt I needed to go in with an open mind and trust in his expertise as to what to do.
Some of my symptoms sent off red flags in his head, which is not usual. I always stump him, not alarm him! He didn't want to put me through more tests and $$, but said that doing another scope to implant a special testing monitor would show us what's going on and give us the right direction as to what to do.
To read more about this scripture and what it means, please follow this link: http://www.findingamazinggrace.blogspot.com/2012/04/as-much-as-you-trust.html
This will be my tenth EGD, and they are so routine for me that I didn't think it would be a big deal, but for some reason, this time it has been. The stakes are higher because what we're searching for a condition that could require me to undergo a surgery that I really don't want to have to have.
I left the appt. very upset, worried about what all of this meant. But at the same time, my gut and the Spirit told me that this procedure was necessary to gaining answers as to what is wrong and guiding us in how to resolve it. I was really worried about what the results of the procedure would be and what they would mean for me, instead of having the scope in general. My eyes started leaking on I-15 on the way home and the dam burst as I pulled into my driveway. I thought, Why is this happening to me? Why do I have to have one more thing pop up to add to the long list of problems by body has? Why am I so upset when I've had this done so many times? Why am I feeling so anxious if I also feel this is the right thing to do? What should I do?
I don't ask the "Why?" question much anymore, because I have learned over the last 12 years of chronic health problems that these challenges serve a purpose. But on this day when I felt like I just couldn't cope, this scripture quote from Elder Dallin H. Oaks came to mind:
"Brothers and sisters, if your faith and prayers and the power of the priesthood do not heal you from an affliction, the power of the Atonement will surely give you the strength to bear the burden. 'Come unto me, all ye that are heavy laden,' the Savior said, 'and I will give you rest...unto your souls."
("He Heals the Heavy Laden", Ensign November 2006)
The full scripture he quoted above is in Matthew 11: 28-30:
The full scripture he quoted above is in Matthew 11: 28-30:
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
"Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest to your souls.
"For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
To read more about this scripture and what it means, please follow this link: http://www.findingamazinggrace.blogspot.com/2012/04/as-much-as-you-trust.html
It reassured me of what I have been promised time and time again, that the Lord will, to some extent, deliver me from these trials, but for those that stay in this life, I will find rest from them in the next one. So I allowed myself to cry because, well, this is all scary stuff, but I stopped asking the "Why?" question because I reminded myself that Heavenly Father will make a way of strength and deliverance when there seems to be now way in sight. I just have to trust in Him. That seems so hard, but the more and more practice you have doing it, the easier it gets. Twelve years of practice has changed my life, because it has changed me. I would not be who I am today if I had passed through these challenges, some of which have sunk me into a pit of complete and utter despair. But the Savior has lifted me out of that pit and up to higher ground, ground that only He can bring us to.
I know that no matter what, My Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ are with me every aching, tiring, long step of the way, helping me carry the burden. So I'll have my scope, going forward with faith that all will work out in the way He makes, even if that means more surgery for me. He has shown me time and time again that I can handle it and that He will help me through. May we each let go of the Whys so we can see the Ways the Lord is preparing for us.
I know that no matter what, My Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ are with me every aching, tiring, long step of the way, helping me carry the burden. So I'll have my scope, going forward with faith that all will work out in the way He makes, even if that means more surgery for me. He has shown me time and time again that I can handle it and that He will help me through. May we each let go of the Whys so we can see the Ways the Lord is preparing for us.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Life is like a piano...
Last week I underwent my 9th surgery (5 within the past 2 years)...
* Ear Tubes * Appendix * Gallbladder * KneeX3 * Jaw-Bilateral * Hernia RepairX2 *
I haven't had the best of luck when it come to my health ever since I turned 16. It seems my life was absolutely perfect up until this point, when I moved away from what I called home, Austin, Texas. Life was great, my gymnastics couldn't have been better as I was on the road to accomplishing my goals and dreams of being a member of the US Gymnastics Team. I loved school, I had a great group of friends and my ward was awesome - life was just dandy.
