I don't know about anyone else, but General Conference weekend always put me back in check. I wish it happened more often than just twice a year, but I'll take what I can get when it comes to snapping me into reality and back to what REALLY, TRULY matters.
1) Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ LIVE...without them I am LITERALLY nothing. Because I know that they do exist and that belief in them isn't just some trumped up conspiracy that somebody made up, everything and everyone in my life has meaning. Even the so called "bad people" and "bad things" that happen in my life have a purpose. I was asked once "What if you die, and you realize all of it was fake and there is no God?" Although the query made me so sad because it came from a loved one, it just reaffirmed my testimony in the existence of a truly loving and merciful Heavenly Father. My answer was and still is this. I cannot wake up in the morning and see the sun rise and say God does not exist. I cannot look at the faces of the people I love and think that God would allow me to love them only for a time and not offer an opportunity for His children to be with their loved ones forever. I cannot witness the birth of a child and say that man, or evolution, or science is responsible for this...some things cannot be explained, even if you can explain how it happens, you cannot explain who makes it happen. When I witness the kindness of strangers or make a friend that I seem to have known for an eternity, I know that it is GOD reminding me that He is still there. No one can rationalize that knowledge away from me.
2) My family...I don't believe it's blood that makes you a member of a family, I think it's a genuine love and respect for each other. They give me accountability for actions and inaction. When I do or say something, I think about how it will affect my husband, my son, my parents, my sisters, my brother, my friends. Most of the time I probably embarrass them, but sometimes I make them proud, and those are the times I know my life is on track. They are my daily self check and I am grateful for that.
3) Forgiveness...it's sooo hard to do when it comes to people who've hurt me, and sometimes even harder to do when I'm the one who needs to forgive myself. But it's POWERFUL...I've seen it literally work MIRACLES in my life. It's a two way street, give and receive. It reminds me that I am NOT PERFECT and so I am never above forgiving others. Forgiveness helps me see the sinner, the person inside, instead of the sin. But what I love about it most is it isn't an excuse. It doesn't give me a free pass to do hurtful and vicious things to others. It makes me responsible for my actions always, but in case I fall short...which I so often do, it gives me a redeeming chance. No one can take that away from me. Jesus Christ makes this possible for all of us...for this I am so grateful.
It's time for me to try again to become the person my Heavenly Father intended me to be, it's difficult, but not impossible.
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