Between YOU and your GOD...

    So I counted just now... and I have 78 posters/pictures on my wall... I honestly can't cram anything else onto my wall. :) (At least it hides the paint color... I've been wanting to repaint my room for a while now... :))
     Anyways... if you care to play I-Spy, you can find the following poem hanging in my room amidst all of the other stuff. It is perhaps one of the first things that I hung up because it is one of my very favorites:

----------

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered;

Forgive them anyway. 

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;

Be kind anyway. 

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;

Succeed anyway. 

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;

Be honest and frank anyway. 

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;

Build anyway. 

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;

Be happy anyway. 

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;

Do good anyway. 

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;

Give the world the best you've got anyway. 

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God;

It was never between you and them anyway.

[Credited to Mother Teresa, although nobody is positive... there are many speculations as to who first came up with it.]  

---------- 

I think that the following quote kinda goes along those same lines:

"My young friends, be strong. You know what is right, and what is wrong, and no disguise - however appealing - can change that truth. If your so called friends urge you to do anything you know to be wrong, you be the one to make a stand for right, even if you stand alone."
- President Thomas S. Monson

I love the last two lines of that poem... because in the end, it really will be between you and God. Nobody else. And 'final analysis' will come sooner than you might think.

     Imagine a never-ending strand of little tiny seed beads. Our earth life is one of those tiny beads. Do not throw away the rest of the beads - the rest of time itself - because you decided to give in and take foolish advice from people. If you had a wider window - a greater perspective - you would always try to make the best choices you could, because you would better know what you would be sacrificing otherwise.

     The thing is... we do know. It's just tricky to visualize sometimes. BUT... I know that if we try to live life the best we can... and make the choices that would please our Heavenly Father... we will find peace and happiness during and after this life.

Wait Upon the Lord

To read the whole talk, click here.

     There's another experiment that I would try...
     What if you told a four-year old child that you would come back to give them a second marshmallow in exactly ten minutes? You then gave them a stopwatch and explained that when it reached 00:00, you would return with their marshmallow.
     After the first experiment, come back and tell the same child that you will return with another marshmallow, but don't tell them when. Just let them know that if they wait patiently, it will come.

     I'd be willing to bet that less kids would be able to wait the second time... they will feel as though they have been waiting forever, and give in...

     When you know exactly when you will be done waiting, it makes the waiting so much easier. You can count down the minutes... the weeks... maybe even the years... but the whole time keeping in mind the exact date and time that your waiting will end...

     Unfortunately, life is not always like this. We have been promised certain blessings in our lives, but we do not know when these promises will be fulfilled... just never forget that at some point, they will be fulfilled...


Alma 37:17 - For he will fulfil all his promises which he shall make unto you, for he has fulfilled his promises which he has made unto our fathers.

     Heavenly Father always keeps His promises, big or small... and even though it is hard to wait for what is sometimes a seemingly endless amount of time, it is worth it.

   Do not spend your time on this earth feeling like your promises are not being kept, because what you have to understand is that they are eternal promises.   In the grand scheme of things, you spend very little time on this earth... If you keep an eternal perspective, you will see that sometimes being asked to wait a little while for your blessings... it really isn't too much to ask.


D&C 98:
1 - Verily I say unto you my friends, fear not, let your hearts be comforted; yea, rejoice evermore, and in everything give thanks;

 2 - Waiting patiently on the Lord, for your prayers have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, and are recorded with this seal and testament—the Lord hath sworn and decreed that they shall be granted.

 3 - Therefore, he giveth this promise unto you, with an immutable covenant that they shall be fulfilled; and all things wherewith you have been afflicted shall work together for your good, and to my name’s glory, saith the Lord.


-----

"Patience—the ability to put our desires on hold for a time—is a precious and rare virtue. We want what we want, and we want it now. Therefore, the very idea of patience may seem unpleasant and, at times, bitter.

"Nevertheless, without patience, we cannot please God; we cannot become perfect. Indeed, patience is a purifying process that refines understanding, deepens happiness, focuses action, and offers hope for peace."

-Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Did one of my posts leave a lasting impression on you? I'd love to hear about it! Comment below! 

 Want to read about the layout of my blog? Click here.