"How did I get here?"

Sundays are so great, busy, but so, so great. I had church responsibilities that took up most of my day, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I love being a part of a ward. I have always been a member of a LDS ward, but participating and just being a member are two different things. I am so grateful that I have had the opportunity to serve and be so involved in the ward I am in now. I don't want to get too deep into the details, but it is true that about 1 1/2 years ago I prayed about where to live at BYU, and God led me here. Here, where I have the best roommates, the biggest callings I've ever had, and made so many great friends. I am so grateful I prayed and asked and ended up here!

The interesting thing was that all my original plans had to get completely messed up in such a way that I pretty much lost everything in order for me to be able to get to where I am now. It was the end of summer, I was homeless, and school started in just a few weeks. I prayed and prayed asking God to show me where I should go so I could be happy, have good roommates, a nice apartment, etc. and for weeks I didn't feel directed or inspired in any way. It wasn't until the Thursday before classes started, and by this point I was feeling pretty desperate, that I was reading my scriptures and was inspired with the thought that I needed to change my prayer. That day when I prayed, I didn't ask God for what would make me happy, instead I prayed and said: "God, lead me to where you want me to be - where I can serve and play an active part in the ward." Then I got online and found an apartment contract on sale for where I am now and from there everything just clicked into place. Nice apartment, great location, the best roommates I have ever had, awesome ward, and a calling that got me involved from day one. My point to this, I guess, is that by seeking out God's will instead of my own, things worked out way better than I ever could have imagined. I ended up with everything I wanted and more.

I didn't intend to blog about this experience today. I guess I just have been thinking about it a lot lately because I know a few people, (let's be honest: I'm one of them), who are currently struggling with understanding and accepting God's will for them at this time in their lives. It happens to all of us at some point. Its only natural because its hard to take that step of faith, leave our comfort zone, and do something that seems so hard when we can't even see where it is exactly we are headed. The unknown future is scary and I for one hate change.

But that is where faith comes in. We have to trust that though we don't understand how, in the end everything will work out so much better for us if we choose to follow God's path instead of our own. Little sacrifices that we have to make in order to pursue God's will is in reality nothing compared to the blessings we will receive later. I mean think about it, God's plan for each and every one of us (His children) is the only one that can help us reach our highest potential. We can't get there any other way, and especially not on our own, so why doubt and why take any other path?
  
Still, I know it's hard in the moment. Its so frustrating not seeing the big picture and having to wait, wait, and sometimes wait even longer. But I can testify through my own experiences that it is all worth it. When you finally get to stop and wonder in awe: "How did I get here? How did things end up working so perfectly that I was able to do, learn, and accomplish all this?" then you will feel one hundred percent in you heart that giving up your will for God's, no matter how hard or scary it seemed in the beginning, was so worth it.




          

Happy Chinese New Year!

        It was completely by coincidence and yet so appropriate that on the Chinese New Year I went to a baptism in Chinese. A new friend of mine recently came to Utah from China to go to school here at BYU and through this experience was introduced to the Mormon Church. She gained a testimony of her own that the church is true and decided to get baptized. I have not been to a convert baptism in a long time, and I almost missed this one for various reasons, but even though I showed up a little late, I was so glad I was there! It was the coolest, most spiritual experience I have had in a while which is crazy because pretty much the whole baptismal service was in Chinese. But you know what? That doesn't matter. The Spirit of God speaks a universal language that we all can understand by speaking through feelings to our hearts. Today it testified to me that God is the God of the whole world and that Jesus Christ suffered and died on the cross for ALL of our sins. Not just for the Jews, not just for Christians, and not just for the Western World. Though right now China will not open its doors to the LDS missionaries, God still knows, loves, and is aware of His children there. His work moves forward and it cannot be stopped by men. Bei Bei (my friend) is now sharing the gospel with her family and friends back home in China.
        My favorite moment at the baptism was when we sang the hymn: "I Believe in Christ." Half the congregation sang it in Chinese and the rest in English, and yet the song and the message it sent was the same. Congratulations Bei Bei and Happy New Year! Here's to the greatest new beginning you will ever experience.

