I was recently reminded of an experience that Grant and I went through last year and I wanted to share it.
When Grant and I were first married, we both had a couple years of school ahead of us. It seemed like we were so far away from where we wanted to be--we were anxious to begin our family, but also wanted to graduate school without going into debt. We wanted so much to be done with school and move on with adulthood. With the economy the way it was a couple years ago, we were both a little stressed about whether or not Grant would be able to find a job upon graduation. At the time Grant was trying to decide what he should major in, and we would both discuss it pretty much on a daily basis. We are both planners and wanted to just know what would happen the next couple years so we could prepare. We really had to just take it one semester at a time. Each semester we would discuss our finances, where we would be working and how many hours a week, and discuss majors, when we should start a family, etc. And each semester things became a bit more clear. Last year when we were celebrating our 2 year anniversary, we were pregnant with Andrew and I was teaching, and Grant had just accepted a job offer here in DC. I remember us saying to each other that we wish we could go back to the newly-married versions of ourselves and tell them to relax a little bit, and just know that everything would work out. Something that Grant and I said to each other at the beginning of each semester was "Well, Heavenly Father hasn't let us down yet, so He's not going to now." That was pretty much how we went into each semester--not knowing what was coming down the road for us, but trusting that if we did our best to make things work and follow the spirit, that Heavenly Father would guide us to what we should be doing, and what He has planned for us. At times doors that we thought had promise would close, and other times where unexpected windows would open that would lead to things better than what we had planned.
Recently, we have kind of been feeling the same way we did when we were first married. This stage of life is difficult because you have so many options in front of you, and you don't want to be scared about making the wrong choice. We've been wondering if we should go back to grad-school, or wondering how long we will be here in DC, where we eventually want to live, when we should get a sibling for Andrew, etc. We were both reminded of that experience we had last year though, and we know that we'll be able to look back at this time in our lives and say "I wish we could go back to those versions of ourselves and tell them to relax a little bit, and just know that everything would work out." We've been reminded that Heavenly Father has never let us down, He has never lead us astray, and as we continue to seek His spirit daily that we will be guided. We've also learned that Heavenly Father trusts us to make our own decisions. Sometimes it's not a matter of making the perfect, right decision, but rather making the decision right or perfect. We know there will be times in our lives where there will be a clear direction of where to go, and other times when we will be able to make a choice for ourselves, and both choices will be good in the sight of Heavenly Father.
Heavenly Father has His eye on all of us and He hasn't forgotten about anyone. It life seems a little dark right now and you're not sure exactly where you're going and you can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, just take it one step at a time--you only need to see one step ahead of you. When you reach the end you'll be able to look back and see the marvelous path that Heavenly Father has led you down.
