My Letter to the Editor

My mother-in-law called me this morning to tell me that I had a letter to the editor published in the Deseret News!


(I submitted it last week but my mom was the only person I told because I didn't even know if it would be published or not)

I feel so validated. Click here to read it.

Unmet Expectations

When I experience times in my life when I feel like my desires or expectations are very different than what I had originally "planned" or when I feel like my prayers just aren't being answered, I know that I need to develop more patience and more trust in the Lord- which, of course, is always much easier said than done!

Since HOPE is synonymous with EXPECTATIONS, I'd like to share a couple of thoughts about what happens when we expect or desire something that hasn't come to pass . . .

My sister gave me a copy of this poem a long time ago about trusting the Lord with your prayers. Although I have used it in a lesson or two I don't know who the author is.

Prayer

I know not by what methods rare,
But this I know, God answers prayer.
I know that He has given His word,
Which tells me prayers are always heard
And will be answered, soon or late
and so I pray . . . and calmly wait.

I know not if the answer sought
Will come in just the way I thought,
But leave my prayer with him alone,
Whose ways are wiser than my own;
Assured that He will grant my quest.
Or send an answer far more blessed.

Sometimes God has different plans for us than we do.

Click here to watch a four minute Mormon Message on Trusting in the Lord. This story is about a family who waited 7 years for a child to join their family. Hmmm... sounds familiar!

Here's a quote by C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity along the lines of our own expectations for us versus the Lord's expectations for/of us.

"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."

Finally, wise counsel from an apostle of the Lord on ways of handling adversity, including trusting Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

This 3 minute clip is from Elder Wirthlin's "Come What May and Love It" Conference address:

I love the promise that "The Lord compensates the faithful for every loss. That which is taken away from those who love the Lord will be added unto them in His own way. While it may not come at the time we desire, the faithful will know that every tear today will eventually be returned a hundredfold with tears of rejoicing and gratitude."

The Infinite Power of Hope

I just finished watching a clip on Mormon Messages about HOPE:



It is quite ironic that the clip was all about HOPE as that is a subject I have been thinking about a lot lately.

In fact, I am finally going to finish and publish two posts about hope today.

Defining Hope

The June 2009 Ensign had an article I really enjoyed entitled Hope: The Misunderstood Sister by Larry Hiller.

I liked the article for the following reasons:

*The author defined the concept/quality of hope as it relates to her "sisters" Faith and Charity:

"Hope is anything but wishful. It is strong and bright with promise. It is expectation based on experience".

I appreciated this since the scriptures have given me good definitions of faith and charity, (see Hebrews 11:1 and Moroni 7:47) but hope has always been a little bit ambiguous to me.

*The author was very concise- the article was only two pages long.

Very impressive for someone like me who goes on and on when I write, rather than keeping things simple!

*The article included a painting of Faith, Hope, and Charity personified.

*The author not only wrote an essay, but a very touching poem as well.

I could paraphrase the article, but I'll just let you read it yourself.

And while we're on the topic of HOPE . . . Check out some of these inspiring necklaces from mrs. r's etsy shop.