A Challenge

As I talked to a friend the other day, he asked me when the last time was that I had written something positive and happy in my journal.  After some investigation, I realized it had been a while since I had written anything that was "happy". . . let me just say that my journal is kind of a place to puke out the feelings I'm having when I'm going through a rough time.  So he challenged me to write something positive, even though this isn't my journal, I do want to express feelings. 

To start off I have to start by telling all my friends and family how truly awesome I think they are.  I have been so blessed in my life with awesome, awesome people.  I truly can say that I would not be where I am, going on a mission, or have accomplished the things that I have without the people who are in my life -  who are always teaching me and advising me to move in the right direction.

As I sat in Church the other day, my mind kept wandering back to the people who have been in my life very recently who have changed so many things for me.  My Father in Heaven loves me a lot, because he has surrounded me with angels who lift and bear me up.

We all have struggles.  I was reading this passage of scripture the other day, and it hit me (why I hadn't thought much of it before is a wonder to me as well) that in verse 25 it says the rain will come, floods will come, winds will blow, and it will beat upon our house (us) - BUT it fell not!


3 Nephi 14: 24-27

 24 Therefore, whoso heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, who built his house upon a ^arock—

 25 And the ^arain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it ^bfell not, for it was founded upon a rock.

 26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them not shall be likened unto a ^afoolish man, who built his house upon the ^bsand—

 27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell, and great was the fall of it.

We shall have struggles.  The Lord never said we wouldn't.  He never said it would be easy, that He would take our problems away.  A while ago I went to my grandparents and she shared these scriptures with me: 

Alma 5:14-15

 14 And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye ^aspiritually been ^bborn of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty ^cchange in your hearts?

 15 Do ye exercise faith in the redemption of him who ^acreated you? Do you look forward with an eye of faith, and view this mortal body raised in immortality, and this corruption ^braised in incorruption, to stand before God to be ^cjudged according to the deeds which have been done in the mortal body?

 16 I say unto you, can you imagine to yourselves that ye hear the voice of the Lord, saying unto you, in that day: Come unto me ye ^ablessed, for behold, your works have been the works of righteousness upon the face of the earth? 

Do we have faith sufficient to believe in ourselves, as well as our Savior?  Struggles and hard times will come, but we don't have to walk alone.  Ever.

So, I guess what my point is, is that we need to stop a little more often and realize the blessings we have (count your blessings!) and know that it isn't going to be easy.  I'm sure the Savior didn't have it easy when He knelt in Gethsemene or fasted for 40 days and nights, or when He hung on the cross.  Believe in yourself.  Have faith. Don't forget who you really are!

He's Been There Before

He's Been There Before

The alarm rings at 6:30; I stumble to my feet I grab my companion's bedding and pull off his sheet. A groan fills the room. "It's already time to arise? It seems like just a second ago I was able to shut my eyes." The morning activities follow: study, prayer and such When its time to leave the apartment, you feel as if you haven't accomplished much "We have a super day planned," my companion says with a grin. I lowly utter a faithless breath, "Yea, if anyone lets us in." With the word of God and my faithful schwinn, we ride off in the street. Prepared to face another day of humidity and heat It's 9:30 in the evening, the day is almost through. My companion and I are riding home, not accomplishing what we thought we'd do. We ride up to the mail box hoping to recieve a lot. Only to look inside and hear my echo reverberate "AIRBOX" We go up to our apartment; the day is now complete the only thing to show for our work is a case of blistery feet It's past 10:30 p.m., my companion is fast asleep. Silence engulfs me all about and I begin to weep In the midst of sadness I kneel down to pray; I need to talk to Father, but I'm not sure what to say. "Oh Father," I begin, "What happened to us today? I thought we'd teach somebody, but everyone was away My hands, my aching hands worn, hurt and beat If our area was any smaller,we'd have knocked on every street." Why on missions are the days so much alike? the only difference about today was the flat tire on my bike. Will you send some cooler weather? The heat is killing me! I sweat so bad, it gets in my eyes. It's very hard to see. Why do I have to wear a helmet, isn't your protection enough? People always laugh at me and call me stupid stuff. Please send us investigators so I may give them what they lack; I want to give them a Book Of Mormon, the weight of them hurts my back." And what about my family? They don't have much to say. I'm sick of not hearing from home day after day. Oh Father,why am I here, am I just wasting my time? Sometimes I just want to go home, I'm sorry but that's on my mind. My companion, Heavenly Father, what are you giving me? The way he rides his bicycle I don't know if he can even see! There you have it, I can't go on. I don't know what to do! That, my Father in Heaven, is the prayer I leave for you." My prayer now finished I stand up, then jump right into bed. I need my feet for tomorrow; we have another long day ahead Sleep starts to overtake me, I seem to drift away. Then it sems a vision takes me to another time in another day. I'm standing alone on the hill, the view is very nice. A man walks towards me and says, "My name is Jesus Christ." Tears of joy well up inside, I fall down to His feet. "Arise he states, follow me to the shade, you and I need to speak." My attention towards my Savior, total and complete He says, "Your Mission is similar to that which happened to me. I understand how you feel, I know what your going through; In fact, it would be fair to say, I've felt the same as you. "I even know how you felt when no one listened to you At times I felt not quite sure what else I could do. I know you don't like to ride a bicycle for a car would be sweet. Just remember the donkey I rode, was not equipped with 21 speed. I understand you don't like sweating, in fact it's something to hate. I remember when I sweat blood from every pore, " Oh, the agony was great. I see you don't like your companion you would rather have someone else. I once had a companion named Judas who sold my life for wealth. It's hard to wear a helmet and have people make fun of you. I remember when they put thorns in my head and called me the King of the Jews. So you feel burdened down by the weight of your pack. I recall how heavy the cross was when they slammed it on my back. Your hands hurt from tracking and knocking on doors all day I guess when they pounded nails inro mine, I ache in a similar way. It's hard not to hear from home when your family was not there to see. I lost communication on the cross and cried, "Father, why has though forsaken me?" We have a lot in common, but there is a difference between us you see. I endured to the end and finished my mission, so follow and do like me." He embraced me with his arms, His light filled me with His love. With tears in my eyes, I watched as he went back to the Father above. I stood with awe and wonder when a beep rang in my head. I listened and heard the alarm, when I realized I was in my bed. My companion let's out a groan, "6:30 already, no way!" I sat up and said. "Come on, I'll even carry your scriptures today!" No matter what we go through when we feel we can't take any more, Just stop and think about Jesus Christ, He's been there before

by Troy Whittle