God bless the broken road.

via: imforevergrateful.tumbler

Have you ever had those moments (or longer than moments) when you thought a ship was sailed? Or when you feel stupid that you asked for certain things that you thought were the best? Well, since God is...a god...He kinda has some idea on how He could make things better. All He needs to do that is your patience, your patience, and...you guessed it, your patience. 

I want to point out two scriptures that illustrate my point perfectly:

25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.
26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. (Romans 8:25-26)

14 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, blessed art thou for what thou hast done; for thou hast inquired of me, and behold, as often as thou hast inquired thou hast received instruction of my Spirit. If it had not been so, thou wouldst not have come to the place where thou art at this time. (D&C 6:14)

I just can never comprehend the massiveness of possibilities The Lord has in store for us. And no, I am not talking about earthly achievements. I'm talking about pure happiness...and the state of mind that comes with that. A lot of people think my happiness as being Monica comes from serving in the best mission in the world (true), working in Washington, D.C., being in Young Ambassadors, or whatever. All this stuff I've been doing lately sets me up for failure, stress, and looking totally stupid. Let's be honest, it does already. I have no idea what I'm doing! Although it is all labeled, "fun," I had to work WAY harder than I ever thought I needed to in the first place...and that's where this happiness I have comes from. It's from failing, millions of times, and then something finally sticking. It's going after everything I possibly could, and getting only about 5% of what I work for. But that small amount from the other 95% I thought was better, is what was "the best" for me. I took an insane amount of detours, but how does that song go? God bless the broken road.

Just because it isn't happening RIGHT NOW, doesn't mean it will never happen. Believe me, He is running marathons for you up there. Take some time to believe it.

Manhattan.

This is my blog, so I can put whatever I want on here. And I'm just a little bit proud of this right now, okay? I fell in love with this song the first week I got off my mission. I really had no one to sing it to, but what got me were the lyric choice and perfection in chords that matched the mood so gently. The second that I heard it, I knew I had to learn it on the piano. Nothing that a little Ultimate-Guitar.com can't fix. Anyway, I'm a little bit obsessed with Sara Bareilles, so here is her one and only...Manhattan.
 

The best part about it?

So, you didn't make it. The greatest thing about failure is the mystery of what's coming next. The world is open to you. You've got absolutely nothing holding you down.


Then why do people sulk on their failures? I'm guilty of doing this. But, I make sure my sulking is in a contained amount of time. For example: I didn't get into study abroad Jerusalem this semester. I was devastated. I pictured spending Winter semester in the JC and learning daily about the life of Christ. How could that possibly be a wrong life to plan? I figured out quickly that I had something better that would come my way. (Believe me, it did.) So, I only allowed myself 24 hours to be sad about it. Other things, depending on the situation, may take more or less time. Those 24 hours though...believe me...I was sad. But after that, I decided to look forward and not think of what I could have done differently. Because you know what? I couldn't have done anything differently. I now understand why I was supposed to be here. If you're always giving 100%, you'll get 100%. So, I started concocting my Plan B.


Once you figure out your Plan B, you'll start to realize your Plan B was God's Plan A all along. Or it could be your Plan C, or D...or whatever...in my case I feel like I always land on Plan Z. But, I do have a plan! I'll always have a plan. And you'll always have a plan. It may take months or years to figure it out, but no matter what it is, you're always right on time with the plan that was set for you all along.


Besides, no one will ever remember your failures. Only you will. I honestly can't come up with a failure from anyone I know. All I remember is the success they had, and the positive impact they had on my life. Everybody else is worried about their own failures, and don't even have enough time to worry about any one else's failures. 


So when you fail, because you will, just make sure you know it wasn't even in the cards to begin with. Yeah, it will sting. Take those few days to yourself. But aren't we always looking for a fresh start? That's exactly what failure gives you. A chance to start completely over. Re-do whatever you wanted to re-do. And maybe it will come back to you someday, but never dwell on the things you can't change. After some time, you'll be able to look on your past and see that it goes a little something like this:

via: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/113129

Failure is always a gift from God. I can guarantee that. 

Favorite song of the week: Details in the Fabric--Jason Mraz

"Hold your own, know your name, go your own way. And everything will be fine."