Tender Mercies

So, believe it or not yesterday was another...um...rough day. "Another?!" You may ask. "Well, yes." I will reply. That is just how things go right now.

*Not all the time, mind you, I did just get back from a rockin' trip to Seattle (post will follow shortly)and I went bowling Saturday night. Bowling!*

But somehow I am coming up against these days much more frequently than I used to. I think that it may have something to do with having quit a job that I was very good at and making an about face that put me toe to toe with all of my weaknesses in this new arena that is grad school. Whatever.

Anyway, this is an INCREDIBLE growing experience that is totally throwing me for a loop. Yesterday, was another loop. The funny thing is, that, as much as this isn't necessarily the easiest time of my life, my testimony is growing exponentially.

Last night's ward prayer topic? Growing through trials. This week's study topic? Trust. The first thing I read this morning? A talk by Elder Nelson that told me, again, exactly what I needed to hear:

"...That experience...taught us another important lesson. It pertains to our ultimate priorities and highest destinies as mortal beings. We learned that a doctor’s ultimate destination is not in the hospital. For a lawyer, it is not in the courtroom. For a jet pilot, it is not in the cockpit of a Boeing 747. Each person’s chosen occupation is only a means to an end; it is not an end in itself.

The end for which each of you should strive is to be the person that you can become—the person who God wants you to be....Much more important than what you do for a living is what kind of person you become. When you leave this frail existence, what you have become will matter most. Attributes such as “faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, [and] diligence” (D&C 4:6)will all be weighed in the Lord’s balance."

This may sound excessively colloquial, but it is good to know that the Lord has my back. I am grateful that he is aware of me and that I can trust that even if I have no idea at all what I am doing, He knows what this is all about. Did I say that I am grateful? Cause I am :)