FEVER

Last night I watched Never Say Never for the first time. I was promised that it would change my life if I did. I'm still not sure if the life-changing happened, but I can say that the whole way to work this morning I kept flipping through my radio stations hoping to find a Justin Bieber song. I never thought that I would do that. Ha. "Never say never". 

Walk a mile in a person's boot

Last night I had the opportunity of serving my roommate, Becca (aka: The Cripple). I'm not tooting my own horn because it wasn't my idea. She was plopped down in a chair that sucks you in with her feet elevated when she asked me if I could do something to for her. I thought it would be "help me up" or "get me a drink of water" or something equally reasonable like that, but it turned out that the favor she wanted was: "Stacy, will you please put on my boot?" It was the weirdest service I have ever done...well, actually that's not true, but this still is up there on the list of weird.

So I put on Becca's boot and tromped around the apartment in it, much to Becca's amusement. Man, it was surprising how tricky that boot is to walk in. It's so heavy and clunky and, obviously, it restricts movement. I had to try everything in it so I waddled (that's what happens when you try to run), I marched upstairs and down, I went down into the parking garage so I could experience walking up and down hill. I tried kneeling in it, sleeping in it, standing up in it, sitting with my legs crossed...pretty much everything. I now have a deeper understanding and appreciation of what exactly Becca is going through. You see, I was only dealing with the inconvenience of the boot; I didn't have the pain that comes with a broken/swollen foot along with it. Poor, Becca.

But you know what? I really respect her for having such a good attitude about this unexpected trial. She may not feel like she has been very positive, but she really has been. She has been able to laugh at herself and find the fun in her situation. Like letting me call her "my cripple", wearing colorful socks and naming her boot Joseph, calling me "mom" when I give her rides to school, totally taking advantage of the handicap parking, seeking answers to the question "What can I learn from this?" instead of asking "Why me?", and laughing at me as I try to do what she does in the boot every day. Yep, given everything, Becca is doing great.

And I mean, really, it was pretty hilarious how pathetic I was in that boot.

P.S. On a completely different note. I totally made blueberry-banana bread out of an unwanted frozen fruit smoothie yesterday and it tasted good! I think I deserved the Domestic Goddess award yesterday for that little miracle in the kitchen. ;)

...and carry a big stick.

Last night I had one of those conversations with my roommates where I was laughing so hard I ended up on the floor multiple times. Sometimes you just have to laugh about those things that are hard in life. :)  

By the way, did you know that yesterday was World Nutella Day? I took full advantage of that excuse to eat nutella on everything.

My heart aches for you...

I usually enjoy FHE, but tonight I will admit I was not overly excited when I found out we were doing crafts: Valentine's Day crafts. You see, I was always the girl who was content to sit and watch other people make beautiful things while I made pleasant conversation. Tonight was no different. I just sat there for a while, overwhelmed by all fancy, pintrest-worthy paper surrounding me. I was pretty certain I would not be touching the stuff. I only mustered up the courage to attack such a fluffy project when I finally had the inspired thought that I was wasting an opportunity to do something (even if small) for someone else. I decided horrible, mushy, over-the-top romantic Valentines must be made. Yes, the love notes I wrote on my little paper hearts were quite magical. It was a delightful way to bring a smile to a few friends faces and I ended up enjoying making them too. It was a little thing, but I was glad I got over my impatience with crafts in favor of doing something nice-ish for someone else. Later, during the "after party," I somehow ended up leg wrestling for the first time in years - awesome, but I totally got owned.

Our means of travel

What a crazy busy weekend! But I still found time to think about my favorite moments of each day.

Friday I was grateful for the temple and that I was able to catch up with some really good friends of mine.

Saturday my drop of sunshine was learning that my roomy Anna had cleaned the kitchen for me the night before in preparation for a waffle breakfast I was throwing the next day. Having a spotless kitchen made my morning go so much smoother!

And today the best part of the day (besides getting to spend time with a lot of awesome individuals) was going to church. My favorite part was especially the Relief Society lesson where we learned about Faith, Hope, and Charity. I really felt the Spirit during that lesson and I learned that I can have faith and hope in God's perfect plan for me. "Happiness is not a destination, it is a means of travel."