Any Righteous Thing is Possible!

As I was preparing to teach Relief Society I was reminded of this quote:
You can change! You can be anything you want to be in righteousness. If there is one lament I cannot abide, it is the poor, pitiful, withered cry, “Well, that’s just the way I am.” If you want to talk about discouragement, that is one that discourages me. I’ve heard it from too many people who want to sin and call it psychology. And I use the word sin to cover a vast range of habits, some seemingly innocent enough, that nevertheless bring discouragement and doubt and despair. You can change anything you want to change, and you can do it very fast. Another satanic sucker punch is that it takes years and years and eons of eternity to repent. That’s just not true. It takes exactly as long to repent as it takes you to say. “I’ll change”—and mean it. Of course there will be problems to work out and restitutions to make. You may well spend—indeed, you had better spend—the rest of your life proving your repentance by its permanence. But change, growth, renewal, and repentance can come for you as instantaneously as they did for Alma and the sons of Mosiah. Even if you have serious amends to make, it is not likely that you would qualify for the term “the vilest of sinners,” which is the phrase Mormon used in describing these young men. Yet as Alma recounts his own experience, it appears to have been as instantaneous as it was stunning. (See Alma 36.) Do not misunderstand. Repentance is not easy or painless or convenient. It is a bitter cup from hell. But only Satan, who dwells there, would have you think that a necessary and required acknowledgment is more distasteful than permanent residence. Only he would say, “You can’t change. You won’t change. It’s too long and too hard to change. Give up. Give in. Don’t repent. You are just the way you are.” That is a lie born of desperation. Don’t fall for it. (Jeffrey R. Holland. However Long and Hard the Road [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1985], 6-7.)
I love it! Through Jesus Christ we can accomplish anything! We can become exactly who we want to be and who the Lord knows we can become!

Miracles Happen, As Weird As They May Be

Not that long ago I wrote about unspoken prayers. . . A few weeks ago I backed up into an air conditioning unit and scratched my bumper. I was really upset because I feel like my car is still brand new and it was my first scratch. I told a few people that I hoped I would be rear-ended (just gently) so I could get a new bumper without paying for it. Tonight, as I was driving home from the temple, a lady plowed into me while I was stopped at a red light. I'm still a little in shock! My immediate thought was that Heavenly Father was giving me exactly what I wanted. While my bumper isn't that big of a deal, it means something to me. I care about my car. And as trivial as it may be, I feel like Heavenly Father was telling me that he cares about me. We never know how are prayers will be answered but they will be. Heavenly Father loves us and wants to bless us in anyway that He can.

Despised and Rejected

"He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."
Isaiah 53:3-5
As I read these verses today I had a profound thought (actually I'm sure it wasn't mine). Jesus Christ, the Savior of all mankind, was not popular. He didn't minister in order to gain a following. His purpose and mission was fulfilled no matter who believed. So often we seek popularity through our actions. Why?! Jesus Christ, the best example we can follow, did not seek approval or change his mission in order to fit into a crowd. My mission is centered on Jesus Christ. I am his disciple.

Prayer

Recently I've had a few unspoken prayers answered. It's been incredible to recognize the Lord's hand in my life. I frequently pray to follow the Lord's will and I pray for righteous desires. Sometimes I become frustrated when the things I desire most aren't happening. I wonder why, why can't I have righteous desires? But then things which mean something to me, but I hadn't asked for, are granted quite miraculously to me. Heavenly Father knows us and loves us! He knows what is most important and will guide us to it! I've always enjoyed the words to Garth Brooks "Unanswered Prayers." Here is the chorus:
Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers
Remember when you're talkin' to the man upstairs
That just because he doesn't answer doesn't mean he don't care
Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers