This Christmas Season

The Christmas season is always such a special time of the year.  It's a time for being with family and friends.  A time of giving, loving, and serving.  It's a time where hearts are turned to the Savior, His remarkable birth and life, and how He changed the fate of mankind forever.  And while it is a wonderful time of year, it is easy to lose the meaning and wonder of the season.  The checklists seem to grow longer and longer, the hours stretch on trying to get everything done, and there always seems to be one more gift to buy or one more event to attend.  The demands on our time, energy and spirit can sometimes be overwhelming and instead of feeling uplifted, we can end up feeling drained.  The magic and joy we once felt as a child can dim as we get caught up in all of our responsibilities and the hustle and bustle of the season.  So how do we keep the right focus and actually enjoy the season?

I believe one of the first things is to make sure that we are taking care of ourselves.  I know that it can be hard especially this time of year when we're trying to do so much for so many people.  It's easy to feel a bit guilty for thinking of taking time for ourselves, but as contradictory as it seems, as we take time for ourselves, we actually will be able to give more to others while also maintaining our own well being and happiness.  One analogy I have always loved is that of a lamp.  We can't give light to others if our lamps are empty of oil.  So it is important that we take these small, simple moments to recharge and take care of ourselves.  Stephanie Lahart once said,  "Go above and beyond for yourself! You do it for family, friends, and colleagues, but don’t forget about YOU. It’s important to include yourself… You are worthy of your own kindness, too!"

Another thing that has helped me to keep the right focus of the season is to take moments for reflection and rededication.  With the New Year coming on and this year coming to a close, it's a good time to think about what we have accomplished, what were our wins, triumphs, and blessings of the past year.  We can think about what we would like to do better the next year, and how we can finish the year strong and start the New Year off right.  "There is no better time than now, this very Christmas season, for all of us to rededicate ourselves to the principles taught by Jesus the Christ. It is the time to love the Lord, our God, with all our heart — and our neighbors as ourselves. It is well to remember that he who gives money gives much; he who gives time gives more; but he who gives of himself gives all." (Thomas S. Monson)  


This leads me to my next point - sometimes we overcomplicate things.  This time of year there is so many good things to do.  There is service to do, family to visit, holiday traditions to carry out, parties to attend, shopping to get done, decorations to put up, and on and on and on.  These things are all good and fun to do.  But sometimes we get so concerned about making those perfect memories or a picture-perfect Christmas that we end up missing out on some of the best moments.  Sometimes by slowing down and simplifying things, we are able to enjoy even more time with those we hold dearest and to create more lasting memories.  I love the quote, "Voluntary simplicity means going fewer places in one day rather than more, seeing less so I can see more, doing less so I can do more, acquiring less so I can have more." (John Kabat-Zinn).  As contradictory as it seems, it actually works.
Finally, we need to make sure that we are taking the time to show both love and gratitude.  Starting with Thanksgiving and continuing into the Christmas season, we have the opportunity to reflect upon the many blessings that we have received. There are so many people who have blessed our lives and helped to shape us into the person we are today.  Christmas is such a wonderful time of year to give back and express our appreciation and love to them.  As we show our gratitude and love, our hearts begin to be filled even more with the Spirit of Christ, and more love, joy, and light come into our lives. Most of all it's a time to reflect on God's greatest gift to us of His Son.  

"Because of Jesus the Christ, we need never feel like strangers again. We will rise with the just when he returns! And because of His perfect life and eternal sacrifice, one day we can stand with the angels of heaven and receive with them an eternal gift.

May we, this Christmas season, remember our generous Heavenly Father and give profound and heartfelt thanks to our Almighty God, who has given all of his children wings to fly." Dieter F. Uchtdorf

 I am so grateful for this wonderful time of year to remember our Savior and be with those we love.  I hope that we may all have a wonderful Christmas this year, and as Tiny Tim famously said, "God bless us every one"

When Things Don't Go As Planned

As I've been talking to some friends lately, we've all commented on how life has changed for us, the different paths that we have taken, and the unexpected bumps and turns along the way.  Sometimes it can be so frustrating to think that we have figured out our path only to find that life leads us in an entirely new direction.  At times we can all feel a bit like Alice in Wonderland, not knowing where we are going or who we are anymore; feeling like things just aren't going the way we want them to no matter how hard we try.  So how do we keep moving on? How do we keep persevering when things don't seem to be going our way?  I found a simple answer to these questions from a quote by Robert Frost who said, "In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on."   

