Lift Up Your Chin, Walk Tall, God Loves You

Advance Warning and Apologies: This is long! Sorry!
This Week of Spiritual Boosts has been incredibly uplifting for me. I have learned so much from creating these posts and then learned even more from all of the comments. This discussion ground has been truly inspirational for me. My thoughts have been more focused on what is needful and what really matters in life. My actions have followed suit. Because of this, I have decided that I will do a spiritual discussion post every Thursday. I am really excited about this. I have a few topics in mind. Please feel free to tell me any topic you’d like to discuss. It’s going to be fun!

This is my last post on the General Relief Society broadcast. I fully intended to post about Sister Allred’s wonderful message on the temple, but I have run out of days of the week. So, along with the following post, I’m adding this stunning picture my friend Tamra took of the Nauvoo temple.

Here are some of my private thoughts during President Uchtdorf's talk:

President Uchtdorf:
The more you trust and rely upon the Spirit, the greater your capacity to create. That is your opportunity in this life and your destiny in the life to come. Sisters, trust and rely on the Spirit. As you take the normal opportunities of your daily life and create something of beauty and helpfulness, you improve not only the world around you but also the world within you.

My Thoughts:
I am so surprised he hasn’t just focused creation as it pertains to having children. This just shows how the landscape of LDS women is changing. Not every female member of the church is a mother, but we can all find fulfillment in creation. And mothers need to hear that mothering isn’t the only thing of value in the world. Of course, I feel mothering is of highest value, but I can create other things and it can be worthwhile. I probably won’t learn to knit, though.

President Uchtdorf:
As spirit daughters of our Heavenly Father, happiness is your heritage.

Me:
Happiness is my heritage. We all need to hear that. I often second guess my blessings, feeling undeserving, wondering what bad thing is going to happen to me because I couldn’t possibly be this happy. Greg said to me many years ago, “Bif, the Lord wants us to be happy. Men are that they might have joy. He wants us to be happy. Don’t feel guilty about being happy.” This was such wise and timely counsel for me. I have since tried to rejoice in my blessings more fully. I think this makes it easier to go through trials when you know that God’s goal for us is happiness.

President Uchtdorf:
In the end, the number of prayers we say may contribute to our happiness, but the number of prayers we answer may be of even greater importance. Let us open our eyes and see the heavy hearts, notice the loneliness and despair; let us feel the silent prayers of others around us, and let us be an instrument in the hands of the Lord to answer those prayers

Me:
As he said this I had a momentary flashback to the following experience:

There have been more monsters and alien ships in Aaron’s room at bedtime than possibly any other child’s. It took a full year to convince him that the smoke detector in his room was benign. One night, bedtime had taken its usual course. Get your pajamas on. Brush your teeth. Why aren’t your pajamas on yet? Holly, where are you? Come on down and brush your teeth. No, Aaron, no snacks. Of course you’re hungry, you didn’t eat your dinner, but still, no snacks. Kate, put the book down and get ready for bed. Wipe the toothpaste out of the sink, guys! Okay, let’s say prayers. Greg, will you go read a book and say prayers with Holly? Kate, I’ll go tuck you in. Aaron, now it’s your turn. Goodnight, I love you. Yes, I’ll leave the hall light on. Okay, is the door open wide enough now? Lay on your pillow. Go to sleep, you’ve got to get up early. Good night. Love you. Love you.

So everyone was in bed. Five minutes later, Aaron was out. He had a bad feeling and he couldn’t sleep, he said. That’s because you haven’t been in bed long enough, buddy. Go back to bed. He goes back to bed. This happened a couple more times. My patience was very tired. Then, he started to cry – no, howl – in his room. I had had it. I was frustrated. I stomped down the stairs fully intending to give him a verbal lashing. As I turned the corner of the hallway, a calm came over me. Aaron was still bawling at the top of his lungs. But I thought clearly to myself, “I can choose to be calm and he’ll settle down, or I can get after him and make it worse.” I remember consciously deciding to be calm. When I got to his room, I asked Aaron what was wrong. It was his unexplainable bad feeling. I asked him if he wanted me to lay by him. I lay down next to him, and Aaron said, “You are the answer to my prayer, Mom. I kept praying that Heavenly Father could help the bad feeling go away and then you came.”

The number of prayers I say may contribute to my happiness, but the number of prayers I answer may be of even greater importance.

President Uchtdorf:
I believe that as you are faithful and diligent in keeping the commandments of God, as you draw closer to Him in faith, hope, and charity, things will work together for your good. I believe that as you immerse yourselves in the work of our Father—as you create beauty and as you are compassionate to others—God will encircle you in the arms of His love. Discouragement, inadequacy, and weariness will give way to a life of meaning, grace, and fulfillment. You are choice daughters of our Heavenly Father, and through the things you create and by your compassionate service, you are a great power for good. You will make the world a better place. Lift up your chin; walk tall. God loves you.

Me: (No words, just that feeling you get deep down when you’ve really been affected.) And that last little bit? I am putting that on my fridge.