I had a moment of clarity tonight. It's rare for me to suddenly see my whole life that clearly but tonight I did. The moon was bright, air crisp and bitter, and the stars blinked down ferociously. Things I'd been wondering, debating, questioning kind of came into focus for a pristine moment.
What you want and what you need are not always the same. That can be so frustrating and heartbreaking but it's true. It means that sometimes you have to give up what you want, what you think is so good, for something better that you need. We take our lives in our own hands and say "this is what I want." Regardless of consequences or whether it's even a good idea we take it, we do it. Yet whose better hands to put our lives in than Christ's?
Gaining perspective is so important.
When the present, your today, tomorrow, and immediate future become too hard or intimidating, look to the future, your next year, ten years, eternity. But when your future is uncertain, your next month, next year, rest of your mortal life, remember that now is now and now is good, cherish the moment.
It's all about patience. Good things come out of patience. Not just the patience of waiting, but that of patience with people. Be patient with each other. Be tolerant of each other. Don't hurt each other.
Shut up and take it like a man. Seriously, just suck it up. Life's gonna hit ya, you've got to roll with the punches and hit back just as hard. Pain is an inherent part of life. You signed up for it in the courts of heaven before you were born. If you are reading this, you are alive. If you are alive, you stood beside me and billions of other souls in the premortal life and chose to come here. Don't complain that it hurts and is too hard, without that pain you wouldn't have the happiness.
What's meant to be will always find a way. Our Father in heaven has it all taken care of. He knows what's best. Even if you think it's right for you, He is giving you something even better. If things don't always work out your way it's because He has a bigger plan. Don't question this. If it's meant to be it will happen.
This road of life is short; smile.