Sometimes life can really tear us down. We can be hurt, betrayed, broken, and feel overwhelmed by despair.  Life can throw at us unexpected heartbreaks and challenges, and even though it may not feel like it at the moment, we have to remember that life goes on.  Bridges that were burned can be rebuilt and hearts can be healed. It may be hard to pick ourselves back up, but that is what we need to do.  We can't give in and we can't give up.  Some days it's all we can do to put one foot in front of the other, but if that's all we can do then we can count that as a victory and keep moving on, trusting and hoping, waiting for the storm to pass.

Not always does the healing or the solutions we want come right away, but peace is available in the midst of our trials.  Elder Bruce D. Porter once noted, "Trials may come, and we may not understand everything that happens to us or around us.  But if we humbly, quietly trust in the Lord, He will give us strength and guidance in every challenge we face. When our only desire is to please Him, we will be blessed with a deep inner peace"  The Savior is the ultimate source of peace and comfort.  He understands our pain and sorrow.  He knows what it is like to have our hopes dashed and our dreams crushed. He is always there and always ready to grant us the peace and the strength to carry on. He can provide an "anchor for our souls" (Ether 12:4).

One of my favorite scriptures is in John 16:33 where Christ says "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."  Challenges, disappointments, and tribulations are a natural part of life and change is one thing that we can count on.  But with Christ's help we can make it through.  While things may seem terrible at the moment, as time passes and life goes on, things will get better and be brighter for us. 

To end, I just want to share one song that has really helped me in my struggles which is Blessings by Laura Story.  It is a really beautiful song and I love the message and the hope that it brings.  The lyrics are:

We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love is way too much to give us lesser things

'Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears 
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom 
Your voice to hear 
We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt your goodness, we doubt your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea 
And long that we'd have faith to believe

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not our home

What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy
What if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are your mercies in disguise


God's mercies are real and His love is abundant.  He can turn any situation to our good and He will never abandon us. We just need to let Him in.

A Light in the Storm

One image I have always cherished is that of a lighthouse in a storm.  I love the steady beacon of light that it provides even when the storm is raging around it.  And the interesting thing to think about is that it isn't necessarily shining in spite of the storm - rather it is shining because of the storm.  I feel that we all need a lighthouse in our own lives to get us through our personal storms.  One such lighthouse can be remembering what I like to call "peaks and valleys."

I feel that going through life we all face circumstances that we can label as "peaks and valleys."  We will have our "peak" moments where everything in our life is going great, and things are turning out the way we would like them to.  We have a clear picture of where we have been and of what is around us.  It feels as if nothing is in our way.  However, these peaks don't last forever.  Eventually, after the great highs in our lives, we get knocked off of the mountain tops and back into the valleys. It can be depressing and challenging to be in such a low spot - to not have the clear view that was afforded before; to feel that things are no longer going our way, and circumstances are less than ideal. While in the valley we might not have the resplendent view that we had before, there is still beauty to be found in the valleys and in the challenging times of our lives. 

Life can be challenging and trying and times.  Sometimes it feels as if our circumstances are trying to choke us and drive out any sense of light or hope in our lives.  At times we may feel isolated and all alone - that nobody knows what we are going through or the hidden battles that we are facing.  But hope is never lost.  When we find ourselves in valleys and we are struggling to put one foot in front of the other - let alone stumble back up to the peak, we can remember that we are not alone.  "Our Savior, the Good Shepherd, knows and loves us. He knows and loves you. He knows when you are lost, and He knows where you are. He knows your grief. Your silent pleadings. Your fears. Your tears."  He is there to help us not only climb back to our peaks but to thrive in the valleys as well. 

Another important lighthouse can be learning and accepting that we are enough. It can be so easy (for me at least) to get down on ourselves.  To think about all the things that we could be doing and aren't.  To compare our weaknesses to others strengths - and to feel that we will never measure up. Peace and strength come from seeing ourselves clearly for who we are - both our strengths and weaknesses - and for who we have the potential to become. 