Then, all at once, it seemed, I was faced with trial after trial. My health went downhill, I spent weeks upon weeks in the hospital. I didn't have a normal junior or senior year, spending much of my time with a tutor in a hospital bed instead of a normal high school classroom. My family moved and then moved again, 6x in 4 years. I watched my younger brother go down the wrong path. My gymnastics dreams were slipping away as I lost strength and skill, then, just when I thought I was getting back on track, I blew out my knee. I haven't completed college as quickly as I planned because of these set backs. This is just a small glimpse of everything I had to deal with.
But these years are behind me and as I look back on all I have dealt with, it is hard to believe all that I have been through and conquered. I look at the person I am today...
I am stronger.
I am braver.
I am more aware of how much the Lord loves me.
I better understand the power of the atonement.
My testimony has been strengthened with every challenge.
I am more understanding and willing to serve those around me.
I am a better person and have had the power to overcome trials through my Savior, Jesus Christ.
I love the following quote....
"And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions, saying: Lift up your heads and be of good comfort...
"And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage....and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions." -Mosiah 24:13-14
My Surgery went really well. I discovered my first hernia back in November of 2011. I found a lump and not sure what to think of it, called the doctor. At the same time, I realized I was losing weight at an unhealthy level; I lost 25 lbs in 2 months! I went from doctor to doctor and they all wanted to pass me onto someone else because they didn't know what it was. Finally, In January, I re-mentioned it to my GI doctor and he examined me; immediately, without thinking twice, he says "Oh, that's a hernia". So he referred me to Dr. Tittensor for surgery. Then, In March I went in for a repair. The harnia was much larger then she thought, in fact, it was bigger then any she had ever seen in someone as petite and athletic as I. She had to double mesh it to be sure it wouldn't pop back out of place. It was probably the toughest recovery of all my surgeries and I was restricted from doing much for about 6-8 weeks. I remember laying there the first night after surgery in the hospital bed, pleading for comfort, wondering why I had to endure such great pain. I felt so alone and helpless. This was when I truly understood the fullness of the atonement. Our Savior Jesus Christ suffered for all of us.
"And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground." Luke 22:44
"Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole death, and have been slain for the sins of the world." 3Nephi 11:14
In doing so [suffering], Christ “descended below all things”—including every kind of sickness, infirmity, and dark despair experienced by every mortal being—in order that He might “comprehend all things, that he might be in all and through all things, the light of truth.” -Elder Jeffrey R Holland
The atonement is not only for those who have sinned, but for those who are afflicted and sick. In this moment, I felt the Saviors love all around me. He was there by my side. He brought me comfort and reminded me of his great suffering. He knew EXACTLY what I was feeling. He felt my hurt. He shed tears even as I. He suffered much more than any of us can even comprehend. I knew at this moment, I was not alone. I realized that this time would pass, I would regain my strength and the pain would subside. I was able to sleep a little after this. I felt a greater love for my Savior in being there with me that night, when I felt so alone and so incredibly uncomfortable due to my pain levels. I was comforted.
My more recent hernia repair was performed by Dr. Rasmussen - also a great surgeon who was referred to me by Dr. Tittensor. He was able to go in and make the repair. It took about 2 hours because of the complexity of having to work around the previous repair, but my prayers were answered. He fixed it. And according the to beautiful blessing my cousin, Brandon, gave me, it was a permanent fix. I was admitted to the hospital with this repair as well. My blood pressure was dangerously low, therefor, I was unable to receive any type of pain medication the first night. Yeah, you try going without ANY pain medication right after a surgery...It was not a fun night! But again, I was comforted my my Heavenly Father and knew that this too shall pass. And it did. I am now at home, on the road to recovery. I am still having my bad moments, but things are looking up!
I must endure the "black key" moments in my life and know that they are only there to help create a beautiful masterpiece which makes me who I am today. They say practice makes perfect. The more you endure, and the more you are able to see the good in life, the better you will be able to handle challenges that come your way. The better you will become at playing the black keys which help create your own masterpiece!
