What If...

The other day I was talking to a really good friend of mine, and while we were talking she said some things that really hit me. She was telling me about some "what if" thoughts she had been having and how she realized that they weren't from Heavenly Father and she didn't have to listen to them. I'm so grateful she told me all the things she did because things really just started to click for me.

This past year has been really difficult to say the least. I've been plagued by feelings of doubt and sometimes just plain hopelessness. I have so many "what if" thoughts in my mind that I can't seem to shake. But talking to her made me really realize that I don't have to listen to those thoughts. They come from a source who wants me to be unhappy and doubt myself. Heavenly Father doesn't communicate through thoughts like that. He wants me to be happy. As hard as that is sometimes, I'm going to try. I need to have more faith in His plan for me. He knows what's best for me even though I don't understand it right now. And he has something more wonderful in store for me that I can even imagine.

So I'm setting a goal for myself. Whenever I have those destructive/scary "what if" thoughts I'm going to say that I know they are a lie and I'm not going to listen to them. It's probably easier said than done, but I hope I can do it and that it will help me.

I'm also trying to work on having more faith. I know that the Lord only gives us challenges that we can handle and everything in our life is tailored perfectly to mold us into who we need to become. But it's hard. I do know that in a few years I will look back on all my experiences, both good and bad, and be able to see how good they were for me. Even if they're not what I want right now, I know I'll be able to see how they were things that I needed.

It's been really hard for me to look around and see things come so easily for everyone else, but I found a quote online that I need to remember...