Let's face it we will all make mistakes and fall short of the ideal image of ourselves, but that doesn't mean we should stop trying to improve and be the best that we can be.  However, we need to be careful not to go to the other extreme and impose unrealistic expectations of ourselves.  Jeffrey R. Holland once said:  "With the gift of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the strength of heaven to help us, we can improve, and the great thing about the gospel is we get credit for trying, even if we don’t always succeed." and  "If you stumble in that pursuit, so does everyone; the Savior is there to help you keep going. If you fall, summon His strength. Call out ... He will help you get back up. He will help you repent, repair, fix whatever you have to fix, and keep going. Soon enough you will have the success you seek"

We can rest assured that even when we feel that we are invisible to the rest of the world, Christ sees us.  When negative thoughts try to tear us down and life's circumstances seem to toss us about like a ship on a stormy sea and all our efforts seem like they are for naught, we can remember that the Lord knows and appreciates how hard we are trying even when no one else might.  "You are making progress. Keep going. He sees all your hidden sacrifices and counts them to your good and the good of those you love. Your work is not in vain. You are not alone. His very name, Emmanuel, means 'God with us.' He is surely with you."  Because of that, we can face the future with confidence, faith, and hope.  There are great things in store for us and we keep pressing onward through the storms of life.

I think that is one reason why I love the image of a lighthouse whenever I think about hope.  There's something so reassuring and steady about a lighthouse.  It constantly shines out even during the darkest storms, giving light and guidance for those seeking a way safely home - when the way would otherwise be dark and unclear.  Often we'd like to have clear skies and calm waves, with our path clearly laid before us and an ample supply of answers.  However, right now we aren't meant to have all the answers.  The path isn't always going to be brightly lit before us but we "need not fear the future, nor falter in hope and good cheer, because God is with us." 

Like a ship in the middle of a storm - the way isn't always clear. but as we trust in Christ and have the hope and reassurance that He wants what is best for us - then we can have that beacon of light to guide us safely through the storms of life. The Lord reassures us "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." 

Perfectionism and Perfectly Trying

This past week, my family and I were watching the movie When the Game Stands Tall, and a line in it really caught my attention.  In the movie, Coach Ladouceur notes, “We’re not asking you to be perfect on every play.  What we’re asking of you and what you should be asking of each other is to give a perfect effort from snap to whistle.”  I think that this line stood out so much to me because the idea of perfection or being perfect is so easy to get fixated on.  I know that there have been different activities that I have been hesitant to do because I knew that I would mess up, make mistakes and that I would be far from perfect.  I let my imperfections or my fear of failure keep me from branching out and trying new things, thus limiting my growth and my potential. That is why I loved this quote, it shows that success and failure are not measured based upon a certain outcome (ie doing something perfectly), but rather it's based upon the effort that we exert. 

Once we change our focus from something we can't control (perfection) to something we can control (effort), growth and change will be able to come quicker and easier.  A personal example from my own life was with my singing.  While I loved singing, I had always avoided trying to sing certain types of songs that involved techniques such as belting, singing clearly at extremely high notes, etc because I knew that I wouldn't be able to sing it well.  However, once I realized that I was never going to master those techniques without making mistakes along the way, I was more willing to push myself out of my comfort zone and my singing began to improve and those techniques that seemed so unattainable started to become possible.

I think that we not only struggle with the idea of perfectionism in performance areas but with character as well.  We would all love to be more patient, more charitable, more optimistic, etc.  However, we often fall short of the ideal that we set for ourselves.  It can be so easy to get caught up in all that we are doing wrong, that we forget to focus on what we are doing right.  Just as it is so important to give others the benefit of the doubt, and allow them the opportunity to change and improve, we need to give that same chance to ourselves. 

 In Shakespeare's As You Like It the character Oliver is confronted about his past behavior in contrast with his present.  He responds to the questioning with, "'Twas I, but ’tis not I. I do not shame to tell you what I was, since my conversion so sweetly tastes, being the thing I am."  All of us will have those moments, where we undergo our own transformations and we no longer are what we once were.  Granted, we will always have things that we could do better at, or that we would like to improve upon, but the important thing is that we keep trying and recognize and rejoice in the progress that we have made.  As Jeffrey R. Holland once said "except for Jesus, there have been no flawless performances on this earthly journey we are pursuing, so while in mortality let’s strive for steady improvement without obsessing over what behavioral scientists call 'toxic perfectionism.' We should avoid that latter excessive expectation of ourselves and of others"

While change is never easy, it is worth it.  Even though it feels that we may be moving at a snail's pace, or we can't see any difference, as we continue to perfectly try and put forth an honest effort, the results will come.  Improvements will be made, and lives will be touched.  We are doing better than we think we are.

