God is looking out for you.

HEY!!!
SO!!! I moved in yesterday!! :D

My roommate's name is Sabrina, and she's really nice; she's from Illinois, which is fun!

Yesterday, I did a couple of things:

I had lunch by myself (Gonna be honest. I was okay at first, but when I sat down by myself, and realized I was alone, I cried a tiny bit).

Then I asked where my mailbox was (sadly, I bawled like a baby. That poor woman at the desk! But she was really nice and even had tissues for me :) ), and tried to open it, but it was too high (and I forgot my lanyard has a clip) so I just gave up.

Then, I think I went to the HFAC and asked about the orchestra auditions–the orchestras that are non audition are actual classes, so maybe next semester?

Then I went to the BYU bookstore to pick up my textbooks.

Then I went to the Library and checked out a couple of books. :) I'll probably be there a lot... ;)

Then I went back to my room and chilled until about 6, when I went to the Cannon Center for a Helaman party!! I met several people here, and made three new (close) friends, with whom I had a FANTASTIC night, and a lot of new acquaintances. There were carnival games, food (hot dogs, cotton candy, etc.), pie eating contests (kind of lame; they only had to eat one piece with no hands), music, dancing later, and a magician!! He was so cool!! (Drew was way impressed hahaha!) Then he made us balloon animals and that was really fun!

Today was orientation day #1. I am group Red 8. We have a fun group! I've made several friends. :) We walked a LOT. We walked up hill, down hill, up stairs, down stairs, into buildings, back out of buildings, etc. My feet are KILLING me and my legs are so sore!! But it's been fun! There were a couple of freshman-wide "devotionals" (they weren't really a devotional, but I don't know what else to call them...) that were really cool.

Then we went to the football stadium for our Y picture, and for an intro to some of the athletic programs, and for the lighting of the Y on Y mountain!!! SO cool!!

It's been a great two days!! (Even though I keep getting lost, losing my friends, and forgetting things. ;) )

I just wanted to let you guys know that everything is going great and I'm having a good time. :)

I also wanted to let you know that God loves you, and He is looking out for you. It might not always be when you want–and you may even not want to go and do anything so that He can bless you–but He is always looking out for you and He cares so much about you, even if it's a little thing such as you got blisters on your ankles and needed bandaids, or you needed someone to talk to because you'd been alone all day (that someone could either be a friend you really, really, really missed even though you just talked with her on Monday; oooorrrr it could be a cute guy...Luckily, I got both. ;) ).

Whatever your problems, He is there. I testify that He loves you and will help you if you ask Him and if you try and go and do things–He can't help you if you're sitting on your bed doing nothing. Be proactive! I know He that loves you so much! Please turn to Him!! He will help you and bless you. <3

Xoxo
Mattie

Tender mercies. God loves you. You are not alone.

For seminary, we have to have our bishop send something to the seminary so that they know that we are on track for seminary graduation. Well, I went in, and it came up that I was having some troubles.
And my bishop told me that God loves me. Doesn't matter what I do, my worth to Him will never change.
I am His daughter–I am a daughter of a King––the Almighty God––and He loves me––imperfect, and mistaken, and broken.
He wants me to turn to Him. He wants me to tell Him what is going on in my life. He wants me to turn to Him. He wants me to talk to Him, to pray to Him. That meeting was a tender mercy. I never knew until that moment that I had needed to hear that God loves me no matter what, and that I am His daughter, and that I am not alone. Such a tender mercy! I have always known those things, but I guess recently it hadn't really stuck with me, so hearing it from my bishop was a tender mercy. Because my bishop wants me to–and I really want to and I need to–I am going to try and be better about my prayers and scripture study. It's going to be a little difficult at first, but I know I can do it with Heavenly Father's help.

I give my love to all!

<3 Mattie

He Will Ease Your Burdens.

Well, today in sacrament, Sunday School, and Relief Society, I heard a lot of things that I really needed to hear. Sometimes, telling people what you're having problems with helps you because then it's not just inside you. You're not the only who knows about it anymore. It makes it more real, and you can finally do something about it. We talked about the talk by Elder Bednar entitled "Bear Up Their Burdens with Ease", which you can find here. The only way that Elder Bednar's friend could make the truck go when it was stuck was to fill the truck bed with firewood. He says that "Sometimes we mistakenly may believe that happiness is the absence of a load. But bearing a load is a necessary and essential part of the plan of happiness. Because our individual load needs to generate spiritual traction, we should be careful to not haul around in our lives so many nice but unnecessary things that we are distracted and diverted from the things that truly matter most." Yes, we all have loads. Whether the load is that you don't know if you're being a good mom, or if you don't know what you are going to do when your friend is sick or dying, or if you don't know if Heavenly Father loves you anymore, we all have loads. They are necessary for us to grow. Jesus Christ said, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest...For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" (Matthew 11: 28-30). Go to Him! He loves you so much and He wants to help ease your burdens because He knows. He knows how much your burden hurts you, and He knows how to relieve you. We have burdens so that we can turn to Him. He will help you ease your burdens. He wants us to know that we need Him, because we do. We can't do it all alone. I know, because I've tried. It doesn't work. You need Him. I know that He loves us. I know that He wants to help us with our burdens. I know that if you turn to Him, He will help you because He loves you and He wants you to come to Him.

He suffered for you, which is why He's there for you.

I don't know why, but this week was just so long, and so frustrating, and so hard. I just didn't feel super, super great like I usually do, ya know? I've cried a couple times this week for no apparent reason, but God has prompted me this week with things that have helped me remember who I am, and that have helped me remember who is always there for me: Jesus Christ. Christ is always, always there. When I'm sad, He's there. When I'm confused, He's there. When I feel so, so alone and so angry and so mad and so sad and so frustrated and so, so, so scared, let me tell you something: He is there. I know it's hard to believe sometimes, but He's there. He suffered for you, and He loves you, so why shouldn't He be there? He has felt your pains, and your sorrows, and your sicknesses, and your loneliness. He's felt it all. He knows what you're feeling, and He won't let you feel it alone, if you'll let Him help. He wants you to feel loved, and accepted, and wanted, and He wants you to feel of worth. Which you are all of those things. You're loved, accepted, wanted, and of worth to Him. He loves you so much. And I testify that He lives, and that He died and suffered for you, and that He wants you to turn to Him. He loves you, and I love you, too, and I know He cares about you so, so much. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

He is simply there.

I feel like life is so crazy; sometimes it's hard to do so many things. It makes it hard to keep track of time, and it makes it hard to let go of people who you either need to let go of or should let go of. But it doesn't matter what life throws at you because Christ is always there. I know that I've been saying this a lot, but it's because I know He's there and I feel like it's something that can never be overstated: He is simply always there. Whether or not you believe in Him, He is there. If your mom has died or is really sick and you think He's left you, He hasn't. If your dad is a drunk or left you when you were little and you think Christ isn't there for you, He is. Whatever your circumstances, He is there for you. He loves you so much and wants you to know that He loves you and wants you to come back to our Heavenly Father. I hope you know that it is never too late to return or find Him and I hope you know that He is always reaching out for you.