Hope

Robert gave our lesson for FHE last night. It was from a talk from the Priesthood session of the lastest General Conference. It was on hope.

Though not always conscious of it, I have been a worrier (is that even a word?) for quite a long time. I'm not sure where I picked it up, or from whom, and honestly that doesn't even matter. Something that I realized from the lesson that Robert shared last night is that I have a choice about it.

I like to have control over things, especially plans I want my life to take. I dream about being able to pay off my student loans in 2 years, but I worry that it'll probably take much longer. I like to have an idea for how things will move forward. The great majority of the time, my plans do not come to fruition in the way that I had hoped, which is also a source of great frustration for me.

This talk helped me to realize that hope "is an emotion which brings richness to our everyday lives. . . . Hope brings a certain calming influence to our lives as we confidently look forward. . . . Our hope in the Atonement empowers us with eternal perspective." What an amazing concept! I need to practice more hope in my life! This isn't to say that I haven't experienced hope, because I certainly have. I have just realized that I can let myself experience more.

Another quote that was particularly powerful to me was this one from President Uchtdorf: "Hope is one leg of a three-legged stool, together with faith and charity. These three stabilize our lives regardless of the rough or uneven surfaces we might encounter at the time." It would be challenging for me to express adequately the meaning this message has. We need all three of these characteristics and actions--they all rely on the others, and together they bless us so much.

"We should never let hope be displaced by despair." As one who chronically worries about the worst-case scenario, I need to let go of my often overexaggerated worries. Because of the Savior's Atonement and Resurrection, I have hope that the important things will fall into place when I am obedient. How very grateful I am for this!