"And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground." Luke 22:44
"Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole death, and have been slain for the sins of the world." 3Nephi 11:14
In doing so [suffering], Christ “descended below all things”—including every kind of sickness, infirmity, and dark despair experienced by every mortal being—in order that He might “comprehend all things, that he might be in all and through all things, the light of truth.” -Elder Jeffrey R Holland
The atonement is not only for those who have sinned, but for those who are afflicted and sick. In this moment, I felt the Saviors love all around me. He was there by my side. He brought me comfort and reminded me of his great suffering. He knew EXACTLY what I was feeling. He felt my hurt. He shed tears even as I. He suffered much more than any of us can even comprehend. I knew at this moment, I was not alone. I realized that this time would pass, I would regain my strength and the pain would subside. I was able to sleep a little after this. I felt a greater love for my Savior in being there with me that night, when I felt so alone and so incredibly uncomfortable due to my pain levels. I was comforted.
My more recent hernia repair was performed by Dr. Rasmussen - also a great surgeon who was referred to me by Dr. Tittensor. He was able to go in and make the repair. It took about 2 hours because of the complexity of having to work around the previous repair, but my prayers were answered. He fixed it. And according the to beautiful blessing my cousin, Brandon, gave me, it was a permanent fix. I was admitted to the hospital with this repair as well. My blood pressure was dangerously low, therefor, I was unable to receive any type of pain medication the first night. Yeah, you try going without ANY pain medication right after a surgery...It was not a fun night! But again, I was comforted my my Heavenly Father and knew that this too shall pass. And it did. I am now at home, on the road to recovery. I am still having my bad moments, but things are looking up!
I must endure the "black key" moments in my life and know that they are only there to help create a beautiful masterpiece which makes me who I am today. They say practice makes perfect. The more you endure, and the more you are able to see the good in life, the better you will be able to handle challenges that come your way. The better you will become at playing the black keys which help create your own masterpiece!
Monday, October 22, 2012
Lessons of Our Worth
Life sure is sweet, isn’t it? Even in the midst of trials,
tribulations, or let me speak candidly, lots and lots of crappy stuff, life is
amazingly, beautifully wonderful. Sometimes the trials are what help us see and
experience the best life has to give, and help us see our worth.
This must be a lesson the Lord knows I need to learn, because he’s given me
LOTS of experience with it.
This all came back to me last week, as I was sick for the
entirety of it. It started Monday with a stomach flu. Ugh. I handled the first day well, but the second one was
harder, if only because I was stuck indoors with no other human contact. That’s
when I get irritable, and I’m no happy girl! Then I learned I had tonsillitis. Yes, you can get
tonsillitis when you have no tonsils! In a nutshell, I felt horrible.
But while I was sitting pretty in my pity-sarcasm, people-I
prayed to the Lord that he would bless me with something He knew I needed. And as always, he did. My sweet mother sent my brother over with some
food and sent texts each morning to see how I was
doing. Many friends sent texts and
messages of well wishes, asking me what they could do. My niece gave me a big hug even
though I was “a sicky”. All these little happenings brought to the forefront of my memory a time
last year when I was really-and I mean realllllly!!!-sick, and the amazing lesson of love
and worth it taught me.
One Sunday last July my head started to hurt severely, the worst I've ever had in my life-and for those of you who know my headaches, that's really saying something!!! I went to bed with my whole body hurting: muscles, joints, everything. My body had never hurt that bad. I went to work Monday morning souped up on Excedrin and Tylenol but only made it to 12:30 before I knew I had to go home. Even I could not push myself that far. From then on, my body fell apart. The aches worsened; I got a fever, chills and shakes and nausea; and that headache, oh that headache! My head screamed in agony if I moved it even a fraction of an inch. Just sitting still hurt like insanity; I could hardly eat or move, let alone get up and walk.
My Doc and I suspected Meningitis and on Wednesday he told me to go to the Emergency Room because I was getting worse and the blood test they took for Meningitis would take at least 48 hours to run. That day was my birthday. The ER is where I got to spend it, oh joy! I was in there seven hours, got hooked up to fluids, morphine, zofran, had a chest x-ray, CT scan and a spinal tap. Yikes! you say? It was actually amazingly painless, which was a little birthday present from the Lord!
