With Him, I can do it all.

Today was a great day at church. There were several messages that were received today but one of the main ones that I noticed was about trusting God. And my thoughts during the sacrament, I think, helped shape how I viewed the rest of the meetings.

My relationship with my Savior is wholly dependent upon me and my efforts. He will always be there for me, but I must do the work to create or keep our relationship up. Some days/weeks are better than others, but there is always room for improvement. It's been a crazy couple of weeks/months for me and one of my roommates said something the other day. She said maybe what I'm supposed to be learning from these experiences is to trust my Heavenly Father. Like, blindly trust. I trust Him, and I love Him, but these past few weeks have been really hard, and stressful, and maybe I just need to let go, and let Him. It's hard because I hate feeling helpless, and I hate not being able to do something, but that is the real question: do I trust Him enough to let go? I am trying to let go because I hope so. But there really isn't anything I can do about it right now, other than wait, so I'm hoping, and trying, and trusting in Him. 

Trusting someone is a lot harder than you'd think. Telling them things about yourself, thoughts you've had, that no one else knows...is hard.
Turning to God, and letting go of things you're struggling with–decisions you're still trying to understand, things you're trying to let go of–is hard.
Trusting is HARD. But it's worth it. It's worth not going through it alone. It's worth having an outside point of view. For so long, you've been doing it alone, and you've had only your view on it. Letting someone else in, and trusting someone else with a part of you, is worth it. It's hard, and can be stressful, and terrifying, but it's worth it.

Maybe another one of the things I'm supposed to be learning is that I need to get out of my head. I mean, I think I already knew that, but lately, since I've started seeing a therapist, and have been working on my anxiety and depression, I've noticed that I'm better only when I'm out of my head. Having the opportunity to be inside my head makes things worse. I think that these actually go hand-in-hand. I need to trust that the things I think people are thinking about me aren't actually happening. I need to trust that when people say they love me or like me as a person, they mean it. I need to trust that these people–who I'm 1000% sure were placed in my life because of my Heavenly Father–really do love me. They really do care about me. And they don't think about me in the way that I am worried that they do.

I know that Heavenly Father is guiding me. I know He is taking me to a place where I need to be, when I need to be there...but trying to get me to let go of these problems that I am going through is really hard. I am trying, and I'm making progress, but it's really hard. I'm grateful that He is merciful, and patient, and always willing to work with me, because I don't know what I'd do without Him. I can do hard things. I can work through these problems and experiences. I can trust Him. I can let go. It will take time, and it is taking time, but I can do it. I can do it with Him.

Xoxo
Mattie

I can do hard things.

I am a super lucky duck! I went home last weekend, and the lesson in Relief Society was on adversity. In Relief Society today (in my singles ward), we learned about adversity again! Which is such a blessing! Kelsie talked differently about some things that I needed to hear for this week, which is going to be insane!!

-Doing the hard things in life will help us in the end.
-Trials are helping us move forward.
-Look at trials as an opportunity to build up.
-Heavenly Father puts things in our life to stretch us and help us grow.
-When one door closes, another door opens.
-We won't be tempted beyond what we can withstand.
-You have every reason to be happy and optimistic and confident.
-The Savior will ease and lighten our loads/burdens.
-We need to ask and be ready for His help and assistance.
-This is a time of hope and excitement; the Gospel is being spread throughout the world!
-Do the hard things. Ask for help. Work with the Lord.

So grateful for this lesson!! Her theme was "I can do hard things" and I love that!

Sacrament meeting was based on the significance of the temple. Some of my favorite quotes/lessons from sacrament meeting were:
-Heaven isn't far when you're in the temple.
-Going to the temple is a privilege that we must earn.
-The purpose of a temple recommend is so that you are prepared for the temple.
-The most meaningful thing we can do for our ancestors is help them get sealed, and receive the blessings of the temple.
-The greatest service we can do is one that will last through the eternities (family history work/temple work).
-Temples bring comfort and peace.

Today was a great day, full of great lessons!! This week will be crazy, but I can do hard things!! :)

I can do this.

Hi guys!!!

So, today I had church at my new ward...It was a little weird because there were no little kids, and it was very quiet during sacrament meeting, which was strange. In Relief Society we talked about how the young women's program was to help us grow and develop personally, and Relief Society is about helping other people. We said the young women's theme and it made me miss home but I enjoyed the lesson and am excited for this opportunity to learn and grow with other sisters my own age and in my own hall. :)

There are a lot of great girls in my ward, and I'm excited to get to know them. :) I haven't really met any of the guys yet, but I am excited to get to know my ward. 

My friend said that I should take the opportunity to enjoy the quiet sacrament meetings and I will...It was just a little odd because I'm so used to it being noisy during the meeting.

I start my job tomorrow, and I also start my classes tomorrow. Wish me luck!!! I'm super nervous, but I know that the Lord will help me.

It might take me a couple weeks, but I know that I can do this. I can do this. It'll be a little difficult at first, but I can do it. 

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." (Philippians 4:13)

Forget not that the Lord loves you (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Forget Me Not", Oct. 2011).

Xoxo
Mattie

I can count on Him to be there.

I know, I know...this is my third post in three days. But so much has happened and I have so much to be grateful for. First, I got into BYU, which is super fantastic!! I'm so excited!!! I can't wait!!!! Second, third term is super hard, and I've been a little behind in my math class. I never thought I would get my math homework done this weekend because I had two assignments to do, test corrections to do, and a quiz to do, but I'm finished with one of my assignments and almost done with my second assignment, and my quiz isn't due until Wednesday, and I know that I couldn't have done it without my Savior. He has given me the strength to do what I thought was impossible. I'm so worried about passing my math class, but all my other classes I don't have to worry about, which means that I can spend more of my time doing my math homework if I need to (I don't want to, but sometimes I need to). He has given me the patience to do everything in a short amount of time. This isn't the first time that I have been behind in my math class (and I'm sure it won't be the last), but I know that I can count on my Savior to be there and to help me keep up with my work.

I can do hard things.

So, I just have to say that I got into BYU!!!! I'm so excited!! I can't wait to start the next chapter of my life, but first, I have to finish the current one. Bleh, haha...High school is hard–third term especially. But I know I can do it. I can do hard things. God is on my side, and He will not let me fail as long as I do my part. I'm so excited and glad that I got into the school I wanted to. I know that I will learn and grow there in ways that I never could elsewhere, and I also know that I will meet people that will help me in my life–for better or for worse, they will have an impact on me–and I on them. I will need to "be strong and of good courage" (1) and "stand in holy places" (2) because no one will be there to tell me what to do. But I can do it, and I can be an example for those around me. I know that God knows what He is doing and I know that I can be a good example and do good things at BYU. Wish me luck! :)

1-Joshua 1:9
2-D&C 87:8