Mothers: God's Greatest Job Offer

When I was younger, I wasn't too thrilled with the idea of being a mother.  My thought process was, "I'll finish High School, go to College, get my degree and a good job, and get married at some point."  Family life was far from my desires, let alone my thoughts.  Education was #1 in my life.  

Then one day as I was walking along the Weber campus, I was thinking through what kind of job I wanted to go for.  At this point I knew I loved Physics and Theatre, so a job as a high school teacher seemed like the best option.  As I reviewed everything my thoughts fell along the line, "I want a job that will challenge me, one that I can constantly learn from and won't get stuck doing the same thing over and over.  One that's flexible, I'll be in different environments.  I don't care too much about the pay, I'm more interested in loving what I do.  What is something that I can continue to learn from and grow in...hmmm....?"

I spy 3 moms and 3 future moms.  Happy Mother's day!

As I was thinking I suddenly stopped in my tracks.  (Literally, I think I might have thrown off the traffic of college students a little bit.)  The perfect job hit me out of nowhere: motherhood.  Where else would I learn about every sort of subject under the sun?  Where else would it ask me to be able to do a variety of tasks day in and day out?  Motherhood takes children outside to play in the playground, at school, at home, on vacation, everywhere!  The payment isn't in monetary value, it is far greater to watch the ones you love grow in themselves.  It was the perfect fit!

What prompted me to think of this "job" that I had never honestly considered before?  It didn't come from me, I can tell you that.  It came from my Heavenly Father.  It was a prompting of the Holy Ghost.  Why?  Why would a member of the Godhead lead me to a greater desire to have the title of "mother"?  The answer is simple:

It's because families are the most important thing to Heavenly Father.  Mothers are very much the center of the family and it's been said that "Motherhood is near to divinity.  It is the highest, holiest service to be assumed by mankind.  It places her who honors its holy calling and service next to the angels".  

Mothers are gifts from God to help us in our every day moments, and I am so grateful for mine.  She always taught me that I was a daughter of God and that He loved me.  <3  She always supported me when I struggled and cheered me on in my accomplishments.  She truly is a precious gift to my life and I hope to follow her example as I continue to grow.

Motherhood is not without its challenges though, and our Father in Heaven knows that.  He has provided prayer, scriptures, and even a woman's program called the Relief Society to specifically help mothers with their special calling.  Every mother can receive help from on high and revelation for her family.  They simply couldn't do it without it.

I invite you this Mother's day to be especially grateful for your mothers.  Whether you get the chance to see her every day, or you haven't been able to give her a hug for more than a year, show her that you love her.  Christ's final act was to make sure that His mother was well taken care of.  He knew and was appreciative of her important role in His life.  So too must we.

May the Faith be With You

A few weeks ago a challenge was posed to me.  My mission was to move a brush with my faith.  "Go ahead," Sister McBride encouraged me.  "You can do it, move the brush by using your faith."

I stared at the brush for a while.  Move it with my faith?  What is she talking about?  I was halfway tempted to raise my hand and go all Star Wars on her and "use the force"...but I thought better of it.

Use the faith...Use the faith...As I stared at the plastic object before me it suddenly clicked.  With a smile I reached out and picked up the brush.  (Okay, it was actually a pen, but I didn't have a picture of a pen so I used my artistic license and changed it to a brush.)  My mission was accomplished.  I had moved the brush using my faith.

"Now, hang on a second," someone might say "you didn't use your faith, you did it yourself.  Faith is when it happens all by itself."  To which I would reply, "not quite, my friend.  Not quite.  You see, faith isn't just a passive belief, it is an active action.  Here, let me show you," and I would pull out my scriptures.  Flipping over to James 2 I would show what the scriptures say about faith and works.

In between verses 17 and 26 it says 6 times how faith is directly connected to works.  My favorite verse is the 18th one where it says "Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works."  We may say "I have faith" until the cows come home (which will take a long time because I don't own any cows), but it won't mean anything unless we are willing to act on what we believe.

