The Beauty of God's timing

"For the beauty of each hour..Of the day and of the night"

When I think about time... I don't necessarily think of it being beautiful. I don't like time. It gets in the way of things! It constricts. It stresses me out. I'm always running out of it but there seems to be  too much of it! I am always waiting for things to happen and trying to stop things from happening. It's a vicious cycle of trying to control something that is quite obviously out of my control.
 How many of you feel this way?

One of the most important skills we can acquire is that of trusting is God's timing. Because God is perfect.. that also means his timing is perfect! (even when it doesn't seem perfect to us at the time).

 I love the scripture 2nd Nephi 26:24
 "He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him."

 The timing in your life is for your benefit. We know this because He is in charge of it! He who loves you so much that He laid down His very life for you so that you could live again. 

Why not trust Him? He has a perfect track record.

 I know if I was in charge of the timing of my own life I would have messed things up a long time ago. I am so grateful that I can find peace in the fact that God does have a plan for me. I know that God's timing is perfect and that we need to trust in it! Even if it doesn't make sense right at the moment. As we allow our faith and trust to overcome our impatience and worry, we will begin to see that things always work out. We will start living with a continued faith that His plan is better than ours.

Patience is key! Here is one of my favorite videos that help me understand the importance of God's timing. :)

https://www.lds.org/pages/mormon-messages?lang=eng#continue-in-patience

I know that if we trust God with the timing of our lives.. we will be a lot less stressed out. So stop worrying. Let God take control of the timing of your life and everything will turn out like it should be. :)



"He hath made every thing beautiful in HIS time"

~Ecclesiastes 3:11

The Beauty of God's Love

"For the love which from our birth.. over and around us lies"

 

From the moment we were born into this beautiful world, we were surrounded by love. Whether it be the love from our parents, grandparents, siblings, or friends that love has been there from the very beginning of our lives. But where does this love come from? Was it created? Or has it always existed?

The scriptures teach us that "God is Love" (1 John 4:8). Because God is eternal that means Love is eternal too. It is deeply rooted within our souls because  Heavenly Father loved us first. He taught us how to love before the foundations of the world.  Truth be told, if we took away the love of parents, grandparents, siblings and friends.. that love, God's perfect love, would still be there for us to access. That is the beauty of His love. It is always there. Even when it doesn't seem like it!

Let me illustrate via Sister Chamberlain Story!

In January of 2013, I attended Snow College in Ephraim, UT. Ephraim is this little podunk town nestled in the the top of the mountains in eastern Utah. The winters in Ephraim are notoriously cold. In fact, they were so cold, while walking back to my apartment after my water fitness class my hair would freeze. It got so cold the sewer pipes froze. I think you get the picture. There was a period of about 2 weeks where I didn't see the sun. Now, if you know Sister Chamberlain.. you know that she needs the sun. Sun = happy Sister Chamberlain. Well, as you can imagine not seeing the sun for a couple weeks made me quite blue. I was in the pits! I would wake up in the morning and think to myself, "Is the sun going to make an appearance today?". I would be disappointed as I walked out into the gray, dreary wasteland of Ephraim UT. Pretty soon I questioned if the sun was even there!

Let's pause for a second. If we compare the sun in this story to God's love, how many of you have felt this way? Where the storms of adversity hit it's hard to feel God's love? And sometimes the clouds are so thick and the days are so long you wonder if He is even there? I'm am certain we have all had those days/weeks/ months.
Let me resume! The end of this story is a lot.. brighter.. then the first part.

One day I was feeling particularly depressed. I moped around campus like a little kid who dropped their ice cream. I was miserable. I kicked a clump of snow that no longer looked like snow but like a dirty diaper and complained and wallowed about how miserable Ephraim was. The Spirit whispered to me that I should pray. I thought to myself, "That's stupid. Why would I pray to make the sun shine". I remembered the counsel from my seminary teacher that you should pray the most when you don't want to pray at all. So I did. When I opened my eyes I was expecting the sun to burst forth out of the dreary Ephraim sky.. and a choir of heavenly angels to start singing...but alas.. I was left the grey sky which was gradually getting darker and darker. I went home depressed. The next morning I slumped out of bed and walked outside. Not expecting anything, I walk to class staring at the icy ground. I rounded the corner and looked up and beheld the most beautiful sunrise I've ever seen. Warm tears started rolling down my cold cheeks as I exclaimed, "THE SUN!!! IT'S THE SUN! DO YOU SEE IT?! I SEE IT! IT EXISTS! ITS FOR REAL!!". I danced all the way to class.That whole day I made the distinct decision to point out the sun to everyone that I saw. "Hey, did you see the sun today? I did", "Hey, check out that yellow thing in the sky. Cool, right?"Granted, everyone thought I was crazy.. but that's okay! I learned that day that God will send a beautiful sunrise just to remind you that He loves you. And that love is always there!

This wonderful hymn compares God's love to the Sun! It perfectly describes it. Just like in this story.. the sun is always there... just like God's love is always there.

"Our Savior's love

Shines like the sun with perfect light,

As from above

It breaks thru clouds of strife.

Lighting our way,

It leads us back into his sight,

Where we may stay

To share eternal life."

Hymn #213

So maybe you are having a rough day. Or week. Or month. Or even year..  It feels like you haven't seen the sun in forever. Your days are dull, and gray. All I ask of you is to remember that God's love is there for you. Always. Even if you can't feel it! The sun is always hiding behind those clouds. It will always come up in the morning! Never lose that hope. And when you see that love, when you feel it.. Tell everyone you know. I give you permission to run around telling everyone, "GOD'S LOVE!! DO YOU FEEL IT?! I FEEL IT! IT EXISTS! IT'S FOR REAL!"...Because the other beautiful thing about God's love is that it is most often shared through other people. Parents, grandparents, siblings,friends, and all! His love truly is over and around us all the time.

Have a blessed day, y'all! And may the sun always be shining down on you :)

~Sister Alyssa Chamberlain 


 “Your Heavenly Father loves you—each of you. That love never changes, It is not influenced by your appearance, by your possessions, or by the amount of money you have in your bank account. It is not changed by your talents and abilities. It is simply there. It is there for you when you are sad or happy, discouraged or hopeful. God’s love is there for you whether or not you feel you deserve love. It is simply always there."
 ~President Thomas S. Monson 

For the Beauty of The Earth

 

"For the beauty of the earth,

For the beauty of the skies,

For the love which from our birth

Over and around us lies,

 

For the beauty of each hour

Of the day and of the night,

Hill and vale, and tree and flow'r,

Sun and moon, and stars of light,

 

For the joy of human love,

Brother, sister, parent, child,

Friends on earth, and friends above,

For all gentle thoughts and mild

 

Lord of all, to thee we raise

This our hymn of grateful praise"

 Folliott S. Pierpoint



I am a firm believer that we as children of a Heavenly Father have the inate ability to find beauty in everything we come across. From the simplicity of a smile to the complex designs that structure the world around us, there is beauty in all things good. 

Jesus Christ, the Savior of all mankind, and the creator of all things beautful, created this earth through the direction of our Heavenly Father. He did this because of the great love He has for us. We would do Him a great favor by not only noticing the beautiful things around us, but thanking Him for them. For He truly is the creator of the earth, of the skies, of each hour, and for our very lives. As we grow closer to our Savior Jesus Christ we will be able to recognize this evidence of His love for us more fully and more often.


"Lord of all, to thee we raise, This our hymn of grateful praise"
--Mr. Peirpoint was certainly onto something.

What has been the most beautiful thing about your day? :)

~ Sister Chamberlain