Mormon Monday: When Things Fall Apart

The other night, my husband and I were talking about our respective novels. I was telling him about how things were looking really great for my characters and then a colossal disaster happens and things were looking pretty bad.

He made the comment, "There's nothing like disaster to make a hero really shine."

I then mentioned that I noticed the same things in a lot of real stories too. One in particular is the story of Christ. Christ had an incredible entrance into Jerusalem. He came in riding a donkey and the people threw palm leaves in front of him. He was hailed as a prophet, and to the disciples, things must have been looking pretty good.

However, this grand entrance was just the prelude to tragedy. Shortly thereafter, Christ was betrayed, tortured, and crucified. This high point was followed by fear, anger, and disaster. The disciples must have felt that there was no hope. Darkness covered the face of the earth (literally), and things probably seemed like they would never get better.

This period of darkness probably seemed to last forever, but it was only three days later that the Savior rose from the dead and brought hope back into the world. The light was made all the more powerful because of the preceding darkness.

After I had shown this comparison, I said, "Maybe I shouldn't talk about the Savior's life like it is a story."

Jacob's response made me feel a lot better. He shook his head and said, "In some ways, it is THE story."

I've thought about that conversation over the weekend. The more I've thought about it, the more I've realized that this isn't only a common plot in stories, but it can give us hope in life.

Sometimes, it seems like things are going pretty well. We are being blessed and we have more than we need. It is often after these periods of happiness that something devastating can happen. Things simply seem to fall apart. If we allow these moment to, they can destroy us. We can lose our faith and hope in the Savior and we can decide that nothing good will ever happen again. We can choose to allow those moments of darkness to make us doubt and wonder if God ever existed and if He really loved us.

However, the moments of darkness rarely last. If we turn to our Heavenly Father, and retain our hope in Christ, we will soon find the blessings that follow will seem all the brighter because of the darkness the preceded it.

I know I'm always more grateful for my health after I've been sick. I'm always more grateful for my job (or my husband's job) when we've been unemployed and struggling financially.

With Thanksgiving coming this week (and Kevin's birthday), I'm going to do a gratitude week again. I did one last year, and I would like to again express my gratitude for all the blessings that we have. Thanksgiving doesn't really mean anything unless we take the time to remember why we're grateful, and who we are grateful to.

Today, I'm grateful that light always follows darkness and that light is stronger than darkness. Like everyone else, I have had difficult times in my life, but when I look back on them, the struggles have made me stronger and increased my faith in the Lord. I am grateful for my challenges and those moments when things fall apart.

After all, it is only with the Savior's help that we can put them back together again.

Christmas in the Stores

A few weeks ago, I walked into Sam's Club, and to my horror, I saw that they were selling Christmas trees.

That really surprised me, though it probably shouldn't have. I said to Grig, "What happened to Thanksgiving?"

He remarked, "What happened to Halloween?"

"Oh yeah," I remembered, "that does come first."

It makes sense logically. Christmas is the most lucrative time of the year for stores. Why wouldn't they have their sales last as long as possible.

I was talking to some kids the other night, and they also told me about how they had turned on Christmas music the night before while they were cleaning and they were jamming out to it.

I thought it was pretty funny, but I also fondly remembered us jamming out to "The Monster Mash" as we prepared for Halloween.

So many things have changed since I was a kid. When I was younger, they didn't have Trunk-or-Treats. There was only trick-or-treating. I LOVED trick-or-treating. Now, because it's so dangerous in some places, they provide trunk-or-treating so kids can still have the experience without possibly walking into danger.

Wasn't he adorable?

We took Kevin trick-or-treating last year. We're going to take him again this year. It is a tradition I want to continue as long as possible. We try to only go to people or neighborhoods that we know, but who knows?

Halloween was a big deal at my house. My father had dozens of monsters that moved and made noise for Halloween. He also had a lot of monster bobble-heads. Maybe it was a little unusual, but I really enjoyed it. My aunt would also make a haunted house out of my grandma's basement, and it was really impressive. I liked helping with it.

Thanksgiving is also equally important to me. I have a lot of family, and it was always a time of talking, playing basketball, and eating. The food was always amazing. Now, we also have Kevin's birthday to look forward to around that same time in November. It's crazy that he's turning two soon.

Even though I understand why stores do it, I probably won't be concentrating on Christmas until we're done with the two holidays that come before it.

I like Halloween and Thanksgiving.

I want to enjoy them while I can. I think half the fun of  holidays when you're a parent is watching your kid(s) learn to love them.

I'm excited this year. Kevin's going to have a lot of fun.

I am too.

Mormon Monday: Gratitude

This week is Thanksgiving!  So, I thought I would tell you the LDS doctrine on gratitude.

We believe that God expects us to show him our gratitude.  In one scripture, it says:

Doctrine and Covenants: 59:21 And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things, and obey not his commandments.

Heavenly Father gives us everything.  However, often we are like ungrateful, entitled children.  We believe that we DESERVE blessings and that God should give them to us simply because we want them.  Luckily for us, God doesn't work that way.

He has complete and perfect knowledge of the best way to parent each of us.  He knows when we should wait for things, He knows when we need them immediately.  It is simply our responsibility to recognize the blessings from our Heavenly Father and thank him for them.

HIis goal in this life is for all of us to reach perfection.  Trials and conflicts make us grow.  For my post on why bad things happen, click here.  Our Heavenly Father doesn't let anything happen without a reason.  

Often we are blessed beyond our wildest dreams and when that happens, we often forget to thank the one who caused it to happen. 

There is an old story I know of.  A man was working on his roof one day, when he suddenly felt himself slipping.  Knowing that if he fell, he would tumble to his death, he quickly prayed, "God save me!"

As he went off the edge, his shirt caught on a nail and he stuck.  He breathed a sigh of relief, looked back up at the sky and said, "Never mind, Lord, I saved myself."

There is another scripture I love.  It's a King talking to his people about why they should be grateful to God. It says: 

Mosiah 2:19-25

19 And behold also, if I, whom ye call your king, who has spent his days in your service, and yet has been in the service of God, do merit any thanks from you, O how you ought to thank your heavenly King!

 20 I say unto you, my brethren, that if you should render all the thanks and praise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you, and has kept and preserved you, and has caused that ye should rejoice, and has granted that ye should live in peace one with another—

 21 I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants.

 22 And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you.

 23 And now, in the first place, he hath created you, and granted unto you your lives, for which ye are indebted unto him.

 24 And secondly, he doth require that ye should do as he hath commanded you; for which if ye do, he doth immediately bless you; and therefore he hath paid you. And ye are still indebted unto him, and are, and will be, forever and ever; therefore, of what have ye to boast?

 25 And now I ask, can ye say aught of yourselves? I answer you, Nay. Ye cannot say that ye are even as much as the dust of the earth; yet ye were created of the dust of the earth; but behold, it belongeth to him who created you.

 I love this because it is so true!  We get everything from the Lord, and no matter what we do to try and serve him, he just blesses us more.  We are eternally in His debt.  

This week I'm going to be posting blogs about things I am grateful the Lord gave me.  I have so much in my life, and often I am always looking toward the future and saying, "Oh, when this happens, I'll be happier."

I should be happier today.  I have so many blessings and so few troubles.  I need to let the Lord know that I have recognized His hand in my life, and I am grateful for it.