Thankful!

Too many times we go through our lives taking things for granted. I have a very good friend who is a convert to our church. I played the piano at his baptism. He and his family were sealed in the temple. A few years ago, their family stopped going to church. I feel so sad inside for them. He told me that he still believes in God, but just chooses not to go to church. None of their kids go to church. He is the only member in his family and her family is very active.

I was inactive in my 20's. All of my friends went to college. I stayed in Colorado to work. The only young single ward was in Boulder. My sister and I attended, but since we didn't go to CU, they asked us not to come back. My friends became those I worked with and they didn't have the same values as I did. I found many excuses to not attend church. It was no fun to go to a family ward when you are young and single.

I knew what I should be doing, but I did my best to justify my poor choices and continuing on the dark path farther and farther away from the truth - all the time knowing in the back of my head the truths I had been taught in my early youth. Satan had the biggest grasp on me and I was headed for the biggest downturn in my life.

To make a long, long story short, I was sent an angel. His name is Tyler. He rescued me from the depths of hell. My life has not been easy, partly because of bad choices, but I know that we are all here to be tested. The results of our test are ultimately what we are striving for. I have a daily reminder of where I want my end results to be. He is 15 and is my angel. I am grateful to my Heavenly Father for my special angel!

Come Listen To a Prophet's Voice

In our church, we have the privilege to hear from our church leaders twice a year. We have pajama church at home. October 4th & 5th we listened to our semi-annual conference. I was impressed by a talk by our prophet, Thomas S. Monson and it is perfect for what I have been dealing with.

"Throughout our lives, we must deal with change. Some changes are welcome; some are not. There are changes in our lives which are sudden, such as the unexpected passing of a loved one, an unforeseen illness, the loss of a possession we treasure. But most of the changes take place subtly and slowly. Day by day, minute by minute, second by second we went from where we were to where we are now. The lives of all of us, of course, go through similar alterations and changes. The difference between the changes in my life and the changes in yours is only in the details. Time never stands still; it must steadily march on, and with the marching come the changes." Excerpt from Thomas S. Monson's talk "Finding Joy in the Journey" on Sunday, October 5th, 2008

Changes have come by the handfuls as of late...work has been the most stressful. Our office moved from one building to the other and I had to leave the awesome people I was working with to go with the wealth management advisors I support. I moved to a floor with over 100 people. It reminded me of a prairie dog village - all you can ever see is the top of people's heads popping up over the cubicles. The only thing that is constant is change, but for whatever reason, this change has been extremely hard to adjust to for me.

If we are faithful and "COME LISTEN TO A PROPHET'S VOICE", we will be blessed. This has been a better week. I feel blessed to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am thankful to a mother, who, despite so many obstacles in her life, took us five girls to church every week - faith never waivering, even when the faith of her daughters did. What an amazing woman!