The Dawning of a New Day

Hi everyone!  I hope you are having a wonderful Easter day!  I love this time time of year when we have the chance to focus on rebirth, growth, change, and hope.  At the heart of each of these things is the Savior, Jesus Christ.  I am so grateful for His Atonement and Resurrection and for the hope and reassurance that it can provide to each and every one of us.  

This week sadly, we saw the tragic fire in Notre Dame occur.  It has always been one of my favorite Cathedrals and has been a symbol of faith for centuries.  Being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it reminds me of when of our own beloved buildings caught fire several years ago.  The Provo Tabernacle was rebuilt into the Provo City Center Temple, becoming a place for worthy individuals to make eternal covenants with their Father in Heaven and be sealed as a family for eternity.  Although at the time of the fire we did not know why God had allowed the fire to take place, or what it's future would be, God had a special plan in mind, and was able to turn the disaster into a blessing.  Like the Provo Tabernacle, I am sure that Notre Dame will be rebuilt and will come out even more beautiful than before.   Father McCarthy noted how "something is going to rise from these ashes."  As I was thinking about these things, I couldn't help but draw parallels into my own life.

Last summer, my family and I were evacuated from our homes due to the fires in Utah.  I remember as we were evacuating I could see the flames coming over the mountain and I thought that it was only a matter of time before everything was lost.  Although the prospect of losing everything was a difficult one, there were so many blessings that came from that experience.  There was so much generosity and kindness that was extended by friends, the community, and strangers alike.  It really brought out the best in people and reminded me of what really was important.  My family was safe, and that was the most important thing.  If we did lose everything, I knew that we would rebuild our lives together with love and support from those around us.  But what also helped me to get through the hard time was my faith in Jesus Christ.  In his op-ed article for AZCentral President Nelson said, "if there is anything I've learned in my 94 years of living, it is that a life with God is far better - more filled with hope - than one without Him.  Faith in God is, and has always been, the pre-eminent force for good in this world.  It is the most enduring source of peace for minds and hearts."    Fortunately, due to several miracles and the dedicated work of firefighters, policemen, and so many others our homes were able to be saved.  But I know that even if it had gone the other way, God would have been with us.

I don't know why in some cases miracles seem to occur, and in others prayers seem to go unanswered.  But what I do know is that God is always with us no matter what.  Sometimes He has a different plan in mind for us than one we could ever imagine.  In one of my favorite quotes C.S. Lewis said, 

"Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself."

And so sometimes we need to pass through trials, hardships, and uncomfortable things, but it doesn't mean that God doesn't love us.  I find that in those times it can be when I feel God's love for me the strongest.  Those times, if we let them, can shape us into a new person, we can become something new, something better, and something stronger.  Hope is never lost, and no matter what happens, we always have a Savior who knows exactly what we are going through to help us, comfort us, and carry us through.

Of course, that relief doesn't always come immediately or in the way that we'd like.  Sometimes we feel alone and abandoned and are desperately grasping for any light we can find in the night of our trials.  However the dawn will come.  Hope is never lost.  A new day is coming and our cares and sorrows will vanish.  We will be able to look back and see our trials and afflictions as a blessing that made us into who we were meant to be.  We each have our own journeys, our own refining fires to pass through. but we can have the assurance that "the Savior makes all things right. No injustice in mortality is permanent, even death, for He restores life again. No injury, disability, betrayal, or abuse goes uncompensated in the end because of His ultimate justice and mercy." Elder D. Todd Christofferson 

I am so grateful for my Savior and I know that because of Him, we can have the hope not only in a glorious life in the world to come, but joy in this one as well.  

To Those Who Feel Unseen

I think that as humans, we all have the need to feel noticed and appreciated.  We want to know that someone sees us, and recognizes the good that we are doing, and that our efforts are not being wasted.

