The Challenge to Become

Some days are harder than others... Yesterday was hard.
It will get easier with time, I'm sure.

I'm grateful for the opportunity to learn though.  I'm working on expressing sincere appreciation for the smallest and simplest of things and embracing the present moments.  There are blessings everywhere, far more than I deserve!  My heart is truly filled with gratitude when I reflect on all I have, here and now.  And, I can honestly say that I am grateful for every moment my heart hurts.  Through the pain, I can feel I'm being refined...  Ultimately, I know that is what I want, refinement.  I pray for Divine tutoring.

I'm so thankful for a Savior who knows me, who knows each and every one of us, because He has experienced every possible struggle as if it was His own.  Alma 7:11,12  I want to follow His example.  I pray for the Lord to open my eyes to people around me who need my help, I pray for opportunities to serve (especially in my own home).  I need opportunities to forget myself and go to work.  I know this will help me through.

"Our needed conversions are often achieved more readily by suffering and adversity than by comfort and tranquility,... Father Lehi promised his son Jacob that God would 'consecrate [his] afflictions for [his] gain' (2 Ne. 2:2). The Prophet Joseph was promised that “thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; and then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high” (D&C 121:7–8).

Most of us experience some measure of what the scriptures call 'the furnace of affliction' (Isa. 48:10; 1 Ne. 20:10). ...Through the justice and mercy of a loving Father in Heaven, the refinement and sanctification possible through such experiences can help us achieve what God desires us to become.

We are challenged to move through a process of conversion toward that status and condition called eternal life. This is achieved not just by doing what is right, but by doing it for the right reason—for the pure love of Christ." - Elder Dallin H. Oaks The Challenge to Become- Oct. 2000 General Conference

 "Ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost." - 3 Nephi 9:20

-Alicia

Give Me Faith
by, Royal Taylor