Staying the course

Write something if you have something. Well, I have something but I do not know how to write it. I’m just going to see where the keys on the keyboard take me.

So much has happened in the past few months that I would have never expected.

Sure, there were some experiences that I always knew were possibilities. But the real stumper is the choices my loved ones are making. Whether it is who to date, what job to accept, financial decisions, letting the fear of what they don’t know ruin the surety of what they do know.

Something that had been especially hard to swallow is witnessing them ignore the promptings of the Spirit.When I see them suffer afterward I hurt too. What causes me to become sick is their negligence to the fact that they have gone against the witness they earlier received.

For example, I have a friend who desired to know if he should pursue a certain path for years. He received a very strong impression that God wanted him to pursue that too. He acted in faith for many months. When the time finally came for him to act on the prompting, he hesitated. When temptation and trial accompanied the course, he was quick to pray for another witness, a different path.

I think he missed the point. God will answer our prayers in His own time. What a miracle that this man had an answer before he faced the actual decision. It is obvious to anyone who has been through hard times that opposition often accompanies any major choice we make. Sometimes we forget this when the trail comes and wonder if we did not receive the right answer or God’s will has changed.

I don’t know everyone’s situation, so I speak for myself; I have learned for myself that God is eternal and unchanging. I may not understand why something isn’t working out when I felt so completely it was God’s will…but I do know that whatever God wants is right. This could mean that He prompted me to pursue a certain path not for the outcome I would assume, but for the lessons I learned along the way. I am so grateful for the lessons I have learned throughout my life, through the choices I have made. This is why I am saddened when I see friends not follow through with the promptings Heavenly Father has given them. Now, don’t count me out on this- I’m sure I do it too. But I am taking measures to avoid it in the future.

I was reading a wonderful talk in the February, Ensign magazine, of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There is a quote from an apostle of the Lord, Jesus Christ, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland that really stood out amongst the pages.

He said, “Opposition turns up almost anyplace something good has happened. It can happen when you are trying to get an education. It can hit you after your first month in your new mission field. It certainly happens in matters of love and marriage. … There are cautions and considerations to make, but once there has been genuine illumination, beware the temptation to retreat from a good thing. If it was right when you prayed about it and trusted it and lived for it, it is right now. Don’t give up when the pressure mounts. … Face your doubts. Master your fears. ‘Cast not away therefore your confidence.’ Stay the course and see the beauty of life unfold for you.”

I'm sure you may be tired of reading by now...but the fingers are still going.
There is one experience that is coming to mind I would like to share.

When I began my studies at the University I was set on pursuing a certain field. After an internship away from the school I recognized that the program my university had to offer in that field was not the best. I seriously considered transferring to a different program. Upon returning from my internship I was blessed with the revelation that I should apply for another major at my current school. I followed the prompting. Throughout the past 3 years I have been able to see the fruit of that choice blossom as I continue to follow the prompting I received.

Not every choice pans out as well as this one has. But should we let "the fear of striking out keep us from playing the game?" -Cinderella Story

I say no. Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather knowing there is something more important to be done.