Inspiration

Many people have a sacred place where they go to find peace and receive answers to their problems. A few weeks I found this peace while I was at the temple, the most sacred of places for those who share my beliefs.

For a few months I have been part of a Life Coaching group The last few months while serving in the temple I have been using the principles we have been studying in the coaching sessions. I have been striving to greet all whom I meet with love in my heart, and I have smiled at every person I have come in contact with.

At first some people seemed skeptical and reserved, but It hasn’t taken very long for them to feel how genuine my love for them is. In a very short period of time many of them have told me that my smile was beautiful and made their day. Many have shared their stories and experiences with me and are starting to greet me as they would an old friend. It’s been a very rich and satisfying experience.

I have always felt that love was something we can’t live without, more important that food or shelter is the need for love. This morning I sat alone in the most beautiful of all rooms in the temple looking at a painting of Jesus Christ. He is my ultimate example of one who exemplifies love to all. As I thought of him I felt a greater desire to be like Him, and truly love everyone. Something very powerful happened to me. I instantly felt His love for me. I have felt it before, but this time it was overwhelming.

Many thoughts flooded my mind. I realized that it’s easy for me to love others, but the thing that holds me back the most is my inability to love myself. It’s so easy for me to see the good in others and so hard to see the good in myself. I remember hearing that the qualities we see in others are also in us. As I thought of this I realized that I am surrounded with amazing, gifted, incredible people. These people wouldn’t choose my companionship if I didn’t share some of their good qualities.

I then felt richly blessed by great friends and family. Two distinct conversations I recently had with some of these great people was brought to my memory. I remembered them sharing their feelings about me, and the gifts and qualities I have that they admire. I realized that these amazing people can see who I really am. They see me as my creator does, yet it’s hard for me to see myself the way they do.

At that moment I realized that I am divinely designed with every attribute and quality I need. I have been summing myself up to others who were designed with different qualities and gifts. I realized that my creator loves me just how I am. He made me perfect. I don’t need to try to be someone else. It’s painful trying to be like someone else, and there’s no need to do that when I have everything I need to succeed within myself. I realized that some of the qualities I see in others are also hidden in me. I may have suppressed them, minimized them, or been unwilling to share them with others, but I have all the gifts and talents I need already.

I thought of the new friends that I have made while serving in the temple who have come out of the shadows because of the love I have shown them. They are excited to greet me and they are drawn to me. This has only happened because I chose to show them love. Today I was taught that I now need to extend that same love to myself. If I can start loving myself for who I truly am, divinely designed, I too will come out of the shadows and thrive. I will be able to be a happier and more successful person.

I am so thankful for this gift today. 30 minutes alone in that beautiful and peaceful place opened my heart to the inspiration and love that I needed. What a blessing God's love for each of us truly is!

An Inspirational Experience

Today at church I had an interesting experience. There is a woman who lost her daughter a few years ago in a tragic accident just as she was about to get married. Although she lives just down the road I never knew her. I remember when it happened and my heart was broken for her. I wanted so badly to just stop at her house and tell her how sad I was for her, but I just didn't dare. As a stranger I didn't want to intrude at an emotional moment and hurt her. I have even crossed paths with her in the temple and felt such empathy and sorrow for her, but noticing her sadness just never dared to speak to her.

Just recently our wards merged and now I see her at church. She looks like one of the saddest people I have ever seen. I have desperately been trying to get the courage up to approach her and tell her that I have been thinking of her for years. I have felt a great need to become her friend.

Today I was sitting behind her in Sacrament Meeting and finally decided that it was time to muster up the courage to visit her or approach her at church and tell her what that I have been feeling and to try to befriend her. All through the meeting I was deciding how best to do it.

Later at church in Relief Society meeting I looked at the calendar for the month and noticed her birthday was on it. I decided that would be a great way to break the ice and to visit her for her birthday and then I could get to know her and express my concern for her.

Relief Society was a Visiting Teacher Training and after the meeting the new booklets were handed out which outlined the new beats and companionships. When I looked at the name of my new companion it was the very woman I had been thinking of all day and for a very long time. My eyes welled up with tears. The strong prompting I had been blessed with today had been verified. I knew it was time to get acquainted with her, and the Lord has just issued the call.

