A Letter to Thayne

11/9/15

I just thought I'd share a couple thoughts from our stake conference this weekend that I thought were really good! There was one talk in particular that I thought was really wonderful. The speaker talked to us about how God helps people change and we can make changes that last a lifetime. Throughout his talk he told gave us some points to follow and I'm going to share what really stood out to me.

There is a difference between bad choices and weaknesses. We all have weaknesses and those weaknesses have a purpose. That purpose is to use the atonement. The great thing about the scriptures is that they are filled with people who screw up just as much as they get it right. Paul told us of his "thorn in the flesh" which he plead with the Lord with all his might to remove, but the Lord told him, "My strength is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness" to which Paul replied, "therefore will I rather glory in mine infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me" (2 Corinthians 15).  Weaknesses are supposed to bring us to a point where we rely wholly on the Lord. I have a friend here who has a struggle he has been fighting for five long years and he told me something really powerful. He said that through his experiences, he has come to realize that he is really nothing without Christ. Without Christ, he would be completely overcome and lost, but as he has reached out to Christ, knowing that it is only through him that this struggle can be put behind him, he has found strength in Christ. He still struggles, but his faith in Christ is unshakable. He understands that we really do need Him every hour.

It is not our job to be strong, it is our job to come unto Christ. It may take a lifetime to change and that's ok. We need to come unto Christ again and again and again. He will always be there.

The semester is slowly wrapping up and it's pretty wild to look back and see how much I've learned. For example, I've learned that the people you spend your time with are the people you love. Maybe it's not the case for everybody, but a mexican saying comes to mind, "show me who you're with and I'll show you who you are." Basically, we can't deny the influence that the people around us have on us. And the more time you spend with someone, the close you get to them. As I have worked with Lauren, she has become one of my best friends in the world. We can laugh and joke together and I feel like we can really talk about anything. It's also reached a point where I'm over there so much that her roommates love me too and anytime I walk in they shout my name together. It's pretty sweet haha. :) I have found that serving someone and spending time with them really does lead you to loving them. I also had a realization the other morning as I was getting ready for the day that I haven't really spent a lot of time with my roommate Ashton. We share the same room and see each other every day, but we don't spend a lot of time together. That made me sad! That same day though, before I even mentioned it, she asked it I wanted to go with her and her "guyfriend" to the store before stake conference. So we went and shopped around and talked and laughed and to be honest, I was just delighted! It was just so nice spending time with her and feeling like I mattered to her, as well as getting to let her know that she matters to me. I bet that the Lord feels the same way. He loves us so much, and there are times where we let our relationship become a second-rate priority. We don't talk to Him, we don't spend time with Him, we don't let Him know we love Him... I think that I could use regular "morning realizations" with regards to my relationship with the Lord. In other words, I need to be aware of where I stand with Him. He is my Savior, my Redeemer, my best friend. I want to remember Him always.