It's a pretty amazing experience to know that you have the spirit with you and that it's guiding your thoughts, feelings, and actions. It makes life feel easier and it makes you feel stronger. I don't know how it works, but it does. Last week could have been a rough week, but instead I prayed for the spirit to be in my heart and make me stronger than I could be on my own. And then so many amazing things happened that made it the best week I've had in a very long time.
What happened? Well, I felt complete spiritual confirmation that I am exactly where I am supposed to be right now. I'm not supposed to be on a mission, I'm supposed to be here in Provo. The spirit helped me realize that I was supposed to go on my study abroad, and my professor, Brother Gardner, was supposed to as well. We were supposed to meet, and he is now a major tool in helping me get where I want to go in life. I met with him last week and he was so eager to help me turn my dreams of working at church magazines into a reality. I left his office that day so full of excitement and feeling overwhelmed with the spirit.
Similarly, I really feel like the spirit prompted me to write the story that I did for The Universe. One day, a guy I work with off-handedly mentioned to me that his wife's grandma had been to every BYU football game for the last 40 years. I thought that would be an awesome story, so I mentioned the idea to my editors. I ended up interviewing her and hearing her life story--which was entirely amazing. It was refining for me just to talk with her and hear about her life's struggles, her joys, and her accomplishments. She truly is an angel and I felt so uplifted after talking with her.
Today, the article was published on the front page of BYU's newspaper and I had the privilege of bringing copies of the newspaper to her home. As she read the headline (92-year-old BYU fan still "loyal, strong and true") she smiled brightly and said, "That's just who I am!" I talked with her and her daughter for a little bit and they were overjoyed to see that their story was on the front page. I was already happy to be published, but seeing how happy they were about it completely made my happiness overflow. The reward of coming up with a story, interviewing her, writing it, and seeing it published is wonderful; but knowing that I helped a 92-year-old lady get the recognition she deserves and see her so happy was even better.
I think a little bit of her heart and my heart went into that article. I needed to hear her story, and it needed to be told. I am just happy that I was privileged enough to be the one to tell it.
Moral of the story: Heavenly Father is involved in every aspect of our lives, even especially when we don't realize it. Once we do realize his mighty influence, life is suddenly extra powerful and rewarding.
