Updates and Inspiration

Hello!! I know it's been way too long since I've updated everyone. I can't write much from work but at least I can tell you our plans so far! Our tenative date is May 26th in the Mexico City temple, at least my Dad will be there, Debbie will be in Mexico with me, and Annalaura promised that she would do her best to be there too. And of course, Ricky's parents, and a few close family and friends. Later on in the summer we will have a big reception here, but not too close to Debbie's wedding! After we get married we plan to live in Mexico so that he can go to college and I will look for a job, hopefully through my connections in Mexico!

Debbie has been a great soundboard for all of my ideas, today we went to Kari's and she was SO MUCH HELP!! We both felt extremely grateful for Kari's planning skills ~ she's just incredible!!!! Debbie and I each made a list - mine was a list of things that I needed for my reception here, and I was starting to enjoy the planning for it - yeah, can you believe that!! It is also so awesome that Debbie and I can plan together! It makes it fun and we grow closer together too.

Emily has been great, she always manages to be there for me when I need it ~ this week she cleaned the apartment for me, came and had a great family home evening with me, she listened to my problems and gave some great advice, on Tuesday she stopped by with her aunt and talked to me, and left food for me!! and not to mention that she always responds to my texts so kindly. I am so grateful for her, even when she's going through the most stressful times in her life she is still there for me and she is still such a great person.

Lately, I've been trying to practice and make it through my classes, through my health - I've had a nasty cold and also wasn't eating very well so it was hard to accomplish things like I wanted to, and I have been going through challenges within myself, and feeling discouraged and not good enough. But I've been really improving, even though it's been step by step, and it's amazing how the Savior has been helping me.

I know a lot of my friends are discouraged now, but maybe some of the things that I learned can help, or even if it just helps me (this is late so I'm sorry if it's not worded the best, I'm at work doing a 9pm-12am shift and that doesn't make for the most beautiful compositions, but I felt that I needed to write this) :

At the atonement fireside on Saturday I felt that I really needed to be there, I canceled my previous plans so that I could go, and I'm so glad I did because I learned about the Atonement in a new way ~ Atone means - At One. How can we be At One with our Savior?? by learning about Him and continually striving to be like Him, and by serving others, by prayer, by repenting. And I have really been feeling its power within me and in my life. And now, I'm becoming better. But I also feel power, potential, I'm not sure where all to channel it~ I know that I have school but I was hoping for something for myself too. I do have wedding plans and that is something fun to work on. :) but a few weeks ago Ricky said that I should learn the scripture masteries in Spanish. I thought, great idea! but I wasn't quite ready for it yet. Now I think I should try to do that again. It can really help me to truly become a new and better person.

Another thing that I was reminded of at the fireside is that nobody's perfect. Though it's much easier to say than to believe. I look around me and see so many amazing people and I think, I want the blessings they have, and I'm receiving them, I have a great family, great friends, school, and I'm going to marry the most wonderful young man in the world. And all the little ways that the Lord blesses me in every moment. How is it that I can deserve that? Me, with my problems and challenges and sins and imperfections? Sure, nobody's perfect, but they are close enough, I'm not. But in the fireside I learned that we are ALL struggling with problems and challenges and sins and weaknesses. The speaker at the fireside said that when he became Bishop he realized that all of the people that he thought were perfect were struggling with major problems. Every single one. And that didn't mean that they were bad people or unworthy.

Even the people who seem perfect feel as I do at times. That just makes me feel so grateful for the Atonement, and Christ's power to be there for us and make it so that we can feel that He loves us enough for us to deserve it, and He helps us be that person we want to be! And our trying and our repenting and our love for Him and keeping the commandments as best as we can is our part that we do to be worthy to enter into His presence and receive His mercy and His blessings. And that is good enough. And it's all He asks. I'm so grateful. And my sweet Ricky has been incredible. He's just been so supportive and nothing but sweet and understanding and helpful. I love him so much. And we've done some real growing in the past month, together, our relationship, and me, myself. I just want to be the best person that I can, and he appreciates that, and supports me. And we learn together too, I love that part.

Another thing, Sherri Dew is amazing!!!
Her talk called, "Are we not all mothers?" was the lesson that Emily and I had for Family Home Evening. I love that as women we are divinely and premortally made to nurture and enrich the lives of others, and that we can do that every day. I want to see as God sees. I want to love as He does. To serve as He does, and to be His instrument to bring people closer to Him - it says that I will in my patriarchal blessing. Heavenly Father sees everyone dressed in white, as His children, just trying to be as happy as they can on this life. What greater happiness can we share with others than the light of Christ, His love, and the gospel? And what more beautiful calling is there than bringing His Spirit up so that they can return to Him? And while we're preparing for that calling, what a blessing it is to be able to use our mother-like abilities to all of God's children around us! Everyone should read it - these are just some of my thoughts since Monday, I'm sure if it was a lot more fresh in my mind there would be even more to say ~ it was addressing so many of the questions and issues Emily and I addressed in our discussion together beforehand, in such random ways.

These days the General Authorities of the church have stepped it up even more, for our day, in the sense that they're more specific, they are relating to right here, right now, just what we need. They have always, but I am just realizing how life and time is changing and the counsel that we receive applies to our every day challenges right now.

This is a lot, I know, I hope that those who are feeling discouraged can read and know that Heavenly Father loves you, I love you, and that He will be there so that everything will be just how it should. :)

With Love,
Stephi