Heavenly Messages

Last week I blogged about how afraid I’ve been of God’s plan for me, and about the experience of realizing that my heart had changed.  I’ve felt throughout this learning process that Heavenly Father has sent me little messages, messages to remind me that the purpose of his plan is to help me to learn and grow. 

 

One of the first that I noticed came last spring in the Ensign, in an article by Elder Packer.  This sentence impacted me so strongly that for days and days I couldn’t turn the page.  I just left it in the same place, and every time I came back to it I read and re-read this quote.

Will this solve all your problems? Of course not! That would be contrary to the purpose of your coming into mortality. It will, however, give you a solid foundation on which to build your life…

 

That spoke to me so powerfully and at the same time optimistically.  Why would I want a situation that would be contrary to the purpose of my coming into mortality?

 

Then in the January Ensign there was this reminder.  First a quote from Elder Worthlin:

If we approach adversities wisely, our hardest times can be times of greatest growth, which in turn can lead toward times of greatest happiness.

and another from Elder Paul Johnson:

I guarantee that you will face challenges. That is part of mortality. It is expected. It is OK. In fact, it is necessary.

 

I don’t know why these little statements speak to me so profoundly and reassure me so much, but they do.  I think that maybe Heavenly Father is trying to etch this idea indelibly into my brain.

 

Last week when I opened a book a piece of paper fell out with a small paragraph written on it.  I’m not sure where it was from, but again the ideas resonated in my heart.

Do you learn from just reading the textbook, or do you need to apply what you’ve read in order to truly learn and integrate it?  [In order to move from knowledge to wisdom, which is the application of knowledge.]  Adversity provides the hands on experience that allows us to apply and practice the things we have previously only studied.

 

I do appreciate these divine messages being sprinkled so liberally into my life!