The Spirit

I have had many, many moments this week of complete peace, tangible comfort, and inspiration. I have had too many experiences in my life to every question that I am a daughter of God. I KNOW that he loves me. I KNOW that he watches over each of us and helps us to bare our burdens. I have struggled this week while my quorum has been away. I have never been alone for this long and it's been an adjustment to be so far out of my comfort zone. I know that they are making memories that will last them a lifetime. I know that Nana is taking such good care of them. As part of my "Stay Strong and Fit, Body, Mind, and Spirit" goal for this year, I have been very focused on staying strong and fit physically with intense workouts each night. But, I have also focused on staying strong and fit spiritually this week. It has been that missing piece. I am listening to the Book of Mormon during work and sometimes in the car on the way to work. I am watching three or four mormon messages each night before I close my eyes. I am praying more intently and I am listening with more patience. We all know that as we read messages and listen to songs, we are just re-learning things that we already knew. But, each time we hear them or read them, we gain new knowledge, new insight. I love Jeffrey Holland says that we need not be afraid to ask for help. We need to "hold the ground we already have won... even if that ground is limited." He goes on to say, "Even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe." Our struggles will never cease. We may become exhausted, but we need to be grateful for anything - a partial blessing, a glimmer of hope, a small lifting of a burden. I love these words. I am so grateful for the moments when I have felt buoyed up, raised from despair, made strong in my weakness. I am so grateful for my knowledge that we are children of our Heavenly Father and that He knows us and loves us. *** I spoke to Jackson last night via text. My grandpa took him to the temple yesterday in Fresno and performed baptisms for the dead with him. Jackson told me that he had an amazing time, a time that he will NEVER forget. That is what it is all about.