"In Spite of Everything"

Attending school has been an adjustment for me. I know how to work and I know how to work hard. I have always loved school and enjoyed the challenge...but it has become even more so since returning home. While on my mission everything I did had eternal significance...and now I'm working on an assignment that the professor will look at for a few brief moments, put a grade on it, and move on. My God, being so good to me as always, has been teaching me that I have been looking at this with the wrong perspective and He has slowly been opening my eyes to what is really taking place.
Everything has eternal significance. Yes, everything! Even washing the dishes, shoveling snow, doing laundry, and every other task that takes up our time. How so? They teach us how to work. They teach us to pay attention to detail. They teach us to give all that we have until the task is completely done. They teach us to have order in every thing. They teach us to be clean every whit. Then, when all is said and done, they bring peace into our lives. Think about it. When the task is done, at least for today, your body and your spirit seem to sigh with relief. As you give yourself to these tasks, you're refining who you are. When you care for the small things, just like following what seem to be 'small promptings' the Lord trusts you with more. It may even be these little things that give you the sanity you need when facing difficult trials and opposition. They may be your anchor in the storm.
A quote that I read while doing an assignment this past week really hit me...
"...history rests on the shoulders of those who accepted the challenges of difficulties and drove through to victory in spite of everything." -President Hugh B. Brown
This quote does not say that these individuals did everything perfectly. It does not say that they came out on top with their hair still styled, manicured hands, neat clothes, and a well rested body. My guess is they came out with some broken bones, a bruise here and there, a major head ache, a body craving and begging for sleep and a new appreciation for and reliance on God and the Savior. If you're like me, you've been beating yourself up because you haven't gotten everything done that you needed to, maybe you've even failed a couple of times when you tried really hard. THAT IS OKAY. God doesn't expect us to be perfect...not even close! He just expects us to try. To give all that we have today, and then turn it over to Him. He will meet us where we are, no matter where that is, and He will carry us if we only let Him.
I am so extremely grateful for the Atonement. I am grateful for my Best Friend Jesus Christ who understands how I'm feeling and what I'm going through when I don't even really know. He lifts me up, He magnifies my efforts, and He makes more of me every day than I could make of myself.
Turn to Him. Let Him in. Don't resist His love or think you are unworthy of it.
YOU WERE WORTH EVERY DROP OF BLOOD THAT HE FREELY GAVE. Choose to believe it.

*Kenna