Life is an interesting thing.  Sometimes there are promptings to do certain things, and you move forward toward those things you are prompted to do, only to have to be patient and wait on the Lord.  It reminds me of when Kevin got out of the Army and applied to a job, and we knew it was what the Lord wanted us to do, but then we had to wait for everything to fall into place.  Or when I knew I was supposed to have another baby, but years went by before it actually happened.  I have heard it called “waiting upon the Lord,” (Psalms 37:9 ” . . . but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.”) and it is interesting how much of our lives we are to move forward with faith and “wait upon the Lord.”

Sometimes as I am waiting upon the Lord, I get discouraged. Sometimes the weight of trials and life weigh me down and I find it hard to move forward, or even have a desire to get out of bed in the morning. There is a little mantra that has helped me – Win the morning, win the day. I work out Monday through Saturday, every morning, almost without fail. I do it for my physical health, but more than that, I do it for my mental health.

Some days it is much harder than others. Some days, like today, I come to our little work out/storage room and I sit down and try to get myself to move. I often find myself having heartfelt conversations with my Father in Heaven as I pray, working through things and trying to get up the motivation to deal with, not only my work out, but life. Sometimes it takes a lot longer to get moving, but I eventually do, and I am never sorry. Moving every morning may not remove my burdens or anxieties, but it helps me to carry them better. And in so doing, I really do feel like if I win the morning, I do win the day .

There are other things that I can do to help me pull out of my worries and move forward.  One of the biggest things that helps me is studying the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I start each day with scripture study, and often add to it with listening to talks by the prophet and apostles, that teach me and inspire me in my life. For the past few months, I have even had an extra study time with my teenagers to go along with our Come Follow Me study. It is so uplifting.

I love reading books, and reading – especially listening to audiobooks help me move forward and DO things.  I also have found that having something creative that I am working on helps to soothe my soul.  Right now I am in the midst of a project to make a fun nativity tree skirt for next Christmas, and although I am making a giant mess, the process of creating something is so therapeutic.

Fresh flowers in my house also help, and since there aren’t any to be had in my yard right now, I bought some at the store to brighten my mood and bring me joy. Soon, when the spring weather finally arrives, I will also have my garden therapy – working outside planting and tending my flowers and garden is an amazing way for me to ease stress and anxiety. And so, as I find myself encountering changes, new things, and once again “waiting upon the Lord,” I am grateful that I have ways to boost my spirit and heal my soul so that I have the strength to move forward, even as I wait.