Focusing Forward

Sometimes I feel like I get stuck.  You know, like you are walking along and step in a big, wet, muddy puddle... and you wade through it, wipe your shoes off, set off walking again, and get a half mile down the path, when all of a sudden you feel that squishy feeling in between your toes that tells you your shoe is wet.  You look down to see what appears to be the same puddle getting you gross all over again...  And so the pattern continues.  You trek forward.  Your feet feel wet.  Your shoes get ruined.  You end up with some nasty blisters.

It gets frustrating; trying to move on, especially when forgetting is not a viable option.  And I don't think we're always meant to forget.  (Forgive, YES.  Forget, I don't think so.)

I generally think of myself as a very hopeful and optomistic person.  But it's hard when life gets complicated, not to look backwards and wish things were different.  And as soon as you start doing that, it's almost impossible to be happy with the here-and-now.

My mama shared an awesome quote with me today that I felt like was especially applicable.  (Don't you love how moms are always in tune with the Spirit and are prompted to offer help you didn't even realize you needed?!?)

This is from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's address at BYU's Devotional in January 2009:

"As a new year begins and we try to benefit from a proper view of what has gone before, I plead with you not to dwell on days now gone nor to yearn vainly for yesterdays, however good those yesterdays may have been. The past is to be learned from but not lived in. We look back to claim the embers from glowing experiences but not the ashes. And when we have learned what we need to learn and have brought with us the best that we have experienced, then we look ahead and remember that faith is always pointed toward the future. Faith always has to do with blessings and truths and events that will yet be efficacious in our lives."

I like that.  "Faith is always pointed toward the future."  I guess it's not really the past that I worry about, or even the present... it's the future.  And I'm not sure why.  The Lord has molded my life in more ways than I can count.  And I know His work with me and His plan for me are not done yet.  So why feel afraid?  Why get upset?

Instead of worrying, I need to have faith in my future; have faith in Him.  I need to trust that He knows what I need and that His love will never let me down.  He hasn't let me down at any point in the past.  He is guiding my present.  And He will guide my future.

Remembering that during hard times is like wearing galoshes when you're walking through those puddles!

Anyone else have a quotable raincoat or umbrella I can borrow too?