"...and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces..."

Sundays are my favorite. I love everything about them. And this Sunday (and weekend) I learned some very important things that I'd like to share.

1. When you buy new dishes, wash them before you use them. You don't know who's nasty crack hands have been touching those things in the store!

2. If you decide to sit in the front row of church, you should not pick your nose. [No, it wasn't me. Gross. It was someone else that I saw.]

3. Boys are such...boys. [A boy fell asleep in church and his friend sitting next to him reached over and stuck his finger in the sleeping guy's mouth...]

4.Nothing beats a great day with your best friends.

5. Sometimes, we get caught up in the speed and pressure of this day and age. Life isn't something you can always be looking at for the long run. The majority of life is one day at a time. Yes, you probably have 2 million and one things to get done this week, but what about what you have to do today: read your scriptures, say a prayer of thanks, take a deep breath, and finish what needs to be done TODAY. Don't worry about what needs to be done tomorrow or in the next 5 days. It's about now. Life is simple; that doesn't make it easy.

6. There are people in this world who have it much worse than I do. I read an article today of women in China who are forced into abortions. Perhaps, it's just been an emotional day, but I teared up. And that says a lot when you understand my stance on crying. But, there is something we can do. Go to this website www.allgirlsallowed.org and sign the pledge to help stop this atrocity. Whether you are pro-life or pro-choice, this isn't right because it ISN'T a choice these women get to make on their own. The power of one is great.

7. You aren't alone in your trials. Everyone has their own demons in life. Even if you aren't going through the exact same thing, someone else is struggling. And our Heavenly Father is there with an open heart to listen to our soul's complaint. Isaiah 25:8 "He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord God hath spoken it."

Today, in Relief Society we discussed that verse. I immediately thought of this picture. The girl teaching had us do something and I think you should really try it when you get the chance. Sit down, close your eyes, and think of the last time someone wiped a tear from your face. What did it feel like? What did their face look like as the looked at you? What did they say to comfort you? Anything? Did you feel peace and love? Jesus Christ is there and more than willing to wipe the tears from our faces. As much as I personally despise crying, it's almost a necessary evil. But someone is always there to wipe them away. It won't magically heal anything, this life is a trial, but it is a comfort, a way through.

8. "We become what we want to be by being what we want to become." Elder Richard G. Scott

Dreams are wonderful. Aspirations, goals and plans: they are our lives. But how do you achieve them? Actions. In this life, we are given 3 things that work in conjunction with each other like a stool: Agency, Stewardship, and Accountability. Agency here means the ability to make actions of our own free will. We are in total control of our decisions. A stewardship is something that we have been given charge of; to care for something that isn't ours. Accountability means we are held responsible for how we treat our stewardships through our agency. We cannot expect to wake up and suddenly be what we have always wanted to be. It's a day by day thing. Each day, we need to be the person we want to become because one day you'll wake up and realize you are that person. You are as wonderful, fantastic, special, spiritual, athletic, charming, funny, and anything YOU want to be, by being just that person. 

9. People make mistakes. They mess up. A lot. You are a person. I am a person. You make mistakes and I make mistakes. But it's part of being human. We are not responsible for holding other people's mistakes against them. We are responsible for our own mistakes and making sure we correct them. 

10. Nothing can replace the sense of peace that is available to us through making good choices. You know when you are doing something right and that when you follow through with good actions you are truly happy. There is a lot of things and people in this world with a false happiness. True, peaceful, serene happiness doesn't come from a box, from a store shelf, in the form of food or a beverage or drug. It comes from the smile of a stranger, the sticky kiss from a child's precious lips, the sound of leaves blowing across the street and realizing that at that moment, you are paying attention to the greatness of this earth. When you help someone carry their groceries or pick up something they've dropped. Or bend to help a child tie their shoe. The smile of gratitude and the feeling of true success will envelope you. Realizing that God's hand is in all of these things, that is where peace comes from. To know that you are a part of this great and wondrous plan and an IMPORTANT part. Especially in that moment when you have been granted to opportunity to help someone else.

What did you learn this weekend?