Love Letters from God

God is so real.

He is all around me. In every drop of rain, every cotton candy sunset, and in every smile. His love can be felt in so many ways. And I know that he knows and loves me personally and answers each of my prayers. Most of the time, these prayers are answered by the burning of my bosom or a warm peace of mind. Although I am so grateful for this type of personal revelation, truthfully I have always thought it would be kinda cool if Heavenly Father could just shoot me a text, an email, a letter, (or heck I would even get a pager) that says, "NOPE YOUR'E GOING THE WRONG WAY" or "YOU GO GIRL! GREAT DECISION!" or something like that.

Well today I got one.

Today while I was eating my lunch at school, I looked up from my phone and a random stranger had left this note on my table with the sweetest message. I truly felt like it was a letter directly from Heavenly Father showing and expressing his love for me in written word! It was amazing and I immediately felt the spirit so strongly.

One of my missionary friends also sent me this scripture today:

D&C 84:88

And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.

Heavenly Father is so mindful of me and my needs and from this scripture and this incredible experience that I had today I know that He is just searching for every possible way that he can show me how much he loves me. We always have a friend to rely on and someone to give us comfort. I will be eternally grateful for this and the joy and comfort that my Savior and my Heavenly Father have blessed me with. And I am so beyond grateful for this love letter from God.

Duty to God

This past week has felt really long. I think mostly because it is the first time since the 5th grade where my life has not been crazy busy. Going to school part time and still on the hunt for a job has given me a great deal of time and it has been difficult to feel accomplished or like I am progressing towards something.

In my scripture study this week, I came across Alma 7:22-23. It says:

22 And now my beloved brethren, I have said these things unto you that i might awaken you to a sense of your duty to God, that ye may walk blameless before him, that ye may walk after the holy order of God, after which ye have been received.
23 And now I would that ye should be humble, and be submissive and gentle; easy to be entreated; full of patience and long-suffering; being temperate in all things; being diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times; asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual and temporal; always returning thanks unto God for whatsoever things ye do receive.'

This scripture really reminded me of my duty to Heavenly Father. Though it may seem like I have a lot of free time on my hands, there are so many things that I must do to improve myself and to please my father in heaven. It is really important for me to use this time to strengthen my testimony as well as my relationship with my Savior. I am going to do all that I can to better myself by going to the temple more, studying my scriptures and praying as much as I can, and serving those around me.

I Will Lead You Along

          The start of this new year has already brought a great deal of changes. Back in December, when I was rejected from the major that I wanted to pursue, I had to reevaluate a lot of my passions, desires, and goals for the future. The first few days back at school were really tough as I switched my major multiple times, causing issues with my schedule and prerequisite classes. One of the biggest issues that I ran into as I talked on the phone, met with, and emailed countless advisors was that I had too many credits and that BYU has a strict set number of credits that a student must have in order to apply for certain majors. When I finally decided on an obtainable major to apply to, I needed to make a very important decision of whether or not to go to school as a part time student and save credits or to continue as a full time student. I had been very confused and uneasy about what I should do so I began to pray about it countless times a day. Because of recent events, I felt at times like I did not have a place in the world and was really struggling during this confusing time. I studied my situation out in my mind and wrote out the pros and cons and then took it to the Lord. On Thursday, I went to the temple. As I sat in the temple, I began to plead with Heavenly Father to grant me with guidance and to find comfort and peace in knowing that He has a specific plan for me although I cannot see it right now. I decided to open the scriptures to a random page and see if I could find any comfort. When I did this, I found Doctrine and Covenants 78:17-18,

"17 Verily, Verily, I say unto you, ye are little children, and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath in his own  hands and prepared for you;
18 And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours."

         I was immediately overwhelmed with joy and peace. My Heavenly Father knows me, He knows what I have been through and exactly where I am going. And if I am just patient and trust in the Lord, He is just waiting to grant me with blessings that he has handcrafted specifically for me. Life does not always go the way we have planned, in fact, it usually never does. But that is because Heavenly Father has far greater plans for our future then we can ever imagine. And if we only let him, he will lead us along.