Adversity and Hope

I hope you will forgive this personal post today.  I’ve been thinking, as I am sure many in the world have about what happened recently in Connecticut.  I know there are some bloggers who are planning to go silent today in remembrance and respect of those families, but I’ve decided that for me I would rather say a few words…

I purposefully leave out a lot of current events on this blog.  It is not a political blog or even a daily news blog, so I feel like a lot of discussion about those types of events without any particular knowledge on the topic is not the best choice for me.

But since it is a few days before Christmas, and a lot of us have raw feelings from current events, I thought instead of waiting til Christmas like I usually do, the most helpful thing I could do to help me feel better is to just share my testimony with you.  I hope you will not mind.

Sunday, in church the topic was adversity.  The topics are assigned far in advance, and I am pretty sure the Spirit had a large sway the the choice for this week’s topic.  I know that all of us go through trials in our lives, some of us are tested often and some tests seem a little too much for one person to bare.  I personally know what it feels like to feel so overwhelmed and angry by a trial, that I didn’t want the help of my Father in Heaven or his Son, if only for a short second.  But from that experience, where for a few short minutes the Lord in His mercy let me feel the weight alone, I learned how much of my burden the Lord carries for me when I am struggling, and now, I try to never push away his support and love.

I love the Christmas season, and I have been loving teaching my daughters about the birth of our Savior.  I have been trying my hardest to help them understand why we celebrate Christmas, and what the meaning behind His birth is, and what He has done for us.  I am so thankful for my faith in Jesus Christ, I am thankful for his mercy toward me and my family.  Each of us individually need him, and the atonement he made for us to change our lives and hearts, to be better people.

In the light of recent events, I am so much more aware how our agency to choose how we act, effects other people.  That can be one of the hardest lessons to learn in life.  Because this has been on my mind, I am going to try a little harder to treat, family, friends and strangers with a little more kindness.  And hope that my choices will effect everyone I meet for the better.

I know that not everyone who reads my blog is of the same faith, and I do not want to focus on one individual faith, but hope rather that all who are suffering this season will feel peace for a better life.  That we can still hope for better things and that through service to others and charity for those around us that we can all see positive changes in our world.

I hope that if you can you will consider donating to the families who have lost so much. 

If any of you do want to know more about my religion, there is information here.  Thanks!