Wednesday, November 26, 2014

6 Things I'm Grateful For

Allred #9 is a humble apartment one block south of BYU campus. This tiny box was my home for 9 months during my junior year of college.  The small living quarters housed a lot of 20-something angst the year I lived there. While each of my two best-friends-turned-roommates and I were going through our own unique trials, we came up with the same solution to combat our pitiful state of being. We would blog lists of things we were grateful for periodically to put our seemingly insignificant problems into perspective. Since that moment, I have made it a tradition to write and/or blog a list of things I'm grateful for at least once a year.

6 Things Sister P is Grateful for This Special Mission Holiday Season:

6. Satan's 5K is Over! 

Not only is it over, but I didn't die! I learned a lot from the entire experience and am not only grateful that it is over; I'm grateful that I participated. Training for the 5K was the first time in a very long time that I stuck with something I hated (and that I wasn't paid to do...like that one awful job I had for 2.5 years in college). It was humbling, stretching, and tiring--just like any good trial should be.

Sister Jenkins and I celebrating in the only appropriate way...with a jumping picture, clearly.

High fives for all!

Run/walk heat partners for life. Seriously, I prayed that Heavenly Father would make the 5K less awful and he blessed me with an awesome sister who was going at the same pace as me to talk to.
The gazelle makes another appearance on the blog.
If you blow this picture up like a creeper, you'll notice that I am actually smiling while I'm running...WHAT?!? I think it is when I made the comment to my neighbor about a 5K being less than you would walk in a day at Disneyland, therefore it was doable, yet still not as fun.


5. A Testimony in Heavenly Father's Plan and Timing

When I came out on my mission my trainer asked me to think of a goal for myself that didn't involve things I couldn't control (i.e. number of baptisms). I quickly knew that if I only accomplished one thing on my mission, I wanted to have 1,000 percent faith in Heavenly Father's plan for me. I'm not sure when I gained a testimony of this principle, but sometime during the last ten (TEN?!?!!!!!) months I did. I don't doubt anymore. I know that at times His plan is hard, but I will always know that it is right, and that it will lead to happiness in the end.

4. My Companions

I have loved all of the companions I've had on my mission and that is a huge blessing, because being with someone 24/7 is a lot harder than I thought it would be. Heavenly Father has really been looking out for me! I've learned important lessons and Christlike attributes from each companion. My future husband and children will be able to thank each one of them for making me an easier person to live with I am sure.


Sister Whitten (I don't have a picture handy of just the two of us, because she was my MTC companion, back in the day before the iPad).
Sister Gillespie
Sister Dumas
Sister Dawson
3. My Family

Being on a mission has made me appreciate my family about a million times more than I already did (and I already appreciated them a lot!). I miss them a lot and actually understand the importance of being sealed to them for eternity now. I am never going to not see them for 18 months ever again in my life, because it is awful.

2. The Opportunity I have to Serve the Lord Full Time

Never again in my life will I have the opportunity to give all of my time, talents, and dedication to my Savior. 

1. Jesus Christ

There was a lot I didn't understand about what Jesus Christ did for me before I came on a mission, and there is still much I can't wrap my head around. My heart has learned a lot about the enabling power of the atonement while I've been on a mission, and for that I am extremely grateful. I have a relationship with Jesus Christ, and before my mission I really didn't. I passively acknowledged his ability to clean my sins from my soul, but other than that, I didn't recognize all that he did for me in the Garden of Gethsemane and on his long journey to Calvary. He is the reason I know that there is so much more in store for me than I can even imagine. He is the reason I can persevere through everything difficult and un-enjoyable. He is the reason I can return to live with my Heavenly Father and family after this life. He is the reason for everything.

No comments:

Post a Comment