Patience

Patience is something that I have always had trouble with and I have been working HARD at it while on my mission. I know that I have made some improvements here and there, but I know I still have so much to learn. I came across a talk by the second counselor in the First Presidency Dieter F. Utchdorf  and it hit me hard!! He mentioned a few things that we can learn, from being patient and how it can truly bless our lives. Here they are (These where my favorites)...

1. Waiting can be Hard

Heck yeah it is!! I have learned that waiting patiently is hard because we make it hard.

Patience the ability we give ourselves to put our desires on pause for a time and maybe even years. I remember wanting things and thinking to myself  I want it and I want it know!!.  As I  look back the idea of patience was very very hard and yes at times not pleasant at all.

But without patience, as Elder Utchfdorf taught we cannot please God; we cannot become perfect. Yes, patience is a purifying process that refines understanding, deepens happiness, focuses action, and offers hope for peace.

So let us all remember that yes waiting is hard, but it helps us become who our Father in Heaven wants us to become, like his Son our Savior Jesus Christ.

2. Patience isn't just waiting

When I read this I thought to myself what? Yes it is and then I read this quote.

"There is an important concept here: patience is not passive resignation, nor is it failing to act because of our fears. Patience means active waiting and enduring. It means staying with something and doing all that we can—working, hoping, and exercising faith; bearing hardship with fortitude, even when the desires of our hearts are delayed. Patience is not simply enduring; it is enduring well!"

3. Patience requires FAITH

Yes it does!!

4. The Lord BLESSES us for our Patience 

"If we wait patiently for the Lord, He will incline unto us. He will hear our cries. He will bring us out of a horrible pit and set our feet upon a solid rock. He will put a new song in our mouths, and we will praise our God. Many around us will see it, and they will trust in the Lord."

I Invite all of you to take a step back and look at what we have in front of us. Let us look at our blessings and if we do have things in our lives that we feel are weighing us down let us endure them joyfully with patience. For patience is what our Heavenly Father wants us to have let us wait patiently upon the Lord and exercise our faith in Him. As the Scriptures teach us....

"For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them; wherefore, he showed not himself until after their faith. " Ether 12:12

Let us learn from life and endure it with patience.

The lessons we learn from patience will cultivate our character, lift our lives, and heighten our happiness.

-Dieter F. Uchtdorf 

He IS....always there!!

At times many of us feel like Christ has forgotten us. I must admit there has been times in my past where I thought Christ have you forgotten me? And as I look back I think man was I wrong!! Our Savior Jesus Christ is ALWAYS there. At times it is us who forgets about him. I remember someone telling me my life began to fall apart when I started focusing on myself more then I focused on Jesus Christ. These past few months here on my mission I have truly seen how much our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love us. They are sooo aware of us and they know exactly what we need at the right time. We just have to remember them. I have come to realize that God our Heavenly Father is just waiting to hear from us and help us in time of need. Let us not forget that He is there to help us and we are never alone.

"Christ....He really is there, He is in reality there for us, everyday all day long"