My husband will be starting his grad program this fall.
Although I feel so blessed for this opportunity, there was a lot of fear and
anxiety mixed in there as well. We are moving ten hours away from both of our
parents. I can no longer depend on my parents for their constant Sunday
dinners, random game nights, or a much needed face to face conversation without
planning ahead of time and saving money for it. We are also moving out of a
ward I had grown wonderful relationships with and feel loved and welcomed in.
On top of this anxiety, we weren’t hearing back from the
“affordable” housing units the University subsidizes for. At this time, we had
only asked for their cheapest option so that we could still live on one income.
We finally started looking at other options since we had to move in three weeks
and we didn’t have a place to live yet. We realized that the university’s most
expensive options were still several hundred dollars cheaper than the cheapest
option outside of their complex. We signed up for other, pricier, options with
the university.
During this time, we had fasted, prayed (pleaded), and
researched for housing options.
On top of our move, my mom and dad had to fly to Japan to
support a demanding trial for my grandmother. My little sister came and lived
with us while they were gone.
Have I mentioned that a couple weeks before this had
happened, I had dislocated my knee and heavily sprained my right elbow?
To sum up, I was stressed.
During the most intense part of our struggle, I was able to attend
girl’s camp. This was my Heavenly Father’s gift to me. The wonderful leaders
who had prepared for this were the angels who wrapped up the gift and brought
it to me. I am forever grateful. If I could explain how I felt inside…it would
probably be a ragged dress that drooped lazily on a hanger while I dragged the
hem across the dirty floor. And girl’s camp was the bright new dress to help
straighten my drooping shoulders.
I was only able to attend girl’s camp because my knee and
elbow was healing fast enough for me to attend and this led to me being able to
heal my spirit.
My little sister was there to do little errands for me
around the house and keep me giggling the way only sisters know how.
Our research of other housing options had made us aware of
how blessed we were even when we got the most expensive option at the
university’s housing complex (we haven’t stopped thanking our Heavenly Father
since!).
And I had felt the love and care of those around me as they
served me during my injury.
Although I don’t wish any trials on any one of you, I do
know that Heavenly Father had given me blessings only I could have seen through
my trials. I may not understand or have recognized all of His blessings
throughout this time in my life, but these blessings were enough to let me know
that God lives. That He loves us. He is looking out for us in all aspects of
our lives. He knows where we are needed and will guide us there through any
methods. You may be going through a trial right now. You may not understand why
you’re going through it. You may even be tempted to wonder if Heavenly Father
cares for you or even knows you. If this is the case, I hope you may find hope
through my experience. And find hope through the atonement of Jesus Christ to
get you through your trials. I also pray that you may be able to see your
blessings, even blessings in disguise, to help you along your journey.
It is very true that there are blessings in disguise. For example, as I read my journal entries of the past, I am able to better see that trials in my life have worked together for my good and were a necessary part of my current happiness.
ReplyDeleteI think that is one of the reasons it's important to keep a journal because when we write our experiences we are able to see how challenges we went through contributed to making us stronger.
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