My June 3rd

This day is always full of emotions for me--some painful, some sad, some regretful, most meditative--all inevitably leading to this one simple question:

Sometimes, life just doesn't work out the way you planned. Case in point: my life. And sometimes, it's because your plans weren't as good as the Lord's. He's really trying to help me get the most out of my life, I think. Which is pretty great. Did I mention how I just read Kristin Oaks's book, A Single Voice? Well, I did. And it's great. I especially love the subtitle:

The Unexpected Life is No Less a Life.

Seriously. And most days, I have to admit that my life is full and happy and wonderful and 100% blessed. And on days like today, I have to remind myself (and yes, make lists) of all the blessings that I have received because things did NOT go the way I planned. I know that this scripture is a bit cliche (can you say that about scriptures?), but this particular one has really helped me through some hard times:

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven."

-Ecclesiastes 3:1

It's such a comfort to know that the Lord has a purpose for me, and that He is timing it perfectly. What a relief, because I probably would mess things up big-time. 

Haha, so I just busted out my journal from last year, and guess what scripture I have written down there? You guessed it. (In case you didn't, it's the same one as above.) Anyway, back to that book. I just loved how Sister Oaks talked about her single years and how they gave her the opportunity to make Heavenly Father her best friend. That's not to say that married people can't (or shouldn't) do the same, because obviously they should, but there is just something about being single that forces you to turn to the Lord. For so many years, I have felt that Heavenly Father has been teaching me how to be alone (And with some of my best friends getting married this summer, the lesson just keeps on going). I think that the biggest part of learning to be alone is learning to trust in Him and turn to Him for everything. I don't know why it's so hard sometimes, but it is. I'm still trying, though. And it's comforting to know that He is always there, even when I mess up, or when I forget or am just slow to remember. 

I've been reading through the Book of Mormon kind of quickly lately, which I like to do sometimes because then I get more of the "whole story" view of it, and it helps me see so much Heavenly Father's dealings with His children. And I am always reminded of how constant He is. He is always good, always great, always merciful, always kind, always loving, always there. And He is always so ready and willing to bless. For that, I am grateful. And I feel like the more my life parts from my plans, the more He is willing to bless me. I can almost hear Him saying sometimes, "Okay, life isn't going to follow your plans, again, but check out this awesome thing I have in store for you instead." Last year I had a long list of wonderful blessings because of how the "what might have been" well, wasn't, and I'm happy to see that I have another long list to add to that this year.  So, yeah. Life is hard sometimes. But O how great the goodness of our God, which in turns makes my life so good, even today.