As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, I love beautifully quotes.
This particular quote is a strong reminder to me to choose our Savior Jesus Christ everyday.
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This quote makes me think, how has Christ changed me?
To answer that question, the Savior has changed my life in EVERY single aspect of my life.
The Savior has changed me through how I see the world.
Everyday, as I strive to become closer to Christ, my perspective changes.
Overall, the Savior is the great reminder, that compassion and love conquers all.
Not only the compassion and love we feel from the Savior, but the compassion and love we give to others.
Life is hard, and full of struggles. When we are in times of sorrow, we can lean on our Savior for support. We can feel peace through our Savior Jesus Christ.
Even more, we learn the true cure for healing is through serving others. Through showing compassion and love to others.
When we step outside of our situations, and we lift others. Not only are we brining others peace and happiness. We are feeling our lives with Christ-like love, that is beyond any worldly love.
I am so grateful for Savior and for the power He brings into our lives. I am so thankful that we can be changed through Christ.
I pray that we can all reach for our Savior in all aspects of our lives. He will heal us and uplift us, and encourage us to do the same for others.
So after I met my sweet friend Whitney, we of course discussed the topic of who we were “dating.”
We both didn’t have anyone special. I told her I dated people, but I was in my final semester of grad school, writing a thesis and teaching school full time, so life was quite busy.
The timing was January of 2013.
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So I left off letting you know that I had met Brad at a birthday party…when I asked a mutual friend about him she said he wasn’t the “settling down type.” Which I still wasn’t sold on.
I did make sure to facebook stock him and think “he’s a cute guy.”
And that was that.
Life moved on.
I was finishing my last year of grad school while teaching full time and life was busy!
Fall of 2013 was full of planning my final thesis paper which would be due in the next 8 months, and I had many projects and papers to read in the mean time.
At this point in life, I was going on dates, but I hand’t met “the one,” and I knew at this point in my life, I needed to focus on finishing my degree…while still making sure to be a successful middle school teacher.
My social life had changed quite a bit.
I worked from 7am-3 pm, drove home to relax for an hour. Then would start studying or doing homework for a few hours, I’d hit the gym, eat dinner, then the same thing the next day.
Me with my dad on a trip to Canada Summer of 2013
On Wednesday I would go straight from work to Weber State University for classes until 10 pm.
Life was going along just fine.
And I had somewhat forgotten about the cute boy I met at the birthday party months ago.
Until…..
One Sunday, I had gone to church and there was a new girl in our ward.
I had only had this happen one other time in my life.
But I had such a STRONG feeling that this girl needed to be my friend.
Call me crazy, but I was drawn to her.
She was kind, she was beautiful and sweet, and very intelligent.
At the time my logical brain said “Christy you can hardly hang out with the friends you have, between work and grad school.”
However, I couldn’t shake that this awesome girl, was meant to be a good friend.
And sure enough, this new friend Whitney, became one of my dearest friends.
We clicked. There was no drama, she was kind and easy to get along with.
We had a lot of things in common and it was just a nice “break” to be around her.
My friend’s name was Whitney, and little did I know that being her friend would make such a big impact in my life.
She is still a dear friend to this day….and because of her, I officially met my husband.
Moral of the story, don’t shake those feelings or promptings you have.
God is in the details and He is always looking out for us in so many ways.
My husband and me probably do not have the typical love story in any way. So, with Valentines Day around the corner I thought I would share our love story in pieces.
First, some background you must know.
My husband Brad and I were single in Utah for much longer than most people tend to stay single.
We both VERY much wanted to be married and to have a family…but we both had experienced some challenges in the dating world. Things just hadn’t worked out.
Dating brought us both through many ups and downs, which in a way, made both of us a bit weary of blind dates or set ups at all.
Keep that in mind as I continue on…..
I was invited to my friend Marianne’s birthday party.
It was a fun “Mustache” birthday party.
And in the picture we took…we all had mustaches on…all but One.
There was one in the picture who put his finger above his mouth to create a mustache…and well, I thought this guy was quite cute.
I saw that my friend had been talking to this “cute guy,” so I asked her if she would introduce us.
She brushed it off and said “He’s like 31 and not married, he’s not the type that wants to settle down.” And she left it at that.
Who was that guy? Well, I found out his name…his name was Brad…….
So I may have Facebook stocked him…through looking at mutual friends.
I found this picture and was quite smitten;)
Facebook did have it’s benefits for single people back in 2013!
What I’m starting to learn is that we are all survivors…
Survivors of what?
We are all survivors of something that impacted us to the core.
Some are survivors of broken up, gut-wrenching, sad and abusive home life’s.
Others are cancer survivors, diabetes survivors, genetic disorder survivors and more ..
Some are survivors of divorce, abandonment, and relationship heartache.
Some are survivors of miscarriage, loss of a child, loss of a spouse, or a sibling, or parent, or loss of a close friend.
Some are survivors of bullying, and loneliness.
Others are survivors of learning disorders.
Some are survivors of racism.
Others are survivors of job loss, disappointment, and turmoil…
While others are survivors of depression snd crippling anxieties …
Could I go on?
Yes—it would take many pages to write them all.
Do we have something to learn from all of life’s survivors?
Always.
We are ALL survivors of something.
No one is dealt a “ride free” card in life.
By the time we reach adulthood… we have all survived a trial or many trials.
And as we continue on in life, there are more trials to come.
We all survive something hard and tough.
Yes, some trials come from poor decisions.
However, many trials emerge through our lives no matter how good and perfect our decisions are.
We ALL experience pain and heartbreak. It’s just the unfortunate part of life’s journey.
So knowing this, we ALL need to be a little more kinder.
We all need to be more thoughtful,
We are ALL living in a world of survivors.
A world where heartache is rampant.
There is not a soul in this world that doesn’t face some sort of trial.
So we must lead with love .
We must fight for others to share empathy.
We must understand that some survivors are hurt so deep that they can’t find peace.
And we have to help be that “peace” in the world.
We must smile more.
We must fight less.
And most importantly, we must remember that God himself knows that each child of His is struggling, and longing for something to lift them up out of the trenches and to bring light into their lives.
Everyday we have the choice, as a survivor ourselves.. how do we help the other survivors?
How do we bring light into a world of darkness?
The answer is simple, it’s Love.
The answer always has been and will forever be love.
Love may not take away all the pain, because pain runs deep.
But love brings the blanket of comfort and peace that is vital in this world.
Be the survivor that loves.
And this world of survivors will see, that love will, and always has been able to set them free.