I know that He knows what we need in our lives. And He knows who we need in our lives. My testimony of inspiration was strengthen today. I look so forward to getting to know her. I don't know if I have anything to offer to her, but I know I am supposed to get to know her. I am so thankful that Heavenly Father helps paves the way for us meet our worthy goals. I'm so thankful for His love!

Miracles and Blessings

Just in case you’ve ever wondered, miracles do still happen! I have witnessed several things this week that I consider to be a miracle and I thank God for blessing us with miracles in our lives! I know that as we pray in faith our prayers are answered and that the temple prayer rolls are a great resource and blessing to us if we will use them and believe!

First, last week someone I am close to had a really bad infection with serious symptoms. She knew she would have to see a doctor and get on an antibiotic to get better, but having no insurance she requested a Priesthood blessing first. In the blessing she was told that the infection would leave her body quickly. She was ill for several hours and then without any medical care she was healed through the power of the Priesthood. A marvelous power is at our fingertips if we just have faith and call on the elders to bless us. I wonder how many times in my life I have suffered through illness when if I had first asked for a blessing I may have been spared so much suffering. Not that we won’t have to go through illness or take medicine—because it’s often necessary—but I know that God does have the power to heal all that ails us if necessary!

Second, I know a young man who knew he might lose his job. With faith he and his wife fasted, prayed, and attended the temple. His name was placed on the temple prayer roll. In an unlikely turn of events he was blessed with the work of his choice and offered a benefits package. With all those who are losing their jobs right now I know this was a blessing and a miracle for this faithful young couple!

And lastly, this may sound really strange, but last weekend on a little vacation I saw a teenage boy who was horribly disfigured. His head was shaped unlike any I have ever seen. His face was frightening to look at. If a human being could resemble a monster, that is what he looked like. He was with his mother and I could tell that he was very important to her and that she loved him dearly. He seemed gentle and kind in his communication with her. Some might say he was a freak of nature, an accident. But when I looked at him I realized that he was a miracle. I could tell that the very fact that he was a living, breathing soul was a miracle to his family and all who loved him. I knew that God loved him just the way he was!

It is comforting to me to remember that God does love us. He knows what is going on in our lives and what we need, and He can perform miracles to help us in times of need—if we will just see—and believe!

A Mother's Love

A mother’s love is in every fiber of her being, every strand of her heart,
It hurts to see her child struggle and it hurts when someone breaks their heart.

A mother’s love can heal most sorrow, comfort, nurture, reassure,
It can take away the pain life brings, because it’s greater than anything.

A mother’s faith is also great and can heal, if it’s the Father’s will,
But when it’s not, her faith is still true, and she does as the Father expects her to do.

She submits to one on high who knows all things, the reasons why,
And gives her child back to Him, who calls us home when He sees fit.

But still she doubts, and her heart stings, she wishes she could change some things,

The sorrow of a broken heart like this, a mother should not have to bear.

To love a child, to nurture, to care, then to be asked to let go,
Is more than one should dare to ask, a mother who loves her child so.

But since it’s Father up above who asks of her in His great love,
A mother says, “Thy will be done,” and says goodbye to her son.

In faith she knows she will see him again, because of the Father’s plan,
So she will wait, and pray for the faith to go on, until she will meet him again.

(Written by me for my sister after the death of her teenage son)

God Can Be Found Everywhere ~ Even in Las Vegas

Last July three friends and I took a trip to Las Vegas. While we were there we saw Danny Gans show at the Mirage. I recently heard that he had died. He had been voted Las Vegas Entertainer of the Year 11 times and had won about every other award possible. He hosted a packed house every night. He was a great entertainer who impersonated dozens of singers, entertainers, celebrities, and politicians. His show lasted two hours and was filled with great music and comedy and it was clean too!

My favorite part of his show was at the end. He told his story; how he became an entertainer. He said that he had been a minor league baseball player and was doing great and breaking records when he collided with another player. He received an injury that ended his dream of playing baseball. He ended up in the hospital sharing a room with a man diagnosed with a terminal illness. They shared their stories and the man said that he knew he would personally be okay and that now he understood why he was in the hospital. He felt like it was to let Danny know that God knew how much he loved baseball and that he wouldn’t take that dream from Danny unless he had a better plan for him; a better future. Danny Gans said that this was the beginning of him finding a new dream. The man was healed and they continued exchanging Christmas cards and letters for years.

