Having the faith to be patient.

In Luke 1: 38, Mary said, "Behold the handmaiden of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word." I love this scripture because it shows the amount of faith and love that Mary had for God, and for His plan for her. Even though there was a lot of things that she didn't know about what was going to happen, and even though the situation wasn't entirely ideal for her or Joseph, she still had faith in her Heavenly Father. I can learn from Mary's example of faith and love in and for the Lord and trust that He has an extraordinary plan for me, and that if I ask Him, He will help me know and understand His plan for me. 

In his talk entitled "Faith Is Not by Chance, but by Choice", Elder Andersen said that, "Faith in Jesus Christ is a gift from heaven that comes as we choose to believe and as we seek and hold on to it." I love this quote because not only does it say that faith is a gift from heaven, but it says that it is our choice. Much like Mary, who chose to believe in her Father in Heaven's plan for her, I can choose to believe in my Father's plan for me. I can choose to have faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, and I can choose to continue to have faith, despite any uncertainties or questions that may come up in my life. There is much that I do not know and understand about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and there is much that I do not know and understand about life. But I choose to believe in a loving Heavenly Father and Savior, and I choose to have faith that everything will work out in the end. I choose to have faith that as long as I am doing my part, and as long as I am trying to love and serve those around me, that everything will be okay.

In her song "The Waiting Place", Calee Reed shares the message that God is always with us. Sometimes, even when we've been faithful, God doesn't always show us what we should do. It feels like He has left us alone. We keep pleading, pleading, pleading for answers, direction, peace, and love. 

"As we beg for peace, and trust in His love,
We may not get the answers we want
But answers come pouring from heaven above
And He whispers, You will know what to do
Just keep listening for direction
The path is yours to choose
Turn your heart where I beckon
Every question will be answered
So don't lose your faith
God is here waiting with you in your waiting place
You are never alone in your waiting place."

The answers will come. The peace will come. They might not be what we are looking for, but they will come. We just need to have faith, and we just need to keep praying, and keep listening. God is there. I promise.

Story time: In the summer of 2017, I was feeling a little lost, and I felt like I needed something more in my life. I was feeling kind of...stagnant in my testimony. So I wanted to start preparing to go through the temple. I didn't entirely feel ready, though. I went through the temple prep classes, and I was reading my scriptures and praying, but I still wasn't feeling ready. So I put it on the back burner, but it was still something I wanted. In the summer of 2018, I went to work at a scout camp up at Bear Lake. I was able to spend a lot of time in nature, connecting with my Savior, and my Father in Heaven. By the end of the summer, I had learned a lot and grown closer to my Savior. I finally felt ready! After discussing things with Bishop, I went to the temple prep classes again. Afterwards, I felt like there was no need for me to wait anymore. And so we set up an appointment for my temple recommend interview for the following month...and it's almost here! On Tuesday, I am meeting with Bishop (and the stake president) for my interview! And on Saturday, January 19th, 2019, I will be going through the temple for the first time!! I cannot wait! I am so excited!! And I am so thankful that I decided to wait till I actually felt ready. Before, it was just something that I wanted and thought I needed, and that's good. That's a good start. But I could feel that I wasn't ready; I needed more time. And somehow...somehow I was able to be patient as I worked with myself in being ready. And I am so thankful that I was able to work on myself, and my testimony more. I know that God has blessed me in the past year and a half since I decided that I wanted to work towards this goal, and I am so grateful for His love and hand in my life!

This experience has been amazing. As I'm looking back, I'm realizing that I was not only patient, but I was ecstatic to be patient! I didn't want to go through if I didn't feel ready. I feel blessed that I was able to understand how special and sacred this experience is going to be, and how I have wanted to be as prepared as I can be. I am grateful that I had the faith to be patient, and wait till I felt ready. I am grateful that I have had such a loving support system, and I am grateful that I have had such a special desire to wait until I was ready to go through. I know that God will bless me for that.

I am grateful that I will have such a busy week at school this week! It will help the week go by faster as I am waiting for Saturday to come! I am looking forward to this semester, and to growing and learning. I am looking forward to graduating in June! I can't believe I am almost done with school! I am looking forward to getting out in the world and to making my mark! I can't wait to see what I do!

Have a great week!

Xoxo
Mattie

Do you have room for Him in your life?

So today during the sacrament I was just thinking about my Savior and how grateful I am for Him.

I am ever so grateful for the sacrifice of my Savior. Too often I have made the same mistakes, but He is there to pick me up every time. I've found that change is hard by yourself, so I am grateful that I can count on Jesus Christ to be there for me. He helps me, supports me, and loves me, even when I feel like I don't deserve an of it. He brings peace to my life when I'm stressed, and He saves me when I'm drowning. There isn't any one that I trust like I trust Jesus. I'm grateful that I can depend on and turn to Him in times of stress in my life. 

Not that I didn't love any of the lessons I learned in church today–I did–but I had a few Facebook memories pop up today and I wanted to share and talk about them instead of the lessons in church today.

The memories are two articles about Joseph, and what we know about him and his role in Jesus' life. I highly recommend reading them–the second one is actually a video though. The first article can be found here and the video one found here. We don't know very much about Joseph, but from what we read of him in the few times he's mentioned in the New Testament, we know that he was obedient to God's commandments. We know that he was a just man, and compassionate, and very loyal.

I wanted to talk about Joseph because he helped raise Jesus–he taught Him how to be a carpenter, and how to work hard. I think that much of Jesus' work ethic comes from Joseph. I think that His tenderness and love comes from Mary, but His work ethic comes from watching and learning from Joseph. His obedience and compassion comes from both. I don't think that Jesus could have had a better set of parents to teach and help Him grow. His relationship with His mother was very sweet and beautiful, and it's possible that His relationship with Joseph was one of admiration. I believe that Joseph was very good to Mary, and Jesus saw that, and knew that Joseph was very loyal, and kind, and was a wonderful example.

In addition to these two articles about Joseph, I also wanted to share this music video. Very sweet and very humbling to think about. There was no room for Him in the inn. Our lives are crazy and busy all the time. Do you have room for Him in your life?

I'm so grateful for my Savior, and for His mother, Mary, and for Joseph, and for all that He learned from them. What wonderful examples they were to Him, and are to me.

I know that this week is going to be crazy for us all as we finish preparing for Christmas next Sunday, but I want us all to take a moment or two each day to remember the reason for the season, and the reason for every day. Remember why we have a Savior, and how we can change for the better this upcoming year. I hope everyone has a very safe and beautiful holiday season!

Xoxo
Mattie