All the tests came back negative but my liver function was really off. Liver enzyme levels are normally around 50. Mine levels were about 400. Talk about toxicity! Because nothing serious was found, they took some more blood to check for things like CMV and West Nile Virus and sent me home.
I was a physical wreck, and my spirit took a dive too. Being sick plummeted me dangerously low. I was unable to work for a week but when I went back I felt useless because my head hurt so badly I could hardly keep my eyes open, let alone play on the floor with my kiddos. I slipped into what I call the "Pit of Despair", which I frequently visit during times like this. I questioned the Lord as to why this was happening and felt like it was because I was a bad, worthless person, and that I wasn't living my life right. But the Lord sent me some divine signatures to prove me wrong. Through this whole ordeal I had a bounty of love and care shown to me by the people in my life. I was shown as plain as can be that I am loved and of great worth.
My mom and dad were my strength through all of this. I received three blessings from my father and felt his great love for me. My mom was my Florence Nightingale. Both of my parents were there for me at all hours of the day or night. Several nights were filled with several trips from their room to where I was sleeping to answer the shrieks of pain I could not control nor stop, get my medicine, take my temperature, and kneel by my bedside as I tried to sleep. It was hard to see the look of worry and concern on their faces because I didn't want to cause them grief or pain. But those looks of concern precisely showed me how much they loved and cared for me.
During my trip to the ER I kept my facebook page updated on all the happenings and it was quickly inundated with messages from family and friends who let me know they were thinking of and praying for me. Over the next week many little blessings occurred. My friend and ward relief society president brought me flowers and a card out of the blue. I had no idea that she even knew I was sick! I received more visits from grandparents, family and friends who wanted to see how I was doing. When I got back to work everyone was excited to see me and I received gifts, hugs and lots of love. I won't try to write here all the gifts I received.
The response was simply overwhelming, and you know, with all I was going through at that time in my life, not just this particular sickness, it's just what I needed. In all honesty, I was grateful I got sick if only because I was able to see evidence of how much I do mean to the Lord and to others, how much I am worth. No, I am not saying that one's worth is based upon other people's feelings for us. Our true worth comes from God, but he sends angels in the form of other people on this earth to help us see that we are of worth to Him and to them. A week after this ordeal began I wrote in my journal about this and thought, Maybe that's the real reason for this trial. No matter if that is the case or not, I need to remember how much this experience showed me that I am loved and that I am of much worth.
Our trials serve specific purposes, which sometimes are impossible for us to discern right at that gut-wrenching moment. People may say, Hindsight is 20/20, no? But those of us with the truth know that it is really the eternal perspective that allows us to, "see beyond this veil of tears to the other side of sorrow." Our worth is great in the sight of God. I don't just believe that, I know it to be true.
Do you? Please share your stories or experiences here!
During my trip to the ER I kept my facebook page updated on all the happenings and it was quickly inundated with messages from family and friends who let me know they were thinking of and praying for me. Over the next week many little blessings occurred. My friend and ward relief society president brought me flowers and a card out of the blue. I had no idea that she even knew I was sick! I received more visits from grandparents, family and friends who wanted to see how I was doing. When I got back to work everyone was excited to see me and I received gifts, hugs and lots of love. I won't try to write here all the gifts I received.
The response was simply overwhelming, and you know, with all I was going through at that time in my life, not just this particular sickness, it's just what I needed. In all honesty, I was grateful I got sick if only because I was able to see evidence of how much I do mean to the Lord and to others, how much I am worth. No, I am not saying that one's worth is based upon other people's feelings for us. Our true worth comes from God, but he sends angels in the form of other people on this earth to help us see that we are of worth to Him and to them. A week after this ordeal began I wrote in my journal about this and thought, Maybe that's the real reason for this trial. No matter if that is the case or not, I need to remember how much this experience showed me that I am loved and that I am of much worth.
Our trials serve specific purposes, which sometimes are impossible for us to discern right at that gut-wrenching moment. People may say, Hindsight is 20/20, no? But those of us with the truth know that it is really the eternal perspective that allows us to, "see beyond this veil of tears to the other side of sorrow." Our worth is great in the sight of God. I don't just believe that, I know it to be true.
Do you? Please share your stories or experiences here!
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