AND THE GREATEST IS LOVE

I can't put my feelings into words. But I'm going to try.

I want every person in this world to find what I have found.

I have had the opportunity to live in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for 311/2 years. There are a lot of things I have learned. A lot of things I have felt. A lot of things I have found. A lot of things that I have grown to cherish more than even my own life. In all of it… through all of it, above and around all of it… I have found God's Love. It encompasses everything that is good in my life. It is the Creator of everything good in my life. It is my life.

In these 31 years I have traveled to most all the states and several other countries. I have lived in Utah, Wisconsin and Texas. And in every place I have found the same thing. 

LOVE.

Not just any love, but God's Love. I can't even begin to list all the ways I have felt it. All the people that have given me a piece of it. All the strangers and friends that have become a part of my world. Of my love. Parts of my heart are all over this world. And sometimes I wish I could just reach out and bring all those parts together. In one place. And keep them forever. Lucky for me…. I know that I can. 

God is the place of all that is good. All that I love. Hour after hour… day after day… year after year… I have come to know Him. I have come to know that WE, His children, are the purpose of His existence. We are the center of all His Energy, Power and Love. And because of Him, all that is good can and will last forever. All that is good can be OURS FOREVER. 

Simply because He loves us.

There is nothing greater than that.

I can't help but hope every person in this world will find that. Will feel it. And keep it forever.

The Greatest Book I Ever Read

There is only one book that is read in our house everyday.  

The more I read it, the more I love it.

There are so many scary things going on in the world right now. Sometimes it is overwhelming. Sometimes I feel really afraid. But that fear never lasts long because there is one book that ALWAYS reminds me how to get through it. 

The Book of Mormon is a daily read for a lot of members in my church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.) On one website it is described as "another witness of Jesus Christ and a divinely revealed guide to the purpose-filled life." Notice the word AND. Not only does it testify and teach us of Christ, it also is a guide straight from God (through His Prophets) to OUR LIVES. To my life. Right now, today. And it is the greatest guide we could ask for. The Book of Mormon is filled with stories from long ago… stories of war, persecution, hatred. Stories of love, forgiveness, peace. Stories about the poor, the rich, the enslaved, the free, the wicked and righteous. All things we experience today. All things that we face in OUR WORLD. Right now. That is why I love this book so much. Because it reminds me that this craziness is all part of the world. It shows me the consequences of the choices I have the freedom to make. It teaches me the way to face persecution, struggles and hardship. It reminds me that God is the Giver of Peace and that He is always there. It teaches me how to recognize Him and how to follow Him. It testifies to me that life is much bigger than the here and now and that God is the Father of us all. His love is greater than anything we know. And when I feel that… fear is replaced with faith, struggle is replaced with strength and chaos is replaced with calm.

God knew the crazy we face would happen. The Book of Mormon is His guide on how to get through it. Satan has been working on us all for a very long time, but God has been working on us much longer.    I have come to know for myself that He is the only way through it, around it, over it and passed it. And He wrote the greatest book ever.

My Job: A better understanding

As parents we deeply affect our children… 

their lives, their feelings, their perspectives, their confidence, their experience in this world. But I don't believe it's our job to make them great. They were great before they came to us. It's our job to help them see that. 

To help them know just how divine they are. To help them be the great that God created them to be. 

It is my greatest honor, privilege and joy to be entrusted with a divine daughter of God to call my own. To love, to teach and to serve. But I consider it my miracle and blessing to have her in my life… to love and teach me. To help me see just how much we each mean to God. To see His goodness in her purity, her selflessness, her trust, her forgiveness and tolerance and unconditional love for me, no matter how imperfect I may be. 

I'm grateful for my own mother, who gave life to me and for me. Who taught and loved me in the best way she knew how. I'm grateful to my sweet daughter… for making me a mother and giving me the chance to learn and grow through my time in this life with her. And I'm grateful to every woman in this world who has been a teacher, supporter, leader and friend to me... and to all those around them. 

So much good comes from the hearts and hands of women.

I love this reminder.