God Works In Mysterious Ways

I had an interesting conversation with a friend of mine the other night regarding some of the things I believe and why it is I believe in them…. regarding religion. As most of you know I am not someone who expresses my feelings vocally about these types of things very often (which I should probably do more often); I don’t comment much in church, I don’t push my beliefs on others, I kind of just mind my own business and live my life like the person that I feel God wants me to be and the best person I feel I can be. So when religion based discussions arise, I do get a bit anxious but then realize that I am grateful for the opportunity to discuss such topics. In this particular conversation we discussed issues of God-his plan, choice, guilt, and true happiness to name a few. Without going into much detail about the conversation I can say that although I may not be the smartest person and may not always have a logical answer, but I do know that I am Happy and know what I know is true. Answers to life’s questions are often more about Faith, Hope, and Desire then logic.

Usually when I finish with these conversations, I realize that the other party wasn’t benefited much…. but instead I am reminded how strong I feel about my religion and God, always such testimony building experiences. Other thoughts as I was having this conversation: I know that God has a plan for each of us and as rough as it may be, it was part of the plan. As ironic as it was, as soon as I got done with this conversation, I got out my Book of Mormon for my daily scripture reading, opened it to find I was on 2 Nephi Chapter 2; all about agency, choice, and joy. I want to mention a few thoughts from that chapter; v. 24, “But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things.” God does know all things… and has a plan for each of us... we may make mistakes and go against the preferred plan, but that doesn’t mean that God suddenly bails on our life… his plan for each of us isn’t always going to be “happy” and “perfect”. While I was reading I also thought about what motivates me to want to do the things that the gospel teaches as right. I thought about Force, Reward, Guilt, Duty, and Love. Why do I do the things that I do regarding the church? It isn’t because I feel like I am being forced, it isn’t because I want a tangible reward, its not because I would feel guilty if I didn’t do them, it is because of the LOVE I feel not only for the Savior but the LOVE that he has for me. LOVE is the ultimate motivator.

Well enough said…. I want to end with saying that it is so true that God works in mysterious ways. I don’t know what the future entails for me, but I do know that God will be there for me through it all. Thanks friend… for getting me thinking about what it is that I live for.