It's the beginning of a new year! The time for new years resolutions and working on becoming the best versions of ourselves. I put some thought into what I wanted my goals to be this upcoming year, and this blog is part of it!
Since I got home from my mission in April, my studies have faded into a routine reading of one chapter of the scriptures everyday. While this is good, it isn't quite the best. A few months ago, my sister told me she missed my mission emails, which got me thinking about how I missed my mission emails! I used to put a lot of thought into them and pray about what message I could send to my family, they helped solidify my testimony of what I had learned that week and feel the inspiration of the Holy Ghost in my life. It made my studies more meaningful. I want to have that back.
So, as a new years resolution, I have decided to write what I have learned from my studies and from my life every single Sunday for the year of 2018!
This week I moved back to Idaho for another semester of school! Which is exciting, but leaving my loving family, my beautiful home of Colorado, and my friends who I had grown very close to was difficult for me. It hurts because I love all of them so much! Sometimes I wonder why I love when all it does is bring pain and I feel like all I ever do is say goodbye.
But something I have learned is that we are not limited in how much we can love. We can leave a person or a place and find new people and new places to love just as much! This doesn't mean that we love what we left behind any less. Because we are infinite beings, we have an infinite capacity to love! Love just grows! This concept got me thinking about how we always have a choice. Love is a choice! When I walk to school in the freezing bitter cold of Idaho, I can either decide to look for the things I dislike, or I can choose to look for things to love! I'm a firm believer that there is always something beautiful to see if you just take the time to look for it. I can choose to love the new people I meet here, while still keeping the people back home in my heart. And even though it hurts a little, it's better than the alternative: to live a loveless life.
And of course I need to talk about Christ's love for us. I know that His love for us is infinite, He suffered for us because He loves us! And He wants so badly for us to use His Atonement and become all that we were created to be.
Because of Him, we can live with the assurance that we will someday have all that we have loved in this life, and more.
I hope you will start your year off with love!
-Elysia