Like with the brush.  If I had sat there thinking move....moooooooovvvee....move!!!  It probably wouldn't have budged an inch.  But when I put my faith into action on the belief that I could move the brush, it was a simple matter of muscle movement.

Another story?  Okay...there once was a woman who was very very sick, she lived around 30 A.D. and nothing the doctors did could cure her.  Nothing.  For twelve years.  She had spent all of the money and wealth she had in the hope of becoming well and still she was plagued with her illness.  She had faith in the doctors - she paid to have them come to her after all, she did act on that faith - but still she was left in her weakness.

One day she heard of a man named Jesus.  She heard that he had power to heal.  She said to herself "If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole."  So she left her home and went to the streets to where he walked.  It was crowded, there was a lot of people around him but she pushed forward in faith.  Faith in who?  Faith in Christ.

Reaching through the crowd she touched Christ's garment "and straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague."

What brought this healing?  After twelve years of doctors, what made it so instant?  Christ himself provides the answer: Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole;

She didn't simply wait for him to come to her, she reached out and did her part.  She believed in his power enough to act on that belief.  In doing so, she was blessed.

Our faith can be like hers in our day.  We show our faith in Christ in more than just word, but also by action.  How?  By doing as the Savior has done.  By showing love to all around us, by being obedient to the commandments even in the face of opposition.  Faith is an action word, and we live it every day.  When we reach out in faith, miracles will happen.  It's about more than just moving a brush, it's about moving the world.  By faith.

Sisters to the Rescue!

Growing up, I was never too involved with missionaries.  Occasionally I saw them walking on the street and we'd honk the horn and wave at the Elders in suits.  I didn't think too much about what they did or how they could help me.  They were there and I was here and the two worlds never really touched.

That changed one snowy day in Utah.

I was driving up to work in Ogden and the snow was just dumping down in the Utah way.  Traffic was slow and everyone was slipping on the roads, but I was able to drive safely until I got to the neighborhood of my destination.  Here the roads weren't clear of the ever-deepening snow, and the house I was trying to reach was higher up on the mountain.  I knew that there were steep roads ahead of me, but what other option did I have but to go forward?  I had to get to work.

My little Hyundai Elantra managed fine until I was about two blocks away from my destination.  I was on a steep road and it slid down to a stop on the opposite side of the road.  What was I going to do?  I couldn't reverse and try again, I didn't think I'd be able to hold the traction, but my wheels were spinning out without any success.  I would've parked it right there and just walked, but my car was completely blocking the road.  What could I do?

As I picked up my phone to ask my Dad for help, I saw to figures come running towards me out of the corner of my eye.  I rolled down my window as they came up and to my surprise I saw that they were Sister missionaries!

"Would you like some help?"  One asked.

"I'm stuck, I'm not sure how to get out," I replied, phone still in hand.

"We can help push," she replied and the sisters went to the back of the car. 

In disbelief I wiggled the steering wheel, pushed on the gas and the sisters behind me pushed.  In just a few moments my car was freed and I was able to crest the top of the hill.  "Thank you!" I shouted to the Sisters and continued to drive to my job.  The Sisters waved back and returned to their home.

I've never forgotten that act of service.  It came at the right time of my distress and was the exact help I needed.  Not to mention, it was unexpected.  I never would have guessed that Sister missionaries lived on that street.

Now, it's my turn to wear the black badge with Christ's name on it.  As I do, I think back to those first Sister missionaries I met.  They were doing more than just helping a stranger in need, they were following the example of Christ by giving service.  They were fulfilling those covenants they made at baptism. 

When we are baptized, we make a promise that we will "bear one another's burdens" and "comfort those that stand in need of comfort".  Giving selfless service is a part of this.  Not just service when it's convenient or when you feel like it, but giving it when it is needed.  The Sisters could easily have said, "It's cold, it's wet, and it looks like she's calling someone for help.  We have other things we need to plan and do, we don't need to go outside to help her.  She would never know." and forgotten about it.  Instead, they didn't just walk out of the house to help, they ran to help.