His message was that if your dreams seem to get shattered or aren’t working out as you had planned, to never give up, because maybe God just has something better planned for you.

He gave credit to God for his success as an entertainer. It was incredible to me that in Las Vegas of all places, this entertainer was not ashamed to be a Christian. Here in a place where so many people don’t seem to know anything of God, he praised God’s name. What a great example to all of us. It made me ask myself, “Would I dare share my testimony of God’s hand in my life, in a place where people mock him?” I believe I would and I hope that the way I live my life shows that I love Him and believe in Him.

A few weeks earlier I heard a speaker give a message that went along with this. She said she felt that God doesn’t just say yes, or no. She believes that when we ask for something he answers yes, not yet, or I have something better in store for you. I loved her thought. I like to believe that when it feels like our prayers aren’t answered the way we had hoped for or when our dreams aren’t fulfilled like we had envisioned they would be, that it doesn’t mean that the answer is no. If we don’t get what we want at first maybe it means that God has something better in store for us. A dream better than we could have ever imagined for ourselves. He knows what we need and what will truly make us happy much better than we do.

God is so wise and great. We just need to let him be the captain and acknowledge that He knows what is best for us. So never give up your dreams, just believe in Him.

Tell Them The Way You Feel

Each year that I have been a leader at girl’s camp I have given the girls a letter from their parents to make them feel special and loved.

One night I gave each of the girls their letters. Some got emotional while others made light of them. Later that evening I found one girl quite emotional. I ask her what was going on and she handed me the letter and ask me to read it. In it her mother told her how much she loved and appreciated her and said how proud she was of the life she was living. She told me that her mother had never told her anything nice like that before and it meant so much to her.

One mother told me thanks for asking her to write a letter to her daughter and said it had really strengthened their relationship. The girl told her mom that she never knew her mom felt that way about her. She wrapped her arms around her mom’s neck and asked her mom to hold her. It had been years since she had done that.

This experience taught me the importance of letting people know how much we love them by saying it and writing it. I’m sure these mothers show their daughters that they love them by their actions but maybe not in spoken or written word that they can easily understand. Everyone has a different way of expressing their feelings, but I learned that kids need to hear it and read it. They don’t always just know how we feel. It’s so important to let our kids know that we love and cherish them and that we are proud of them too.

Relationships

What do you deserve in a relationship?

Someone who:

loves you more than everyone except God...more than friends and more than self...can put you first...thinks of you first when they wake up in the morning and the last thing before they fall asleep at night...needs to hear your voice or see you every day just to be happy...never makes you feel forgotten...can talk about everything instead of avoiding you if they have something difficult to say...someone with no excuses, just the cold hard truth at all times...is faithful in every way and whose actions aren't different if you aren't there to see...would never avoid you and is always available when you need them...would never want to hurt you or let you down...tells the truth instead of just what they think you want to hear...loves you as much as you love them...cares more about your happiness than their own...

Places Where I Should Not Let Me Go

The other day while listening to one of my favorite old James Taylor CD’s, the words of the song, “Something in the Way She Moves” jumped out at me.

“Every now and then the things I lean on lose their meaning, and I find myself careening into places where I should not let me go. She has the power to go where no one else can find me, yes, and to silently remind me of the happiness and good times that I know…”

One thing about life is that it’s never easy and it’s always changing. It’s true that every now and again the things we lean on, our foundation, gets shaky or crumbles beneath us. Things that we were so sure about yesterday may not feel so certain today. People who have been there for us in the past may not be there for us anymore. In our despair it’s easy to let ourselves careen into places where we should not let ourselves go. These places are different for everyone. We each have our own individual temptations to conquer and crosses to bear. Although we should never let ourselves go these places, sometimes we do.

But like the song says, there is someone in each of our lives who has the power to help us. Someone who loves us deeply enough and knows us well enough to go where no one else would go. And lift us from the rubble we have let ourselves get into or even caused by our own actions. If we will accept their outstretched hand and lean on them, we can again find meaning in life and remember the happiness and good times we have known and eventually get out of the place where we should not have let ourselves go.