Just this past week I had an experience that made me strengthen my testimony of the Savior, prayers being answered, and of God's love for me individually.
So to kind of catch up on my life and what I've been doing recently, I have just moved to Provo Utah. Since moving here, I have been able to find a job and have actually started going to school through BYUI Online.
It has literally been wonderful.
With the struggle of trying to juggle school and work at the same time, the things that I had been doing on a weekly basis have been harder to fit in. I now find myself trying to do laundry at the same time as doing homework and trying to fit in grocery shopping within a two hour time period between work and my ward's family home evening. (I use the bus to go places so usually an hour's worth of that time is used just sitting on the bus 😅)
This also has made going to the temple much more difficult as well.
So to kind of catch up on my life and what I've been doing recently, I have just moved to Provo Utah. Since moving here, I have been able to find a job and have actually started going to school through BYUI Online.
It has literally been wonderful.
With the struggle of trying to juggle school and work at the same time, the things that I had been doing on a weekly basis have been harder to fit in. I now find myself trying to do laundry at the same time as doing homework and trying to fit in grocery shopping within a two hour time period between work and my ward's family home evening. (I use the bus to go places so usually an hour's worth of that time is used just sitting on the bus 😅)
This also has made going to the temple much more difficult as well.
I try to put in about 28 hours during the week, dedicated to doing homework.
I found myself this past Thursday at work, conflicted with trying to find time to do homework and also find time to go to the temple. I had 15 assignments due that Saturday, half of them already done and I didn't know what to do. I didn't have anytime on Saturday because I had previously booked myself with activities that I needed to attend. I had tried to get some homework done during work on Thursday but it seemed impossible because we ended up being much busier than normal. I knew it'd pretty much be impossible to do homework during work on Friday and Saturday because those days were DEFINITELY going to be busy. I had decided to say a prayer in my head asking to please help me figure out how to do all of this homework before Saturday along with trying to find a time to attend the temple sometime this week.
I decided that I'd get some homework done after work, then wake up early to attend the temple the next day and after attending the temple get all of my homework done before going to work later that day.
It takes me usually about thirty minutes to close up the place. With a prayer in my heart and my focus on as much as I could muster on Christ and the temple, I was able to finish my typical closing time in half. I got home as quick as I could and tried my best of finishing my goal of two assignments that night.
The next day I woke up early to attend the temple. Had a wonderful time there and quickly came home to finish my assignments. I was shocked to find out near the end of my homework time that I was wasn't even able to finish two assignments. Was I going to have to finish ALL of my assignments after work?
I decided that I'd try my best to do some reading assignments while at work and to try finish up what I could after work.
Again as it was nearing the end of the day, I thought with a prayer in my heart please help me to get this done, referring to my homework and closing.
I tried my best again to keep my thoughts on the Savior and on prayer as I was closing that night. I didn't finish quite as quickly the previous night but I still was able to get all done faster than I usually do.
That night I headed home, arrived around 9:30 and worked as much as I could. This was my last time to do homework throughout the week and I HAD to get it all done that night.
One assignment done. I look at my stove top's clock and it's about 10:30. Keep working I thought. Next assignment done. Look up, it about 11:30. Great! I thought. I kept working. I notice that it's about 12:30 at night. I decide to award myself at the end of my homework endevors with pizza, cause you know... that's something nice to do to yourself after a hard day's of work. Put the pizza in, keep working on my assignment. Pizza's done. Keep working. It is now 1am. I am on my last quiz question and I submit it. 100%. I felt like flopping to the ground. I finished all of my assignments.
I was so tired that I didn't really get to reflect on this much (plus I was busy eating pizza at 1am so I was practically in heaven...and my brain was dead)
But on Saturday I totally noticed that he had answered my prayer. I kind of felt a little shocked but also relieved.
I had not gone to Heavenly Father recently for answers to these kinds of prayers and was surprised that he answered me at all.
I still don't quite one hundred percent understand the whole unanswered prayers, and I don't know if I will. I just know that sometimes, prayers are left unanswered because the answers are not according to Heavenly Father's will or desire.
There are PLENTY of times that I can think of, while I was on my mission where I had prayed for something to happen, whither it was for someone to get baptized or an investigator finally answer our texts back. These prayers did not get answered.
I never helped prepare for a baptism.
I never got to teach all of the lessons to one person.
Investigators never seemed to like me
My prayer and goal was if I did baptize someone, was that they would become fully converted and NEVER leave the church.