I have learned from their example that this is how I need to respond to opportunities to give service.  To be on-demand for service opportunities, regardless of how "busy" I am or how I feel.  As a member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I have made a promise with my Heavenly Father that I will reach out and serve his children - my brothers and sisters. 

That means you.  :)

Know that right here, right now, Sister McBride and I are here for you.  Whether you have a gospel question or you'd just like someone to clean your bathroom, we are here to help.  Our number one priority is to do as the Savior would do if he were here.  We love you and we want to help in anyway we can.  Give us a call, send us a message, or catch us when you see us.  Let us know what we can do to help. 

You are a precious child of God and He is there for you.  So are we.  :)

Two Stories of Faith in Christ

Today I'd like to share two stories with you about having faith in Jesus Christ.  They're not my stories, but they very much apply to us. 

The first one comes from a talk by Elder David A. Bednar, an apostle of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  This is his experience with a young man and his wife.

"John is a worthy priesthood holder and served faithfully as a full-time missionary. After returning home from his mission, he dated and married a righteous and wonderful young woman, Heather. John was 23 and Heather was 20 on the day they were sealed together for time and for all eternity in the house of the Lord...

"Approximately three weeks after their temple marriage, John was diagnosed with bone cancer. As cancer nodules also were discovered in his lungs, the prognosis was not good...

"Heather noted: “This was devastating news, and I remember how greatly it changed our perspectives....This was the worst day of my life, but I remember going to bed that night with gratitude for our temple sealing. Though the doctors had given [John] only a 30 percent chance of survival, I knew that if we remained faithful I had a 100 percent chance to be with him forever.”

"Approximately one month later John began chemotherapy...three months later John underwent a surgical procedure to remove a large tumor in his leg...

"Two days following the operation, I visited John and Heather in the hospital. We talked about the first time I met John in the mission field, about their marriage, about the cancer, and about the eternally important lessons we learn through the trials of mortality. As we concluded our time together, John asked if I would give him a priesthood blessing. I responded that I gladly would give such a blessing, but I first needed to ask some questions.

"I then posed questions I had not planned to ask and had never previously considered: “[John,] do you have the faith not to be healed? If it is the will of our Heavenly Father that you are transferred by death in your youth to the spirit world to continue your ministry, do you have the faith to submit to His will and not be healed?”

Pause there.  What are your thoughts as you read those questions?  When I first heard this, it was not what I was expecting.  The usual question is, "Do you have the faith to be healed?"  Why would we think about the alternative?  God has the power to heal all illnesses, and if we trust in him, that means we will be healed...right?  What would our faith be if we believed that we might not be healed?

Before I answer those questions, or finish of Elder Bednar's story, I'll turn to the second story.  This one happened way before any of us were born, it is found in the Old Testament in the Bible.  It is the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.

"Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold...Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages,

"That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up: And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.

"Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of musick, all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

 

"Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews. They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar...There are certain Jews...Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

"Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Then they brought these men before the king.

"Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? ...

"Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.

"If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.

"But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up."

Think about their response for a minute. If Elder Bednar had asked them the same question he asked the young couple, what would their response be?  From what I can tell, it would be a solid, resounding "YES."  They were willing to submit to the Lord's will instead of insisting on their own.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego had faith that God had the power to preserve them.  They knew his power and they trusted that he could save them.  But their second sentence holds weight as well, and shows even greater faith.  They were still going to choose the right, even if God didn't save them. 

Heavenly Father isn't one to give us instant gratification.  Sometimes the best blessings, the best lessons, come after trials of patience and faith.  There will be times when the Lord will let us fall so that we may pick ourselves up again and learn from the experience.  We must remember that His plan is the only plan that will bring the greatest growth, happiness, and knowledge.

Faith isn't simply believing that we can be lifted from our trials, true faith is more than that.  Faith in Christ means trusting in His will completely.  Meaning we take all of our ideas, thoughts, and plans and we place them on His altar holding nothing back.  That is what these two stories have in common, the people in them found the faith to believe in Christ and trust in his judgement, even if it meant they passed from this world because of it.  They met the challenge and conquered it.

