Life.

I wrote this on my facebook, but feel like I should share it on here too...

I have been thinking about this lately and I feel like sharing it with the world. I teach Sunday School at my church to 12 and 13 year olds. Almost every week no matter what the subject of the lesson is, I try to encourage them to look at the big picture when they are making decisions each day. I tell them that in the end when we go to heaven, the only thing that will matter is whether or not we chose to be on the Lord's side. We will all make mistakes. We will all have trials and sufferings and devastation in our lives. We will be tested every day to see if we will stand up for truth and righteousness or fall and let our lives be overcome by sorrow and sin. Life rarely turns out exactly as we plan it. The road bends and curves and we need to learn to let the Lord steer us the way we should go or Satan is going to be able to easily push us off the road and into an unknown and treacherous territory. Some people will have to deal with significant losses in their lives. Others will be pushed down by addiction over and over before they can stand up again. Some people will never know the joy of being married and making a family. But no matter what our test is, we can succeed! We just need to try our hardest and remember to repent each time we falter. That is what the atonement is for. We just need to use it! I also know that the power of prayer is so strong. It is direct communication with our Father in Heaven and if we keep that line with him open, he will help us whenever we need him. He loves each and every one of his children more than we can begin to understand. I can't even imagine the sorrow he must feel when he sees his children turning away from him. His greatest wish is that all of his children are eternally happy and that we make the choices we need to so that we can return to live with him again. He will always be there for whatever we need. He won't just give us whatever we ask for, but we need to remember that he knows us better than we know ourselves and he knows what we truly need and what we can handle. Life might not always deal us the hand we want, but with the help of the Lord we can make the most of it and come out on top.