Love is putting someone else's needs before yours.

Just a quick little blog post today! It's been a busy weekend and week so I didn't have a lot of time to do a post today!

I am so ready for the semester to be over! I still have a lot to do but I'm hopeful I can get it done! I'm so thankful for my Savior...it's been a rough couple of weeks and I've been blessed with the people in my life that I need to get through them. I am grateful for the scriptures, and for the peace and comfort that they bring to me. They've been a blessing this past couple of weeks, but especially this past week. I am grateful for the fact that I have gotten through this semester. It's been soo rough, guys....But I've had my Savior to rely on, and the most amazing and wonderful roommates and friends. I've really been blessed. I have honestly felt so loved this semester and this school year, which I am so grateful for. I know that God loves me, and I am so grateful that He lets me start over again.

Daniela said something in her lesson today that was a quote from her grandmother, and I really, really loved it. She said, "You're gonna do a really hard thing, but you're gonna do it really, really well." I absolutely loved that!! Life is a really difficult thing, and sometimes we go through really difficult trials, and oftentimes we don't know why. But we are able to get through it, and we are able to use it to make us someone better than who we currently are.

In Relief Society today, I wrote down something that I really loved and wanted to share. These are just some of my thoughts based on what we talked about today.

"Love is sacrifice. I can sacrifice my temptations, and I can show Him that I love Him more than the desire to give in to my temptations." "Love is putting someone else's needs before yours." ~Olaf (Frozen) And since I love the Lord....I am going to put Him above everything else.

Megan said something in her testimony that I loved. She said, "Not only is the gospel something we live, the gospel is something we can be." I love that!! She is such an amazing person!! I love her so much and am so grateful for her love, sacrifice, service, and friendship!!

I am so grateful for the lessons today!! I heard and learned what I needed to hear, and I made new commitments that I am optimistic I can keep!

I am so grateful for the progress that I've made in my final projects for school. I think that I will be able to finish them adequately well and in time.

I am grateful for the brief chance I had to chat with/FaceTime a few of my siblings tonight. Crazy though they are, I really do love them and am so grateful for them.

I am so grateful for all of the people in my life. I am grateful for blessings, and for miracles. I am grateful for honestly good, down-to-earth people who come into my life right when I need them, and who make my life so much happier.

I love the Lord. I love my Savior. I am grateful for His Atoning Sacrifice, and I am grateful for His love. I am grateful for the chances that I have been given to start again, and I am grateful for the love and support that I receive from my friends and family. I am looking forward to finishing out this school year and to starting my summer job (starting in June) at BEAR LAKE!! I am going to be working at a scout camp with my friend and I am so excited!! It's going to be amazing!! Going back to school in the fall will be super fun because I am so close to being done with my schooling! I only have two semesters left after this one!!

I have learned so much from going to school. Honestly, I've really kind of doubted me even needing to go to school, because I've been thinking, "I'm just going to go back to like, watching kids or whatever. I don't really think this education is necessary." But these past couple of weeks, I have been learning a lot that I didn't know before, and I have been looking into different internship possibilities, and I am actually interested in a couple of different things than I originally thought. And I have been thinking that, even if I don't end up using my education, it will be helpful for me in the long run because I will always have human interactions, and I will always need to know how people work. So I am grateful for my education, and for the time that I have spent here at BYU.

I am also grateful for the memories I have made. I have met so many people who have all blessed my life in one way or another. I don't know who I would be if I hadn't gone to college....and honestly, I don't think I want to find out. I love who I am. I am learning, and growing, and standing on my feet. I am making mistakes, and trying again, and finding people, and loving people, and accepting people, and showing people what they mean to me. I am taking other broken and mending people and I am helping mend them. And they, in turn, are helping mend me. That's what love is all about.

Xoxo
Mattie

It takes time.

Today was a really beautiful day–a little chilly, but the sun is shining, and the sky is so blue. ❤️

So my thoughts during the sacrament today were mostly about what I have and can do because of and through the Atonement of Jesus Christ:

I am a daughter of God, who is a King of the most high. I have a divine nature and destiny. Through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ I am able to be forgiven and start again. Through the Atonement, I am able to live with my family forever. Through the Atonement, I have the Lord on and by my side. Through the Atonement, I can know my worth. Through the Atonement, I can feel peace. Through the Atonement, I can find joy and happiness. Through the Atonement, I have found the love of my Savior, and that love has brought me strength in the hard times.

The topic of sacrament meeting today was how trials and tribulations can help us change and become who we were meant to become. Parker said that we didn't come here to earth to be comfortable; we came here to grow. I think each speaker mentioned weaknesses at some point, and how we can make them strengths with the Lord's help. Ether 12:27 was mentioned a lot today as a whole, and I know that it was for me. I'm working hard on some things but I can work a little bit harder. Sam said that trials allow us to choose–to give up, and give in to weakness, or to be humble, and have faith in the Lord. If we put our faith in God, there is no trial we can't get through. Brother Durfey spoke a few words at the end of the meeting before the closing song and said, "If it doesn't challenge us, it doesn't change us," and I loved that. ❤️

We talked about the priesthood in Gospel Doctrine today, and my eyes were opened to the fact that the Aaronic Priesthood is more of the physical things–baptism, blessing and passing of the sacrament, home teaching–and the Melchizedek Priesthood is more of the spiritual things–gift of the Holy Ghost, temple ordinances, blessings of comfort and counsel, etc. I thought that was so cool! We also talked about the Law of Moses and that time period, and Rosie mentioned that when they lost the Melchizedek Priesthood, all of their temple ordinances were more on the physical side of things, because they only had the Aaronic Priesthood. It was a really great lesson and I learned a lot.

Relief Society today was great! As it always is. ❤️ It was based on Elder Bednar's talk entitled "Always Retain a Remission of Your Sins," and I highly recommend it. There were a lot of great things that we talked about, but a few of the most important ones to me today were that 1) Remission takes time; 2) it's okay to fall down...just do what you can; and 3) it's never too late. Changing who you are takes time, but it's never too late. There is a song by Hilary Weeks that talks about this, and I have probably shared it before, but it's a good song. It's called, Even When, and around 3:28 is when it takes about taking time, but the whole song is about how God loves us still, even when we make mistakes. Even when we fall. He will always love us.

I am so grateful for everything that was talked about today. I realized today that I'm still a little broken and I'm still healing, but I also realized that that is okay. Even though it does take time (apparently more than I thought), I don't have to do it by myself. I am so grateful to have my Savior to depend on, and to have my Heavenly Father to turn to. I know He loves me, and I know He loves you. I know that you can always depend on Him. And you can always depend on me. I am here for you whenever. I love you and want you to be happy and healthy. Remember that you are a son or daughter of a loving Heavenly Father, who knows what you need to become the best you that you can become. Your trials may not make sense to you at all–and you may not know why the same one just never goes away–but God knows what He's doing. Trust Him, because I do. I trust Him with all of my heart. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Xoxo
Mattie

Jesus Christ, Healer.

I am so thankful for the opportunity I had this month to delve deeper into who Jesus Christ is as our Saviour and Redeemer and the other names I chose to focus on. I am going to end with Jesus Christ as our Healer. The reason He atoned for us, and died for us, was because He loved us, and He wanted to be able to help us get back to our Heavenly Father. We can't do that alone; we all make mistakes, and we all become broken pieces of what we used to be. And Jesus is there to help us heal. When I made a big mistake a couple years ago, I became broken, and miserable, and I felt so alone. But guess what? Jesus was there, and He helped me pick up the pieces, and slowly—ever-so-slowly—I have been putting them back together. Sometimes I break some of the pieces again, but He is so patient, guys. You don't understand how patient He is!! I am still putting the pieces together, but He is always right there, helping me. I love Him so much because He has done so much for me when I caused Him so much pain, but He loves me and that is why He atoned and died for me. That is why I know I am never alone: because He loves me! He died for me! And I will never be able to thank Him enough! He is my Saviour, my Redeemer, my Mediator, my Healer, and my Best Friend. I can always count on Him because He never leaves me. He has always been there for me when I needed Him; He has never left my side, especially when I needed Him the most. That is when He picked me up and carried me because I could not walk! He know everything about me and how I work, and so He knows what I can handle and what I can't and He works with me through everything—when I am frustrated about school, about my family, about myself as a person—He works with me through all of that and more. Guys, I don't know what else to say except this little bit of a song I'm working on:

"In a sea of faces, I only know so many

But He knows them all personally

He knows your doubts

He knows your fears

He knows all about you

He knows your hopes

He knows your dreams

He knows all about you

He knows

He knows you."

That is all I have so far but it is so true! He knows everything about you and He knows you personally. I love you all and I know that God loves you very much. Don't ever forget that. We can't comprehend how much sometimes, but He died for us; that's the price He was willing to pay for us. Just remember that He knows you, He loves you, and He died for you.