I’ve been busy, busy, busy….Although I have been busy, busy,
busy there are loads of exciting things happening here in Provo, Utah.
Drum roll please………….
I am serving a mission in Lyon, France!!
SURPRISE!
I had been thinking about a mission but never seriously but
when they made the announcement of the lower age in General Conference it hit
me in a way that I didn’t expect. Being at the conference center during that
announcement way amazing. The reaction of the audience was priceless. Since I
was on crutches (due to my knee surgery) I got to ride in the tunnel with my
parents. I was able to talk to a lot of general authorities, general officers,
etc. I got to talk to Sister Dalton and Sister Cook from the Young Woman’s
Presidency after that session and I broke down in tears to them while
expressing to them my wish this announcement would have been made a year ago.
They both immediately put their arms around me, and Sister Cook looked me in
the eyes and said, “Lauren, you can still go.”
I knew it was something
I needed to seriously ponder and pray about. I prayed, pondered, and studied
while seeking for my answer. I was nervous, apprehensive, and excited to see
what Heavenly Father had in store for me. I tried keeping an open heart and
mind while I prayed, knowing that whatever my answer was I would follow it with
all my heart.
Well I got my answer. I have a journal I keep and take
impressions, thoughts, or good quotes in during sacrament meeting. I kept
writing down things I heard, quotes that came to my mind, and impressions I
had. When I reread what I had written my answer was clear as day, I had written
a perfect paragraph addressing my questions and concerns. It was so powerful to
me.
It read:
“Mission?? I have to put my faith in Christ that things will
work out. “Look less with the eyes and more with the heart” –Uchtdorf. Am I
thinking with worldly worries clouding my heart? I am worrying so much about
school, future, marriage…everything! I need to set aside my worries. Should I
serve a mission? Put God first in your life. If the Lord wants things to
workout/happen, he will help them workout after a mission (Job, school,
husband, etc. will workout accordingly). Trust, trust, trust. Don’t deny the
feeling you had in the moment. The Lord never contradicts himself. GOD LOVES
ME.”
This has been one of the hardest decisions in my life
because I have every reason not to go but I have to! I have faith in my Savior
and in my Heavenly Father and I know things will workout.
Ever since I began my papers miracle after miracle has
happened to get my papers in and prepare me to leave. God loves me personally.
Life is crazy. Life is unexpected. Life goes in different
directions than you expect. BUT TRUST.
On a lighter note, I am obsessed with T-Swifts new CD Red. Repeat ALL DAY LONG.