I remember one time in high school, I had been part of a color guard team and we had been preparing for our competitions, and we had the chance to give a practice performance at the high school.  Now I'm not the type of person where those things came naturally.  I had to put in a lot of extra work and practice to get things down, and I was always trying to improve.  With this performance, I had felt that I had gotten the routine down, and I put forth all my effort, and had given it my all.  After the performance, I felt so proud with myself because I felt like that had been my best one of the season thus far.  I felt like I was on cloud nine, but I was quickly deflated.  When we went to meet with our coach, I was hoping that she would have noticed the extra effort that I had put forth and the improvement in my performance.  Instead, all I got was a correction of a minor thing, and then a dismissal while she then heaped praise on her favorite.  I was completely crushed leaving that performance. I remember thinking to myself, "Why am I even trying? Here I am working as hard as I can and it doesn't even make a difference, what's the point?"  Have any of you ever felt that way before?

I think we all have moments were we think, "what's the point?"  Where all our efforts and struggles seem like they're in vain - that nobody even notices or even cares.  So what is the point?  How do we keep pushing on when it feels like there's every reason not to.  How do we fight back when we feel like the whole world is pushing against us, and nobody even sees the struggles that we are facing?

I think the first thing that I realized after that experience was that it is not about what others thought about me.  Sure we all love to feel recognized and appreciated, but when I reflected on why I performed and why I danced, I came to the understanding that it really was not about her or her approval.  When I became focused on that, the only thing I would feel was disappointment and discouragement.  But when I took the focus away from seeking approval, I became so much happier, and I actually found so much more freedom in my movement and in my artistic expression.  For me dancing meant being able to dream and step into a world of endless possibilities.  It raised my spirits and gave me a freedom to become whoever I wanted to be.  I loved the challenge of mastering new techniques and the elation of being able to reach a goal.  When I don't focus on the people watching me, dancing becomes an expression of my soul and brings me an immense amount of joy.

Alyssa Edwards said something once that completely captured how I feel.  She said, "A good dancer is not necessarily defined by great technique, skill, or ability to pick up choreography but by confidence.  When you feel the music, it penetrates to your soul. Everybody's a dancer. The greatest dancer is someone who is willing to dance, not afraid."  I realized that I had been letting fear get in my way.  Fear of not being good enough, fear of failing, and of letting everyone else down. I am in no way the most natural nor talented dancer. I have to work hard to learn, progress, and learn a routine.  And because I was comparing myself to others, I had started to lose that confidence in myself and had stopped letting the music penetrate my soul.  But when I began to let go of those things - the fear, the comparisons, the hurt - then I truly began to find that joy that had brought me there in the first place.

I also came to realize that those fears that I had when performing, were also common fears in my life.  It is so easy to let what others do or do not do, govern how we see and view ourselves.  All of us want to have our moment in the spotlight, and we fear being forgotten, being unseen.  We each have a unique and wonderful melody that each of us bring to the chorus of life.  Sometimes our melody is joyful and energetic, other times it is sad and lethargic.  Our melodies rise and fall and shift with the changing tides of our lives, yet sometimes we can wonder, is anyone listening at all?  There have been so many times in my life where I have felt like I have been going through the day acting out a part. Pretending that everything is fine when it really isn't, hoping against hope that someone would notice that something was off - yet no one did.  I have had times where I have felt like my service and efforts have gone unnoticed.  That others received all the spotlight, all the attention, while I was always relegated to the behind the scenes roles.  And sometimes that would be so hard for me.  I wondered if my service was as valuable, or if I was even making a difference.  But then I read a talk from President Howard W. Hunter, entitled "No Less Serviceable" (BYU Devotional, 1990) that completely changed my perspective, and helped me to realize that even if my efforts, struggles, and triumphs are not noticed by anyone else here on earth, they are always noticed up above.

President Hunter first pointed out that all of us are going to be unique.  We all are not cast in the same mold and we each have a different personality, circumstance, and mission.  He noted that we all are not going to be "catching the acclaim of [our] colleagues all day every day. No, most will be quiet, relatively unknown folks who come and go and do their work without fanfare. To those of you who may find that lonely or frightening or just unspectacular, I say you are 'no less serviceable' than the most spectacular of your associates. You, too, are part of God’s army."

