Be Of Good Cheer

Have you ever seen a flower poke up in a crack in the cement, or grow up in an unlikely place, like gravel?  This, to me, is like what Pres. Oaks is talking about.  I'm sure its terribly difficult for that flower to grow in an unlikely or infertile place, but life usually finds a way!  The first thing that came to mind was something my mother has told me repeatedly throughout my life, "grow where you are planted!"  This piece of wisdom is something I strive to live by.  My whole childhood I watched her struggle in a very difficult marriage and even though I saw her tears more than I wanted, she really always found a way to be happy and cheerful.  Most people that knew her then and know her now would say she is one of the cheeriest, happiest and cutest people they have met!  I think her secret was that she always found ways to serve others.  

 

 

Her situation was never ideal, but she made the most of it!  My situation is also not ideal.  I never thought I would be a working mom.  I thought my sister would the working mom, but not me.  It's so hard to leave my kids.  Growing up in and living in the LDS culture has made it even harder.  We grow up with this ideal about moms and dads and their roles and it even becomes expected in many communities and wards or circles.  I have found myself feeling kind of on the outside, like I have little in common with the stay at home crowd.  That has been hard.  I think it has been a bigger trial for my husband because he has done everything right, has a degree, works harder than anyone I know and has true passion for what he wants to do and yet he is a stay at home dad.  Not that that's a bad thing, but just not what he imagined he would be doing.  He has said " there is a reason women are supposed to take care of the children primarily, I cannot do what my mom did."  It has been a very hard and humbling experience for him.  When he could not find a good paying job after he finished school he did not want to put our kids in daycare so he sacrificed other low paying job opportunities to make sure our kids always had a parent at home.  I already had a great job so I felt kind of stuck.  My daughter tells me all the time how she wishes dad could go to work and I could stay home.  As we have prayed and had faith for Jared's success in his career plans we have been blessed immensely, but not in the way you might think.  I continue to get raises and more benefits at my job while none of his ideas have worked out yet.  😊 Sometimes I wonder if I'm missing something or Jared is missing something, maybe we aren't praying hard enough or maybe we don't have enough faith!  Then I think how much we have learned over these past years, maybe Heavenly Father is trying to teach us something, in the longest class ever, haha!😉

 

As I have made the most of my situation I have learned so much about myself things I never knew, but Heavenly Father knew.  I've learned things I would have never known had I not been working.  I have made amazing friends and have a wonderful work family that has been a support I never thought I would need.  I have been a better mom because of working, in many ways.  I've discovered that working has been good for my mental health.  I have felt that Heavenly Father placed me where I am for a reason. I never served a mission,  but as I've worked with members, non members, former members converts and many of different faiths, I have been able to teach the gospel to them in subtle ways and direct ways.  I have had many opportunities to clear up misconceptions about the church and had opportunities to bear my testimony to all that I work closely with.  I have had amazing discussions on Sundays as I work with these people and I don't feel as bad about missing church.  I feel the spirit very strongly in my lab every Sunday as I work.  Heavenly Father has not forsaken me because I work on Sundays, but it has been more apparent to me that He knows me and cares for me.  

 

As I have chosen to be cheerful while living an inconvenient and nontraditional life, I know I have been blessed and that I'm fulfilling some purpose.  I have come to appreciate my situation and I believe that Heavenly Father knows what is best for me and that maybe this situation is what is best for me.  I can see God's hand in my life daily even though things don't work out the way I want or the way I expect.  Honestly, I feel that nothing in my life has really gone as planned or ended up being what i expected, but I have been happy and there are always things to be grateful for.  

 

I have come to learn that, often times, happiness is a choice.  I don't mean faking it or pretending, but truly trying to find the good to be happy about!  If you make Christ the center of your life there will always be happiness in some form or another.  I always try to find the good and I've noticed that in doing that sometimes I forget about the bad.  It is in our trials when we see Him most clearly or discover His love for us!