Simplify by Listening.

Just for today, make the choice to listen a little more closely to the voice of the Spirit.  Just a few minutes ago I was talking with my husband on his lunch break and spilling to him the worries and troubles from my heart.  In his wise and wonderful way, he asked me to do 2 things for him.

#1. Follow the Spirit.  He asked me to do what I am prompted to do for the Spirit will lead me to do things that will comfort and uplift my soul.

#2. Be comforted.  He promised me that because of prayers and faith the Lord would seek to comfort me today.  But I must let the comfort in.  I must choose to feel the comfort He will inevitably provide for me.

And then he asked me to have faith.  So I promised I would do these things, he told me he loved me, and we said goodbye.

Now it has been 25 minutes since I hung up the phone and I am already witnessing miracles from acting on the two simple suggestions from my sweetheart.  I know that I will only witness more as the day goes on.

Thank you, Sweetie, for your words and wisdom.  And thank Thee, Father, for the miracles.

Would you care to take the challenge as well?  I can only attest that miracles will follow--even if they are small and simple.  They will come.  They have for me...

Sunlight Breakthrough

On those mornings when you can't wake up, when the only thing you want to do is crawl right back under the covers and sleep for 8 more hours.  On those days when you feel terribly un-rested, when you feel no different than when you climbed in bed the night before, can you expect or even dream of a happy-filled day?

The answer is, yes.  A resounding yes indeed.

That is, if you turn to Him.

Perhaps it is on these days of sheer exhaustion, when we feel so small and helpless, when the Lord's grace makes the most difference.  We plead with him on tired knees, bowing a heavy head, and then we reach down deep to muster all the faith we have.  And then we wait.  We wait upon the Lord.

Have you ever noticed that the mornings that start out with a storm, or a light rainfall, are often the most glorious days?  For some reason, the sun breaking through the wool-gray clouds is even more radiant than just a regular sunrise.  Maybe it's the contrast of dark to light that is so inspiring.  Or maybe we just appreciate the sun a little more when we've had a dose of rain.  Whatever the reason, let's make the resolve to make today brilliant...even if it started out a little rough.  We can only do this by trusting our whole day to the Master of the Universe. 


For it is He alone who can make for us this resplendent transformation....

Happy Challenge:

Next time your day starts out with a storm, pray and wait upon the Lord.  Then notice the resplendence when His light breaks through your clouds of fatigue.  Treasure this day and record it to always remember.


image source

Finding Light {My Battle Part 2}

It was towards the end of March that I finally decided to reach out for help.  My husband had asked me on numerous occasions if I wanted him to call my mom and seek out a doctor.  I turned him down each time, believing that I would get better if I just gave it more time.

I had tried exercising more frequently, changing my daily routine a dozen times, eliminating distracting activities...the list went on and on.  And while each of these solutions were good and should have helped, they didn't.  I realized that it was my body's hormones and not my external factors that needed a revamp.

But there were so many days that I wished I didn't even exist...for no tangible, logical reason.  My life was perfect, but I felt in the depths of despair.  Even the warm spring and the sunshine outside, which usually served to bolster me and fuel my joy, only made me feel like crawling up in a corner to cry.  The worst part of the depression seemed to hit me in the mornings.  Every morning the weight of the day would hit me like a ton of bricks the second I opened my eyes.  Sleep was my only escape from the terrible feelings of guilt, sadness, and despair.

In the last week of March I finally accepted my sweetheart's suggestions.  He called my mom because I was too sad to admit that I was depressed.  She immediately reached out and called me.  She found a doctor and I set up an appointment.  This was the turning point for me.  She prescribed a serotonin re-uptake inhibitor and I began faithfully taking the medicine.  It took a few weeks to fully kick-in, so to speak, but I found myself experiencing fewer and fewer bad days as time went on.

I continued to practice life-enhancing habits and did my best to eat and drink right.  I began taking afternoon naps with my little ones and found my days gradually normalizing.  I remember in April there was a day that I finally felt like my normal self.  At first these days were sporadic and unpredictable, but eventually they became the majority.

In May I noticed progress.  I noted that my afternoons began to be happier, and little by little, the hour got earlier that I would begin feeling happy.  Noon for a few days, then 11:00, then 10:00.  By June--I hit a landmark.  I was finally waking up happy.  I waited a few weeks and started to feel like my normal self again.  I am just now tapering off the medication and it feels so wonderful to be alive.

While the medication was definitely a catalyst in my progress, there was a spiritual power that activated it.  I truly learned how to call on my Heavenly Father moment by moment for grace and strength beyond my own to face the feats before me.  It was revolutionary and it has changed me forever...this calling upon Him for grace.  Early this year I had been contemplating how I could come to know my Savior better.  Truly, this was the answer.

Do I feel embarrassed, saddened, or bitter that this whole experience of postpartum depression happened to me?  No. 

Though it was excruciatingly difficult, I know that the Lord pulled me from the abyss.  As I learned to rely on Him more, and use the resources He put in my path, my burden was lifted.  And now as I gaze out at the sunlight falling on the summer countryside, I am truly happy.  And I know that even though I feel much like my normal self, I will never be exactly the same.  I am different now.  More refined, stronger than I was, and perhaps, a little more like Him.

Filled with Light.

"The light of the body is the eye; if, therefore, thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light."

{3 Nephi 13:22}

"And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be full of light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things."

{D&C 88:67}

How often I have read these words, like poetry, straight from the Lord's own mouth.

Knowing that the light of the body is the eye, I have become a vigilant observer of eyes.  After years of watching and feeling, it is usually easy to discern the state of one's heart from the light that shines forth from one's eyes.  In fact, the light of the eye reflects in the whole of the countenance.

But what of the eye being single to the glory of God?

How often I have pondered this deeper meaning.

Today light poured into my understanding, and I understood perhaps a layer of meaning to this phrase.

How do we glory God?  We live our lives in righteousness, always the best we can; we arise and shine forth an example of light; and then we bring Him praise for everything we receive...even the hardships.

This is, I believe, the summation of glorying God.

And if this, this glory-giving, glory-living life is what we focus on singly, or solely, it shows.  It manifests as a shining of light in our eyes.

I go to the mirror and examine my eyes.  There's the blue and the white and the black of the pupil, but I ignore all of these and look deeper.  Is the light there?  And my mind rolls back in time to nearly 7 years ago when I sat in a BYU-Idaho devotional in a little chapel on a cushioned bench.  I do not remember the name of the lady addressing, but I'll never forget what she taught.  She spoke of eyes and light and countenances reflecting the light of the Savior.  And she issued a challenge.   To rise up each morning, go to a mirror, and look for the light.  We were then encouraged to act that day in a way that the light in our eyes would be increased.

Here at my mirror, seven years later, and I still search for the light as often as I remember.  Maybe this coming year it will become a solidified routine.  

To check for the light.  

To examine the eyes.  

To live a life of glory to God...

And the list continues...
ever onward to 1000...

#752 Little inventive boys
#753 Old matchbox cars coursing through brown wrapping paper tubes.
#755 Sweet Pea's countdown inspired by the Spirit.
#757 Prayers and faith pulling Mother through her surgery and post-surgery with no epidural or pain medication.
#764 A sweet tender birthday hug from Pop
#771 Impromptu sweetness last night before drifting into slumber.
#772 This heart-building counting of the graces, while waiting for my own little "Grace" girl.
#773 Little Bug's pure, innocent, unrestrained laughter.
#775 Approaching the 1000 mark and wondering what lies beyond...