I have been inspired....
After finishing my lovely College diploma this past April I knew that there were going to be some big changes in my life. Unfortunately or fortunately, to be determined, they are not the changes I first thought. I expected there to be the transition into the workforce, going to work every day, doing something I have learned about and enjoyed. Then I started to plan the transition into planning healthier meals and a regular fitness routine to fit with my new lifestyle. Finally I thought of, I hate to say it but slightly, the change in my progress as a Daughter of God and my goal to be more like my Saviour. Apparently I had mistaken the changes that I was anticipating and definitely did not have them in order or the magnitude that they should have organized themselves in.
I don't know about everyone else but I felt like my whole life everyone would tell me how smart and talented I was. That conversation would always lead to, "You definitely won't have any problem finding a job." For me, that was not the case. After graduating I was staying with my brother and sister in law, hoping to find a job before getting a new place. Apparently I must have looked pretty good on paper as I had managed to get several interviews. I felt like I must have been on track and that eventually I would hit the hot job. Unfortunately that has not been the case. Job after job, something would come up and they weren't hiring anymore or after saying they would call me back they wouldn't. I was getting very discouraged, I didn't know what I was doing wrong and why things weren't working out for me.
Fortunately for me I have a wonderful family. They are such a great support. My brother and sister in law never made me feel like I was unwanted there, but knew I would be much happier living with my friends. So they helped me find a place and had things worked out.
So here I am, day after day, trying to get a job. Sitting at home, watching a lot of Netflix. One day, my wonderful roommate Charlotte, as I will refer to her, came to me and said, "You are cut off from Netflix today, you need a new hobbie." I told her I loved to read but that I didn't have any books at the moment that interested me. She went to her bookshelf we have in our room and pulled out a book, throwing it on my bed. She briefly explained what it was about, and I recognized the general story. That day while everyone was at work I started the book.
I read...
.......and read
..................and read.
After about two days or so, I finished the book. I can honestly say, without a doubt, that it has changed my life.
The book I read was titled, "Heaven is Here," written by Stephanie Nielson. She writes of her life, completely factual, as she meets her incredible husband, has children, and the horrific story of how she was in a plane accident, resulting in burns covering 80% of her body. The book shares an example of absolute true love, faith, courage, family, and recovery. I have never been so moved by an individual's story as I have with hers. She is an absolutely incredible woman. Her blog, nieniediaologues.com , shares her life from 2005, when she first started blogging, through the time of her accident in 2008, and through her recovery, up until the present day.
I have heard the phrase, "a change in heart", numerous times but have never really understood it. From the time I started reading her book and then finished it I can say that I have had a change in heart. I felt so much joy, and my feelings of gratitude have become greater than I have ever known.
This past week after finishing the book I have been happier than I have in a very long time. I pray to my Father in Heaven very often. I talk to Him when I think of something I am grateful for, when I am worried about things or when I think of someone else that is in need. I also have never been a big journaler, I wished I was but when I look at past journals they were always so negative. I can say that I love writing in my journal. I absolutely love it. I don't understand why, but I just write down everything I am thinking and it helps to calm my thoughts and understand what I am thinking. I study my scriptures every day without fail. I was absolutely terrible at that a week ago but now I look forward to it. I feel like a new person.
I absolutely love this new person. I read a quote the other day and I feel like it fits my new perspective on life.
"I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination."
-Jimmy Dean
After reading the quote I was thinking about my new self. I had realized that the person I was person was not progressing in the way I would have liked. I had written in my journal a couple months ago the following:
"Seriously, what am I doing with my life? I have no idea what I am doing anymore."
I was struggling and I didn't know what I was doing. I was not adjusting my sails to reach my destination. I was allowing the current to take me wherever it wanted and then I was upset with myself when I wasn't headed in the right direction.
This blog will be dedicated to my life, featuring my friends, family, and obviously me, but most importantly it will, hopefully, showcase the small bits of adjusting that I will do to make sure I am heading in the right direction. I can honestly say that blog posts will never be this long, and I hope to post recipes and cool crafty ideas I have found.
I hope that I can be as or even a little inspiring as Stephanie Nielsen has been to me through her book and blog.
What a beautiful thought.