So what happened to them once they found the faith to submit their will to Christ?  John's cancer was defeated for a time, but then it came back.  From Elder Bednar's talk, he is still going through this trial.  As for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, they were preserved from the fiery furnace to become great leaders in Babylon.

These two stories have ended well, from what we can tell.  But there are plenty of other stories like Abinidi (See Mosiah 17), Nephite women and children (See Alma 14:8), and Joseph Smith (See Doctrine and Covenants 135) who put their trust in the Lord and perished because of their belief.  Their faith was equal to each other, even though the result was different.

We face opposition and trials in our lives, the point isn't for us to plead for instant relief of the pain that tears apart our hearts, the point is for us to humbly submit to all things which the Lord sees fit to inflict upon us.  (Mosiah 3:19)  We can do it, because we will not be alone in our trials.  We will receive strength to endure as we are obedient to the commandments and as we have faith that we will receive His aid.

I know that Christ has the power to heal all sickness, remove all trials, and lift all burdens.  But I also know that in many cases he will not so then we can learn, grow, and become more like Him.  I know that we are not alone in our struggles, we have the greatest advocate on our side, and He will help us every step of the way as we look to Him for guidance.

A Good Health Plan

A few months ago, I made the decision to start eating healthy.  People have told me that if I do, I'll feel better and have more energy in my life, so I decided to try it.  I stopped buying ice cream and sugar, substituting it with salads and fruit cups.  But I didn't see a big difference in how I felt.  From what I could tell, I was the same Sister Butts as I was before I started eating healthily.

 

This past week, though, I had an experienced that changed my views on food.  It was dinner time, so Sister McBride and I decided to go to a fast food restaurant.  I chose some of the less than healthy foods, including a 12 pack of cream-filled pastries that were fried and rolled in cinnamon sugar.  :)  They were delicious and I'm sure I ate more than half of them!

Shortly after I ate them, however, I noticed something.  My stomach was hurting a little bit, I was feeling nauseous, tired, and a little more irritable.  Something just wasn't right.  I wasn't sick, but I sure felt like it.  It didn't take long for me to realize that it was because of the food.  

Now, I had eaten unhealthy food before, but it hadn't bothered me then.  That's because I was used to it.  But as my body acclimated to the nutrient filled food of salads, fruits, and other vegetables, my body wasn't prepared for the damage of fats and sugars - hence the negative reaction.  I may not have noticed the benefits of eating good food at first, but I could clearly see and feel the absence of it when I made a different choice.

As I was thinking about this experience, I found myself drawing parallels to things of a more spiritual nature.  Our spirits, like our bodies, need sustenance.  There are a great variety of things that we can feed our spirits, movies, books, games, schooling, entertainment.  Many of those things are very enjoyable, like movies!  Others are a little bit more drab, like a lecture on Physics.  (I personally love the subject, but I understand most people consider me crazy for thinking so.)

We know that we should study the scriptures, and that we will find strength from them.  But sometimes, we can't feel that strength directly affecting us.  We don't feel a difference when we turn off the T.V. and decide to read the scriptures for a few minutes.  My promise to you is that there is a difference.  Just like fruits and vegetables give our bodies energy, the scriptures give our spirits energy to keep going.

May I give you a challenge?  Something for you to experiment with in your own life?  For one week, trade out a movie, an online game, or a half hour of looking on pintrest and instead pick up a pair of scriptures and study.  Try for 15 minutes a day, and see how things change.  Notice how your days go, how you feel, and how you react to challenges that are presented to you.  If you're looking, you'll notice a difference.

Or, if you're like me.... :) ....at the end of a consistent week of reading the scriptures daily, go back to your daily routine and see if you notice the absence.  

