raising the Spirit

I often wish I could find a little more time to blog...Besides just journaling.  I always have these grand ideas of things I'd like to write about.  But since I have to do first things first in my life, I suppose I won't have the chance to just WRITE like I want to.  (At least not at this stage of life.)  However, I'm making a goal to try to blog more about my spritual thoughts and experiences that I'm often too shy to write about.  I suppose on this particular blog I'm not altogether shy when it comes to expressing the thoughts of my heart, but I do want to continue to do so without being afraid of expressing my beliefs in a loving God who I know is real, in spite of the sometimes difficult journeys of life.

To start, I'd like to share an experience I had last Sunday.  I'm a Young Women leader at church, and this month's Young Women theme is on the Plan of Salvation.  I was asked to get up and share my thoughts and experiences regarding this topic; more specifically, I was asked to describe how my knowledge of the Plan of Salvation has helped me in my life.

The concept of the Plan of Salvation obviously means a lot to me, so I was glad for another chance to talk about it.  The idea of there being purpose in mortal life and an afterlife that allows us to be reunited with our loves ones is a concept I treasure.  But I always worry about the obvious danger of emotional babbling when I'm talking about this stuff.  In my preparations, I had a hard time coming up with the right way to address this topic to these young women girls.  I kept saying little prayers that I would know what to say and how to say it, and I think those prayers paid off. 

I was sitting in the Young Women rooms, waiting to get up and speak, and I just kept thinking that what I prepared wasn't quite right.  All the sudden a story popped into my mind and I knew that was what I needed to share.  Just seconds later, I got up and I shared this story and it tied into the topic well.  I know I'm not the first one to experience such guidance from the Spirit, but the experience really meant a lot to me.  I felt Heavenly Father's guiding hand, and I was so grateful.

I want to remember the story I shared and I hope to someday share it with the girls, so I'm going to make an effort to write it down here.  Perhaps I'll add a little more to it than I shared that day, for the sake of recording memories. 

Michael and I made a lot of fun memories up at the ski resorts together.  He was a snowboarder and I was a skiier.  We didn't go as much as we got older, of course, but we still went every year.  Back in the days when we went a lot together, I can remember him leading me down a path I hadn't been before.  We immediately approached a steep drop off, and I looked up to see the "black diamond" sign ahead.  Michael had led me there, knowing I had previously refused such terrain.  I was upset with him and told him I didn't know if I could do it.  He looked at me and told me he knew I could.  He told me to remember everything I had been taught, and to apply those skills now.  As I led myself down that ridiculously steep mountain, I remember stopping and realizing that I was doing it, and I was actually doing it quite well.  I was applying the skills and tools I knew that could help me down that hill.  That experience gave me greater confidence in what I had been taught and also gave me greater confidence in myself. 

 

This experience was a great illustration of what it means to apply the teachings of the plan of salvation in one's life.  A large part of the Plan of Salvation requires that we experience this mortal world, full of joys and also full of hardship and pain.  As it has been for me, losing loved ones to death can be a large part of the pain we experience.  It can be a difficult experience no matter how you look at it.  However, knowing and having faith in Heavenly Father's plan can be a great source of help in making our way down these "steep hills" of life. 

The day Michael was called back to his Heavenly Father was, in essence, like being at the top of a very steep hill, not knowing if I could descend the rough terrain ahead.  But His plan provides us with tools of faith that can enable us to survive those tough hills.  I learned from experience that applying my testimony of the Plan of Salvation in my times of heartache and turmoil provides much needed strength, help, and direction. 

Concerning Michael's death, I still find myself once again at those top mountains.  Concerning life in general and the ups and downs we experience, we all get to those steep dropoffs, perhaps wondering how to continue.  All I can say is, I firmly believe that my testimony of God and His plan has helped me survive.  I am so glad that I prepared for those tough times by establishing a strong testimony of God as a young girl.  That testimony has been the key tool to get through rough days.  I miss Michael and I still lament what dreams we've had to leave behind, but my tools of faith help me get up, get down the rocky hills, and enjoy my present life, made possible by a loving God who cares and loves us all.  I may not know the meaning of all things, but I do know that God loves us.