To me that gave me such reassurance.  To know that there is great worth and meaning to be found even when we feel that our service and efforts are being expended in anonymity.  President Hunter gave many examples of people who he termed  were "unsung heroes".  These people do not receive a lot of public praise or attention, yet we cannot live without their selfless service.  Their quiet contributions have long lasting effects, that can shape history.  He assures that our unseen or unsung labors always "brings the attention of God".  And so like my example with dance earlier, our service and efforts are not about others and their approval.  It is about serving and loving our God and our fellow man, and being the best that we can possibly be.  Sister Sharon Eubank reassured that "the Lord knows how hard you are trying.  You are making progress.  Keep going.  He sees all your hidden sacrifices and counts them to your good and the good of those you love.  Your work is not in vain.  Your are not alone.  His very name, Emmanuel, means 'God with us'. He is surely with you."

I know that He can see the "sorrows that the eye can't see" (Lord, I would Follow Thee. Hymn #220) and He hears "the songs we cannot sing." (There is Sunshine in My Soul Today. Hymn #227)  He appreciates every effort we make to improve ourselves and to serve those around us.  He knows the good that we are doing and will be with us in every step of our journey.

The Beauty of Small Moments

I often am amazed at how quickly time seems to fly by. The holidays seems to come and go before you can even blink, and before you know it, you're into the start of a new year.  I've often contemplated about why we celebrate and look forward to a new year.  One answer that sticks out in my mind is hope.  With the advent of a new year, we have new hopes and dreams and wishes for how our lives will go. We hope that each succeeding year can be better than the previous one. That the goals we've been wanting to accomplish will actually happen, and that maybe some more of our dreams can come true.  We never know what the future holds, what unexpected changes or twists will come along. Yet each of us hope for the best. We hope for our own magical storybook ending. Yet life often doesn't go that way. So how do we find joy when life doesn't go the way we planned? When those resolutions that we were sure were going to be accomplished this year get broken or when our plans for the future get turned upside down. What do we do when we have to start over and figure things out once again.  We know that we are here to have joy, but sometimes it can feel so elusive. How do we have the courage to fly, when we feel that we will fall?

"Life's journey is characterized by bumps in the road, swells in the sea- even the turbulence of our times" (President Thomas S. Monson, October 2004) but that doesn't mean that joy only comes after the storms have passed.  I believe that when times get tough, we need to look for joy, meaning, and hope in small moments.  Yes the clouds may seem gray and overwhelming, with no blue sky in sight. However, there will be moments when the sun shines through, and those rays of light will remind us of what is to come - that the storm isn't permanent and that better days are ahead. These small moments will give us hope and strength to keep pressing on, and they will give us courage to fly.

So how do we find those rays of sunshine?  For me, focus is a big first step.  If we are to find those small, magical moments, then we need to be looking for them. President Russell M. Nelson once said, "The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives." (October 2016)  The saying is true that we find what we are looking for. And so if we are looking for moments where we can feel God's love and see His hand in our lives, then we are sure to find them. Often these small moments are fleeting, and if we aren't looking for them, we are sure to miss them. It can be an unexpected text from a friend, the innocence of a small child, finding something we thought we had lost.

The other day as I was driving I was feeling overwhelmed with all that I had to do. I felt that all the demands and responsibilities were too much, and that there was no way I could accomplish everything that I wanted to.  As I was thinking of these things, in the quiet of my car, the words of the primary hymn, "I Feel My Savior's Love" came to mind.  Lines such as "His Spirit warms my soul" or "It's [His love's] gentleness enfolds me" or "my heart is filled with peace" gave me the comfort and reassurance that I needed. It reminded me that I wasn't alone and that my Savior's love was always with me, and that He would help me to get through the craziness of life.

There are countless instances throughout the day where God shows His love for us. He knows us perfectly and He knows what we need to make it through another day. It doesn't mean that every day will be easy, or will go the way we want it to, but as we turn to Him, life will turn out to be far greater and grander than we ever could have imagined it to be. "Yes, the road has bumps and detours and even some hazards. But don’t focus on them. Look for the happiness your Father in Heaven has prepared for you in every step of your journey. Happiness is the destination, but it’s also the path." (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, April 2013) I know that as we turn to the Savior, and look for those small, perfect moments, that we will have the courage to fly, and the hope to seek after our dreams.