Maybe I didn't baptize someone, but I've learn if anything, that Heavenly Father in a way did answer my prayers.
I became converted and decided that I would never leave the church.
Have times become hard since than? Yes
Do I still have trials and struggles? Yes
Would this be much harder without the Savior? DEFINITELY YES.
I found myself this past Thursday at work, conflicted with trying to find time to do homework and also find time to go to the temple. I had 15 assignments due that Saturday, half of them already done and I didn't know what to do. I didn't have anytime on Saturday because I had previously booked myself with activities that I needed to attend. I had tried to get some homework done during work on Thursday but it seemed impossible because we ended up being much busier than normal. I knew it'd pretty much be impossible to do homework during work on Friday and Saturday because those days were DEFINITELY going to be busy. I had decided to say a prayer in my head asking to please help me figure out how to do all of this homework before Saturday along with trying to find a time to attend the temple sometime this week.
I decided that I'd get some homework done after work, then wake up early to attend the temple the next day and after attending the temple get all of my homework done before going to work later that day.
It takes me usually about thirty minutes to close up the place. With a prayer in my heart and my focus on as much as I could muster on Christ and the temple, I was able to finish my typical closing time in half. I got home as quick as I could and tried my best of finishing my goal of two assignments that night.
The next day I woke up early to attend the temple. Had a wonderful time there and quickly came home to finish my assignments. I was shocked to find out near the end of my homework time that I was wasn't even able to finish two assignments. Was I going to have to finish ALL of my assignments after work?
I decided that I'd try my best to do some reading assignments while at work and to try finish up what I could after work.
Again as it was nearing the end of the day, I thought with a prayer in my heart please help me to get this done, referring to my homework and closing.
I tried my best again to keep my thoughts on the Savior and on prayer as I was closing that night. I didn't finish quite as quickly the previous night but I still was able to get all done faster than I usually do.
That night I headed home, arrived around 9:30 and worked as much as I could. This was my last time to do homework throughout the week and I HAD to get it all done that night.
One assignment done. I look at my stove top's clock and it's about 10:30. Keep working I thought. Next assignment done. Look up, it about 11:30. Great! I thought. I kept working. I notice that it's about 12:30 at night. I decide to award myself at the end of my homework endevors with pizza, cause you know... that's something nice to do to yourself after a hard day's of work. Put the pizza in, keep working on my assignment. Pizza's done. Keep working. It is now 1am. I am on my last quiz question and I submit it. 100%. I felt like flopping to the ground. I finished all of my assignments.
I was so tired that I didn't really get to reflect on this much (plus I was busy eating pizza at 1am so I was practically in heaven...and my brain was dead)
But on Saturday I totally noticed that he had answered my prayer. I kind of felt a little shocked but also relieved.
I had not gone to Heavenly Father recently for answers to these kinds of prayers and was surprised that he answered me at all.
I still don't quite one hundred percent understand the whole unanswered prayers, and I don't know if I will. I just know that sometimes, prayers are left unanswered because the answers are not according to Heavenly Father's will or desire.
There are PLENTY of times that I can think of, while I was on my mission where I had prayed for something to happen, whither it was for someone to get baptized or an investigator finally answer our texts back. These prayers did not get answered.
I never helped prepare for a baptism.
I never got to teach all of the lessons to one person.
Investigators never seemed to like me
My prayer and goal was if I did baptize someone, was that they would become fully converted and NEVER leave the church.
Maybe I didn't baptize someone, but I've learn if anything, that Heavenly Father in a way did answer my prayers.
I became converted and decided that I would never leave the church.
Have times become hard since than? Yes
Do I still have trials and struggles? Yes
Would this be much harder without the Savior? DEFINITELY YES.
I know that the Savior loves us. He wouldn't have suffered and died for us if He didn't.
He is the life, light and hope of this world. His way leads to happiness in this life and in the world to come.
How I am grateful for His Atonement. For His love and for His undying devotion to us.
May you remember this week, to pray to God and ask for His help when needed.
Hope you all have a wonderful Sabbath Day and I hope to see ya'll sometime in the near future :)
He is the life, light and hope of this world. His way leads to happiness in this life and in the world to come.
How I am grateful for His Atonement. For His love and for His undying devotion to us.
May you remember this week, to pray to God and ask for His help when needed.
Hope you all have a wonderful Sabbath Day and I hope to see ya'll sometime in the near future :)