Our All Knowing God

 I am insignificant. No really, compared to God I am nothing, but to God I am everything. We are everything. I am often frustrated by my plans falling apart or changing over and over again. Especially when I felt God's approval about them. So why do my plans become ruined repeatedly? It is because God's plans are coming to fruition. Heavenly Father is a Being without beginning or end, He is all knowing, all seeing, and all loving. Our God is an awesome God! Can you see everything that has happened, is happening, or will ever happen? I sure can't, but I am finally at peace with that. I don't understand why things happen or don't happen in my life, but I do know that they happen because God wants us to learn and it is all part of His plan. However, God does not cause bad things to happen to us. I repeat, God does not cause bad things to happen to us. He is a God of good things. Bad things happen to us simply because we live mortal lives. Sometimes, God takes the trials from us, sometimes we have to suffer through them. Whichever is part of His plan will happen regardless of our desire to live a completely pain free life. We could not become as He and our Savior are if we did not experience pain in this life. In the book of Psalms it states, "They that sow in tears shall reap joy." In other words, we cannot know joy without knowing sorrow. Jesus Christ would not be able to know the joy of taking away our sins when we repent if He did not suffer the sorrows for those sins. Likewise, if He did not experience the pain of our trials we would not know how His healing and strengthening power and the joy that brings, feels. The small things that we are given to assist us throughout our struggles would not be there if we did not have a Savior. 

One of my favorite primary songs is called "He Sent His Son" (Children's Songbook pg. 34). The words are as follows, 

"How could the Father tell the world of love and tenderness?

 He sent his Son, a newborn babe, with peace and holiness. 

How could the Father show the world the pathway we should go?

He sent his Son to walk with men on earth, that we may know. 

How Could the Father tell the world of sacrifice, of death? 

He sent his Son to die for us and rise with living breath. 

What does the Father ask of us? 

What do the scriptures say? 

Have peace have hope live like his Son, help others on their way. 

What does he ask? 

Live like His Son."

The Savior, God's Only Begotten Son lived His life as God directed. He let God's plan work in His life. 

At one of my first girl's camps in the Corinne 2nd ward, we went on a little hike. We ended at a pile of rocks that I believe had messages written on them from past hikers. Our young women president asked us to pick up a rock we liked. I'm sure she had a story or principle she related to it, but all I remember is being asked to write on the rock we chose, the message, "Life Rocks!" It was only last year that I finally wrote that message on my rock. I never forgot where the rock came from or why I had it and even before I wrote on it, every time I looked at it, I thought of that hike and what we were supposed to remember in relation to it. There is a phrase that people sometimes say, "roll with the punches." I have never before related this to how when my plans fall apart, God's plans are still in place. Life punches me in the face sometimes as I'm sure it does all of you. One thing I am determined to hold onto and use as my 'rolling' tool is that God's plan can never be frustrated (Doctrine & Covenants 3:1). No matter how bad I think I've messed up or how hard life has hit me, God and His plan are constant. Which means, as long as I am doing my best everyday to show my devotion and love for my Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ, life truly does rock.

Love,

Kenzie

The Natural Man

 If there is one thing I learned from the past three years of being stuck at home and in lots of pain for most of that time, it is that I know how the Spirit speaks to me. However, sometimes I let my pride and the natural man inside me get in the way of my receiving promptings. Since being stuck inside for so long I felt locked in and just want to experience something completely new. I started looking into a volunteer abroad program and began praying about it. After a few days I hadn't received a yes or no so I went for it and applied, but continued to pray about it (I obviously knew it didn't feel right). Basically my mind decided that if God didn't give me an answer that must mean yes, so I was determined to do it no matter what. As I kept planning on how to raise funds and going through the application process I felt uneasy about it, but kept attributing it to nerves because I so badly wanted to see and do new things. I was pretty much sending a message to God that I didn't care what He thought about it, I was going to do it anyway. As I was talking to my mom a couple nights ago, I was overwhelmed with a sense of peace after saying out loud that I was not meant to go abroad to volunteer, but that I am meant to be here and to focus on school and healing from my injury. There was no doubt that I had gotten my answer. 

After the peace hit me, I immediately felt ashamed that I had felt confidence in my ability to recognize the Spirit, but I hadn't listened when the Spirit didn't confirm or deny if I should go abroad. I didn't wait for an answer and I didn't heed the uneasy feelings I got as I continued planning. But, most of all I was sorry that I had not trusted God enough to know He listens to my prayers, will answer them, and that He is the one who knows the path I must take to get where I need to go. 

As I studied in Alma 43 yesterday, I was struck with how Captain Moroni sent spies to follow the Lamanites, but he also sent word to the prophet, asking where God wanted them to be to best protect their people. Moroni did what he could do, but also knew that to have a complete plan he needed God on His side. I wanted God on my side which is why I kept praying even after I thought I knew the answer, my problem was that I let the natural man take control and I ignored those unsure thoughts and uneasy feelings for a few days. Moroni on the other hand, not only asked God what he should do, but had the courage to do as God directed. There is a wonderful painting by Greg Olsen which depicts the truth of Christ wanting to come to us, but we have to choose to open the door. As many of you have probably found out for yourself, that is easier said than done, but it needs to be done, over and over again simply because we are human and without Christ we would perish and not make it back to our Heavenly Home. 

Mosiah 3:19 reads, "For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father."

I believe it is often through our trials and mistakes that we learn the hardest lessons and is how we learn the most. I am grateful that no matter what dumb mistakes I make or how many times I don't open the door for Christ to come in, He and Heavenly Father still love me and help me learn the lessons I need. Because we all have the natural man or woman inside us we need the Atonement, sometimes more than we think. I am thankful that God remembers my sin no more when I sincerely repent and that I can try again and again and again. The Lord loves me, He loves you, and He loves when we repent and He is able to forgive us, because it shows Him that we love Him too. I am going to work on overcoming the natural man by tuning into the Spirit more, what can you do to show God you love Him?

Love,

Kenzie

                                                                Picture from GregOlsen.com