I know that the scriptures fill and feed our spirits for the challenges of our day.  We will find strength from their words, and we will draw nearer to Christ because of them.  I know that if you are struggling with something, you will find help and understanding in the Book of Mormon.  You will see the difference.  More importantly, you will feel the difference.

Living the Gospel

Imagine you're on the ground and your kite is very high up, stuck in a tree.  You jump and you jump and you jump with all of your might, but you can't reach the kite.  Gravity keeps pulling you down.  You try to climb the tree, but it's prickly, sticky, and much too difficult for you to do it.  A man comes by, sees your plight, and brings a ladder that will reach all the way to the top of the tree.  He holds it steady so then you can climb it and get your kite back.

Step by step you climb up the rungs, it's a little high and a little scary, but you reach your kite!  With triumph you pull it out of the tree, go back down the ladder, thank the man, and run back to play with your kite.  You did it!  You got the kite!  Thanks to the man with the ladder you achieved your goal and can resume playing with your kite.

Did you get the kite all by yourself?  Not at all.  You tried doing it by yourself the first time and it didn't work out so well.  The man's ladder helped you get there.  Did the ladder get you to the top of the tree all by itself then?  Of course not.  It's a ladder, not an elevator.  You had to put forth your own effort to get up all of the rungs.  The man couldn't have done it for you, you had to do it yourself.

This is very similar to our lives.  Our goal is a lofty one: to reach heaven and live with our Father again.  It is so high up there, that there is no way we can get to it on our own!  We could get there by living perfectly, but since no one can do that, we're kind of stuck.  This is why Christ's atonement is so important.  Because of his suffering in Gethsemane and on the cross, he made it possible for us to reach heaven and make it home again.

Now, his atonement is a lot like a ladder.  It is a necessary tool that we need - without his sacrifice we'd never be able to make it back to heaven - but it isn't an effortless thing on our part.  It's not an elevator that will take everyone straight there, there are things that we must do to apply the atonement in our life.  To use the ladder, in effect.

Our part is summed up in "the Gospel of Jesus Christ".  What is it?  To put it simply, it is faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism by immersion, receiving the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.  Make sense?  It didn't make sense to me at first either.  In fact, there are still things I don't understand about it.  But that's okay, because you don't jump from the bottom of the ladder to the top.  You take it one rung at a time.  So let's brake it down.

The first step is faith in Jesus Christ; "Faith is to hope for things which are not seen, but which are true (Heb. 11:1; Alma 32:21), and must be centered in Jesus Christ in order to produce salvation.  To have faith is to have confidence in something or someone." (Bible Dictionary: faith)  We must believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, and the only begotten of the Father.  We must trust in him, that he is, and that he knows us and loves us.

This can't be an idle feeling, but an active motivation.  When we have faith, we are willing to obey the commandments that we have been given.  We seek for more knowledge and understanding, and we continue to chose the right even when everything else is going wrong.  This is how we can apply faith in Christ in our lives - by doing what he has asked of us.

The second step is repentance; repentance put simply is change.  A change in our actions - a change in our hearts.  "It is much more than just acknowledging wrongdoings.  It is a change of mind and heart that gives us a fresh view about God, about ourselves, and about the world.  It includes turning away from sin and turning to God for forgiveness." (https://www.lds.org/topics/repentance?lang=eng)


When I was young, I thought repentance was saying "I'm sorry" to my sister and "please forgive me" to Heavenly Father.  I thought of it as a punishment, a negative consequence to my bad action.  Now I realize that it is so much more than saying "I'm sorry".  It's an opportunity for me to truly be cleaned from my mistake.  By asking for forgiveness daily, I can change and improve and go on living life without the guilt weighing me down at every step.  When we repent, we are really renewed.

The third step is baptism; the action itself seems simple: go into the water and be baptized.  That's it.  The end.  But there is so much more to this step than the moment you're baptized.  For when you are baptized by God's authority, you are making a covenant - a promise to live your life in a certain way for the rest of your life.  In Doctrine and Covenants 20:37 it says "...all those who humble themselves before God, and desire to be baptized...and are willing to take upon them the name of Jesus Christ, having a determination to serve him to the end...shall be received by baptism into his church."

