Let Nothing Shake

There's been a lot of stuff so far that's encouraging and "you can do it", and that's on purpose because you deserve to be encouraged and you can do it.

But what about when you can't?

Yes, I just said you can do it.  But you might not be able to do it right now. Yes, life has great purpose and yes, there are countless beautiful and wonderful parts of it.

But sometimes life just sucks.
Sometimes it's just hard.

And sometimes you don't feel like listening to how perfect and beautiful the world is. Sometimes you just want to be upset and hurt and lost because not enough feels worth being happy about. Sometimes you're not going to be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel yet. And sometimes you're not going to feel okay. And that's okay.

It's okay to not be okay.

 It's okay to break down, to get frustrated, to wonder why me? It's okay to not understand the trial God is having you go through and it's okay to not be successful right now. It's okay to cry and feel sad. It's okay to feel angry and it's okay to not be okay.

You have permission to be upset and hurt and lost and broken.

One of the whole purposes of us coming here to this Earth was to be tested. To be put through the tempests and the whirlwinds and the raging floodwaters that threaten to sweep us away. And those trials will come. You aren't immune to them, no matter how happy, faithful, or strong you are. You will go through things that are just plain hard. 

Just remember that you're not alone.

There are others around you going through similar situations or who have been through it before and know how to help you. There are others around you who have no idea what you are going through but love you enough that that doesn't matter, and they would be a great source of comfort and strength if you let them in. 

It's okay to need help.

People all around you would love to help you.

There is a loving older brother, Jesus Christ, who knows exactly what you are going through because he experienced it in Gethsemane. There is a God in Heaven who loves you and knows not only what you are going through, but why you are going through it and the joyful end waiting for you.

You will never go through anything that you cannot overcome.

God has promised that He "will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." (1 Corinthians 10:13) Apply this not only to temptation, but to all trials. You can remain strong in your faith through anything, "for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them." (1 Nephi 3:7)

Thy hope, thy confidence, let nothing shake

You are strong enough to get through this. It's okay that you're not okay right now. But one day, you will be. Let others in to help. Let Christ in to help. Open up your heart to God and 

know that your faith and confidence cannot be taken away without your assent.

Don't doubt God's ability to get you through this. Don't doubt your ability to get yourself through this. Keep the faith and keep your confidence, and I promise that one day "when disappointment, grief, and fear are gone/Sorrow forgot, love's purest joy restored", you will look back on this experience, when you felt so lost and hurt and weak,

and you will feel strong.

Mirror Mirror, On the Wall

I'm going to share an experience I had this week. I was in my Jazz class: sweaty, no makeup, ponytail, t-shirt, cropped leggings, and there was a moment when I looked in the mirror and liked what I saw. I remember I paused, smiling halfway in pleasant surprise. I looked at my body shape, at my flushed face, and I thought I looked pretty good. A thought crept into my mind:

Why didn't I think this in the mirror this morning?

I thought harder, and I realized something even more scary:

Why don't I hardly ever think this in my mirror in the morning?

I'm going to show y'all a picture. The first time I saw this picture, it struck me down to my core.

Now, I will be clear: I do not have an eating disorder, which is what this photo is helping to illustrate. But I think all of us do have a warped perspective when we look in the mirror. Let me make another thing clear:

Both girls portrayed in this photo are beautiful.

Why is it that we choose to see something different when we look in the mirror in the mornings? Why do we analyze with a worldly gaze? What would our days be like if instead of sucking in or trying to fill out to meet the standards shown by the media, we look at those arms that can spike a volleyball, or that flushed face that means you worked hard in practice today, or those bright eyes that see the good in others? Why do we notice pimples instead of purpose? Why do we see shape and size instead of strength and character?

Why do we choose to call the reflection inadequate?

The mirror is not your enemy here. There is no little devil controlling the light rays bouncing off the glass so that you see something imperfect and ugly. The only thing keeping you from seeing a beautiful, confident person looking back at you is yourself.

You are the one who can change what you see.

Choose today to like what you see in the mirror. Notice your beauty and choose to see your abilities, your talents, your God-given attributes, your heavenly destiny. You are a child of a King. Your reflection shows your poise, your strength, your individuality, and yes, your body, which is a gift from God, created by a perfect being, and therefore perfect just the way God created it.

All you have to do is look for it.

Be Ye Therefore (Im)perfect

Take a look around you. Odds are pretty high that there is someone in your vicinity who is better than you at something, or somethings for that matter.There is a girl who reads her scriptures more often than you do. There is a man who has developed his talents better, or who has more visible talents than you have. You may look at these different people around you and feel inadequate. You may turn to the scriptures for comfort, only to read about the sinless life of Christ and the commandment to follow him. And you may come across Matthew 5:48 - 

Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which art in heaven is perfect.

Perfect seems to be a pretty high standard, and you may falter in the face of such an overwhelming demand from God, but let me assure you,

Our God is a loving God and would never give you a standard you could not meet.

I turn now to Elder Russel M. Nelson, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in my faith, who gave us deeper insight into what Christ meant when he told us to be perfect: "In Matthew 5:48, the term perfect was translated from the Greek teleios, which means 'complete.'...Please note that the word does not imply 'freedom from error'; it implies 'achieving a distant objective'."

God, therefore, is not demanding a faultless life. 

God is asking us to be the best we can be, to live our lives in a way that allows us to accomplish everything we have the ability to accomplish. And He will fill in when we can't do anymore for ourselves.

Tonight I urge you to ask yourself, and ask your Father in Heaven, what you can achieve, and for what purpose God put you on this earth. What work has Heavenly Father prepared for you to do? What does He hope for you; what wonderful things does He have planned in your future to help shape you into that "complete" person He would have you be? What are the goals He has in mind for you?

I guarantee that it's not to be the prettiest girl at homecoming.

It is so much more than that.

So stop comparing yourself to those around you. Take confidence in the fact that God has a distinct finished product in mind for you, and it is unique from everyone else's. Don't look at the window God is making one person into, all gleaming smooth glass, ready to let in light, and get discouraged when you see the blackened metal He is creating you out of. You may not see it now, but He is making you into a torch, ready to radiate light to all corners of the world. And if you let Him, He will make you the most perfect torch that has ever burned.

Be ye therefore confident, for God shall make you complete.