Change is our constant companion. Sometimes we look forward to it and other times we dread it, but whether or not we like it, it always comes. But change doesn't need to be a bad thing, oftentimes it can give us hope. Change gives us an opportunity to start again and have a second chance.
A Time For Reflection
I remember when I first came home from my mission, it was such an interesting period of my life. I was rediscovering who I was, what the plans for my future would be, and how I was going to live my life - all while my heart was still in Arizona (where I served my mission). I felt divided. While I was happy to be back home with loved ones and to start on a new adventure, I still couldn't leave behind my missionary life quite yet. One quote that I could relate to was from the Lord of the Rings, the Return of the King. It said, "You cannot always be torn in two. You will have to be one and whole, for many years. You have so much to enjoy and to be, and to do . Your part in the story will go on."
It helped me to realize that while there is the initial transition phase, I cannot keep moving forward with my life while I was still looking behind me. After all, "the past is to be learned from but not lived in" (Jefferey R. Holland, Remember Lot's Wife). Furthermore, the very last phrase is what really captured my attention. I realized that I have "so much to enjoy and to be, and to do." Coming home from a mission didn't mean that my story was ending, rather my story was just beginning. There is still so much in my own story that is unwritten, and so many great adventures lie ahead of me. As I reflect back on the past three years since I've been home, so many things have happened that I never could have imagined would take place. I have learned and grown since then, and as I look toward the future and the new year, I'm strengthened by what I have already gone through and look forward to what tomorrow may bring.
The Hope of Change
If there's one thing that I've learned from life, it's that change is our constant companion. Sometimes we look forward to it and other times we dread it, but whether or not we like it, it always comes. But change doesn't need to be a bad thing, oftentimes it can give us hope. Change gives us an opportunity to start again and have a second chance. C.S. Lewis once stated, "you can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending." Because of change, we can have the hope that just because our story may be dark and gloomy at this moment, it will not always be that way. There are brighter and happier days ahead.
Furthermore, without change, we could never hope to be different than we are today. We would be destined to stay in the same rut and plateau for the rest of our lives. Our weaknesses would never improve, our talents would never progress, and we would never learn and grow. But best of all, we can have the hope and the reassurance that we do not need to change on our own. We have a loving Savior who will take us as we are and will help us to improve and grow for "[His] strength is made perfect in weakness." ( 2 Corinthians 12:9)
Also, we have a loving Heavenly Father who has a perfect plan for us and is preparing us for a destiny that is more spectacular than we can ever imagine. And the great thing is, is that He doesn't expect us to be perfect, He just wants us to keep trying and to do our best. Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin stated, "Oh, it is wonderful to know that our Heavenly Father loves us—even with all our flaws! His love is such that even should we give up on ourselves, He never will" (The Great Commandment).
Final Thoughts
This is certainly a special time of year with all of its holidays and gatherings. It's a good time to be with those you love and who truly love you in return. It is a time for growth and and rejoicing and its a time for giving. As one year closes and we look to the opening of a new year, what will we chose to take with us? What changes will we make in our lives? And what goals will we set? Who knows what the future may hold, but whatever lays ahead always remember, "you are braver then you believe, stronger then you seem, and smarter then you think." (A.A. Milne)
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