Having a Perfect Brightness of Hope

So this week has been rather rough. But I'll get to that in a minute. The highlights of my week were going to the temple with a couple of my friends. One was my friend Crystal; the other is a new friend named Mia. It was fun to go with those two crazy girls. The other was having a "short" lunch with my sister Megan. By short, I mean it only lasted an hour. For those of my readers who are unaware, my family tends to be very talkative. I imagine some of you will understand a bit better now, why I tend to be rather talkative.

This week, I also got to break out my winter gear which was disappointing. This week I'm slowly closing in on the end of The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan. It is a continuation of the Percy Jackson series.

My roommate Risto pictured in my last post is letting me read it. I also bought the next book in the series called The Son of Neptune. I may like this series a lot considering that when I met one of the new sisters in my home evening group that I thought she looked like Annabeth.

Okay, so my week started and I was slowly coming to a decision. The decision I came to, around Monday evening, was that I was finished with the dating scene for the semester. I won't provide details just know that this was not quickly made decision; I'll just say that my dating history is best summed up by the French phrase "C'est toute une histoire." The next day I was going to do my scripture study and I asked the Lord that if He had anything in particular that He wanted me to read that he would direct me to it. I was prompted to read "Continue in Patience" by President Ucthdorf. As I read I felt the Spirit elbowing me and letting me know that this talk was meant for me to APPLY right now, so I changed my attitude and continued to read. Eventually I got to the part when he talks about how patience requires that we work towards our worthwhile goals and don't get discouraged because results don't instantly appear. I then read this line that was a sharp divine call (for me) to repentance "patience is not passive resignation". I knew right then, that I needed to repent. That afternoon, the devotional was on the Atonement and the temple which reinforced the Lord's message to me. That afternoon I went home and repented.

Well the rest of the week was characterized by lots of homework stress and no progress on the dating front. At first I was annoyed when the Lord reminded me that there must be opposition in all things; this includes dating. On related note, I will say that one of my roommates got engaged this weekend and right now, I am happy to be single because I know I couldn't handle all of the stress of an engagement on top of everything else I have to deal with.

I feel a bit uncomfortable writing this... mainly because I don't talk like talking my love life outside of a small group of people. They know who they are.

So I hope that you will try to listen to the Holy Ghost, especially when it tells you to repent. But more importantly, I hope you don't lose hope in the Lord's promises. I know that they are real, no matter how distance they may seem to you. God loves you. He knows the details of your life and understands your feelings perfectly. Never lose hope; the Atonement can heal you and help you regain the hope that you need. Remember the blessings and many answered prayers that you've had, if those are not great reasons to hope; I don't know what is!

I pray that you all have a good week!

Appreciating Your Own Growth

This week started with me stressing out and freaking out about something I will have to learn to live with for a few weeks. It's not a big deal and the Lord made me aware of that. The Lord let me know that there is still much more happiness and joy to come in the future and I know that He speaks the truth. As some of you know my semester here is rounding to the close and so I will have many exams and things to get done. I also have to clean, pack, and change apartments. It will not be easy but it will "faisable" or capable of being done. The good news is that my weekend included going to the temple and doing some work for some of my family and going to the Family History Center on campus. It was very exciting because I managed to find new information and pictures of some of my ancestors. It was beautiful experience because I found a picture of one of my ancestors for whom I did vicarious work on July 16th of last year. (I didn't remember the date, I looked it up in my journal. I think this is an example that the Lord has perfect timing.)

Something that I've been reflecting on this week is being grateful for having time to learn. I know I sometimes that get frustrated in one situation or bored in another. I've recently thought about where I wanted to be this time two years ago and what it'd be like to be where I had intended. I realized how much worse my situation there would be in comparison to where I am now. I remembered how much I have learned having gone through all the experiences that I have had. While not all of them were pleasant, I recognized that the Lord has been teaching me little by little or "line upon line" while also helping me to draw closer to Him and His son. I like who I am now and I love the lessons that I've learned from my experiences. I'm glad that I'm slowly becoming the man that God wants me to be; I believe that he's a lot better man than the person I had envisioned for myself. This week, I finally thanked the Lord for something I thought I'd never thank Him for..... I thanked Him for the time that I've had to be single because of the opportunities that I've had to learn. I know that much of what I've learned, what I'm learning and what I will learn, will help me to one day get married and stay happily married.

So my thought for the week is to stop and ponder over the last few years of your life. Look at what you've learned and how the Lord has helped you grow and become stronger. Then find a time and place to express your gratitude to Heavenly Father for the more beautiful person that you've become.