Changes.

One of the things that has been on my mind a lot lately has been the importance of changes.  No, I am not talking about the classic song by Tupac Shakur which I happen to know all of the words to and can't help but sing every time I hear it, but rather actual changes that occur in our life and the reasons behind them.  Over the past few months I feel like I have had a lot of opportunities to make changes in my life which have helped me become a better person and continue to develop the character which will define me for the rest of my life.  

What I find particularly interesting in thinking back now on the changes that I have made and the reasons behind them is how a lot of what has happened has been because of things that I never would have wanted to happen had I been able to choose for myself.  I have become ever more aware of the importance of trials in the Lord's plan for each of us in learning and testing us to see if we will turn to him or from him when things get tough.  Learning to trust in the Lord and accept that you need to become what he would have you become is a subtle shift in mindset that has helped me greatly over the past few months.  It is not that I didn't trust in the Lord before or at least tried to.  However, learning to trust in him more and in turn become more worthy of his trust in return is one of the greatest lessons I think I have learned from my trials of not only the past few months but over the course of the last year.  It is interesting to me the different catalysts that spur change in our life.  I don't know if it is just that I never have responded to the challenges in my life in the same way that I have recently, or if it has been the specific challenges that have helped me make the changes that I have made and continue to make.  It seems to me that it would be a combination of the two.  I can't ever remember a time in my life where I have had to make such conscious decisions to stay on the right path and not let frustration, lack of faith, and doubt cloud my way.  Despite the challenges that I have felt recently, I have also seen that there are blessings that can come from the hard times.  

Blessings from trials come in many different ways and forms.  Personally, I feel like I have had more spiritual growth over the past few months than I have had in a good while before.  My relationship with the Lord has strengthened due to my need to rely more on him and his answers to try and understand what I should be learning from these situations.  I have also been motivated to change myself for the better by working harder in all aspects of my life.  Patience is also another one of the things that I continue to work on throughout my every day life, it also an area where I definitely still have room to improve.  All in all I feel greatly blessed to have been given the chance to learn and grow from my experiences and for the faith that the Lord has helped me have to make it through.  Changes happen for a lot of reasons and I think it is important to look for how we can respond to them with faith and a willingness to do what the Lord would have us do.  I know that only by responding to the difficult circumstances we face in our lives with humility will we be able to become what the Lord would have us become and qualify for the blessings that he has in store for us.  I continue to look forward to all of those blessings with hope. 11-28-10