We then take the step of baptism as we remember and act on the covenants we have made.  When we take the name of Christ upon us, we are promising to do as he would do.  To obey his commandments in all situations we are placed in.  How do we serve Him?  "when ye are in the service of your fellowbeings ye are only in the service of your God." (Mosiah 2:17) As we reach out and help the people around us, we are fulfilling our baptismal covenants, and we are living the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The fourth step is receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost;  like being baptized, there is only one moment where you are confirmed and "receive the Holy Ghost", but also like being baptized, there is more to it than just the one moment.  To fully receive the Holy Ghost, you must accept his guidance in your daily life and be open to his voice.

Now, the Holy Ghost doesn't usually speak verbally, he is more likely to be felt than to be heard.  He can warn us of danger, encourage us to do good, and help us understand things of a spiritual nature, like scriptures or gospel truths in church meetings.  To hear his voice we must live worthily for it by obeying the commandments.  Our hearts must be devoid of pride so that we can be open to his direction.

You can't really call the fifth step a "step", because it's not really a single step.  It is enduring to the end.  Meaning, we don't stop taking steps.  We keep living our lives as best as we can, building our faith in Christ, repenting of the things we have done wrong, keeping our baptismal covenants, and listening to the Holy Ghost.  On the one hand, this step sounds like drudgery, a never ending circle of effort.  But on the other hand, it is a wonderful process that will bring us never ending joy.

"Enduring to the end brings direction, peace, and happiness to life.  You will feel the joy of trying to become more like Jesus Christ as you serve and help those around you. You will better understand your relationship with your Father in Heaven and feel His perfect love for you. You will feel hope and a sense of purpose in an often unhappy and troubled world."  (The Gospel of Jesus Christ pamphlet)

"We need to study and learn the fundamental principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and then we must do our very best to live them. That is how we become disciples of Jesus Christ, and that is how we build an enduring testimony." (Richard J Maynes)  When we can take these 5 simple steps of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we will build for ourselves a foundation that will never fall.  We will gain the strength and the wisdom we need to conquer every challenge that we face in this life.

So if you feel like something is missing in your life, take a look at how you are living the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Continue to seek to understand it and apply it to your life, and your life will be filled.

Where Can I Turn for Peace?

"Where can I turn for peace?

Where is my solace

When other sources cease to make me whole?

When with a wounded heart, anger, or malice,

I draw myself apart,

Searching my soul?"

Sometimes, when I pray, these words come into my mind.  They come from the hymn "Where Can I Turn For Peace", and they mean so much to me.  They really describe the ache I feel in perfect words.  The desire to find peace, the realization that I can't find it on my own.  The drawing back away from others...it's a feeling I am well acquainted with.

"Where, when my aching grows,

Where, when I languish,

Where, in my need to know, where can I run?

Where is the quiet hand to calm my anguish?

Who, who can understand?"

Luckily, my prayer never ends there.  Immediately after my plea for help, the next verse in the song comes to my mind:

"He answers privately,

Reaches my reaching

In my Gethsemane, Savior and Friend.

Gentle the peace he finds for my beseeching.

Constant he is and kind,

Love without end."

With the words comes a feeling: a peace.  As I sing the song in my heart, I find reassurance that my ache is known, and that it can be healed.  I don't see a light, I don't hear a voice.  It's the quiet feeling that is found in my heart.  I know that Christ is my friend, my brother, and that he is right next to me cheering me on as I listen.  He never falters, he never fails.  His love is endless.

I know that he is your brother as well, and that he knows exactly what you're going though.  He wants to help because he loves you and he believes in you.  It takes a little faith to put your trust in someone you can't see, but when you do, that tiny seed of faith will grow into a great strength that will last you through every trial, every heartache, every moment for the rest of your life.  

Don't wait.  Go to Him today and partake of the peace and joy that he is offering to you.  :)  I promise that you will find it.