Faith

When I was dating my husband, things moved really fast. It was so fun and exhilarating and I felt like he could easily be THE ONE I was waiting for. But that’s also what scared me. How do you know what true love really is? He was just a normal person, how did I know I could live with his quirks? How would I know if he’d keep being the same wonderful man ten or twenty years down the road? I went on a trip to New York City with my sisters and broke away one day to walk by myself in Central Park. I found myself sitting on a bench, praying out all my concerns. When I finished, a clear thought came to my mind: Love is a choice and where you plant it, it will grow. I decided right there to choose to plant all my seeds of love into Adam. I started keeping a list of everything I loved about him and added to it as time went on. Sure enough, love grew. It not only grew, it FLOURISHED. I turned that list into a book and gave it to him on our wedding day, a testament to the truth of my impression in the park. I chose love and love grew. If I had focused on all of my husband’s cracks and flaws, I never would’ve found such deep and satisfying love. I had to choose love. 

I feel the same way about faith. Faith is a choice and where you plant it, it will grow. I choose faith. When I’m standing in the dark, I choose to wait and believe that the light is coming. I may not see it yet, but a rumble beneath my feet or a whoosh of air on my face tell me the train is coming, and I trust in those quiet signs. I don’t know how long I‘ll wait, but I know that standing here will get me where I need to go. You board the train you’re waiting for. Seeds grow where you plant them. I plant my faith and focus on the many, many ways I see it manifest all around me. And just like love, faith grows. And that faith has been rewarded over and over by marvelous bursts of light. For instance, on October 6th my prophet invited me to take a 10-day break from social media. Listening to this counsel, like so many other times in the past, proved to be more of a gift to me than I would even realize. I’m grateful for faith. I’m grateful for how much it carries me. And I’m grateful for MY Savior, Jesus Christ, who is always my brightest light and the one I plant all my faith in. He is as real today as He ever has been.

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This painting, “The Light is Coming” is part of a group Spiritual and Religious Show that opens tonight from 6-8 pm at the Springville Museum of Art. It will hang until January, so come check it out!