We all have a destiny, we just have to find it
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There are no coincidences. I'm sure you have come across something that makes you think "what are the odds?" Today, I was sitting in Sacrament meeting until I felt like I needed to look at the lyrics of "Savior, Redeemer of my Soul". I had the song whispering in my head and I felt like I needed to go home after church and listen to it. As I listened through the speakers, the intermediate song was by two brethren, who happened to sing "Savior, Redeemer of my Soul". Wow. There are no coincidences. I needed to hear that, I needed to already have read the words and understood it before it was sung. I don't cry often in sacrament meeting, but today I couldn't help it. Heavenly Father helped me understand that that song was exactly what I needed to hear, I just needed to read through the words first before listening to it. There are so many other things that happen often that it always makes me wonder. I sometimes wonder how I meet certain people that I knew from Hawaii, or they're a cousin from a distant friend, or a man that was our bishop in Kansas. What are the odds? So while you think of the different things that happen, it is there for a very specific reason. It could be so minor, it may not affect you in a big way, but it is there. Sometimes, the matter may be a trial, but there are still no coincidences. It is there for a reason, it was placed there to help you learn and grow into a better individual. I truly believe there are many things that are placed in our path that we need to know, it wasn't there by coincidence. It may be wonderfully satisfying, or it may be difficult to go through, but the path is clear ahead, just allow these events as a stepping stones.
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I'm going to first start with a quote from CS Lewis: “Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”Wow, Just think about it. Do I really even need to make an entire post about this? We are always being repaired and fixed, built and built again, but we are being built to be this amazing palace that God has planned for us. Our house is not perfect, but with both ours and His efforts, we may eventually be the perfect palace God intends us to be. Let's expound on this. I'm sure you've heard of the quote: "our body is a temple", well a temple is the house of the Lord. It makes so much sense why our house would be like how C.S. Lewis described us in this quote. There is a primary song called: The Wise Man Built his House Upon a Rock. It's sung between the Wise man who built his house on a rock and the foolish man who built his house on the sand. Of course, when the rains came and the floods came, the house on the sand washed away and the house on the rock stood still. When we take care of our homes, we become firm on our rock, but if we choose to not take care of it, it would be like the house was built on the sand. When the storms come, your house will be destroyed in the floods. So as long as you take care of your internal home, keeping it clean, watching over it, taking care of it like it should be, Heavenly Father will provide the means to build upon it until we are a beautiful palace upon solid ground. I'm sure we all understand this. We have something all planned out, and then suddenly, it doesn't go as planned. It's disappointing isn't it? I really wanted to be this big trainer and all of that, but I also wanted to do other things to fulfill what I want on this mission. When they put me as a trainer, I suddenly couldn't train. It was disappointing, nobody knew I was a trainer, they kept having training meetings when I somehow had other obligations, and even when I was a trainer, someone would get trained next to me and not realize that I could've done it. I knew I had to make some sacrifices to get what I wanted, but what I was doing were so good and I couldn't really get rid of them. Doing tours at the Conference Center was my stress relief and a way to get away from the desk, and I'm never going to lose being choir director. An important lesson I learned is if I'm doing my best and doing things that I enjoy, other opportunities will come towards me in its own time. Being a big trainer might've not been right now, the time may come, it may not, but if I keep working hard, I can find a path I possibly wouldn't expect ahead for me. And I did receive a training opportunity as they were willing to adjust around my schedule. Now I get the opportunity to train off-campus missionaries on our work online. That way I can do it any time I am able to, working around my schedule. That was an opportunity I was not expecting. Things may not go as planned, but they need to work out the way it needs to. If you were planning something and it fell through, it shouldn't be the end of the world. It means that Heavenly Father had something else planned for that moment. It doesn't matter how minor, as perhaps whatever that was, it wasn't supposed to happen, rather something else will come up, something that is meant for you. Change happens, I've spoken about this in previous posts about change. This follows very much along those lines, as change is a common happening in our lives. Perhaps it didn't go as planned, but there could be something personally to you that is even better than you had ever anticipated. We are all born to create An idea can be anything It's all in our fate By how God created man Like a rock in the sea Rubbed by water and sand Becomes a beautiful stone Just like we can Create naturally on our own A businessman, a fighter A lawyer, an actor We are all the writer Of a glorious fate We are born of God Because we are born to create I know there is the subject on who is left brained and who is right brained, but if you really think about it, both sides create things. Perhaps one is of the arts, but the other is just as creative as logic is still filled with ideas. Heavenly Father includes that in the major part of our destiny, the destiny of creativity. Ideas is what makes this world where it is, and ideas turn into inventions or things you have never seen before. Who do you think invented mathematics? Made a light-bulb light our our bedroom? Who do you think created the computer so I can even write this post to you? What about the internet, the start of a new business, the style of clothes, the personality studies, who created those? We are all creators. It's amazing isn't it? You don't need to be right brained to create something. God created us "like unto Himself", and he created the entire Earth with us on it. If we are like our Heavenly Father, he also created us to create. So think about what you have created. What things have you accomplished? You create your way towards your destiny, that is how life takes you whether you realize it or not. What are you really seeking? I know it is a strange question to ask, but a lot of people struggle with it. When we are asked what our objectives are, it's difficult to truly answer unless you have written them down and truly pondered about it. This last week I was asked what my goals are for this mission, even though I knew the answer, I didn't know how to explain it. What was I after? I knew, but I didn't. I hope this is making sense, as it's a difficult matter to explain, but it's also vital for our journey towards our destiny. We all have our super objectives, something we base our life to go after it. Let's say you were wanting to Major in Special Education. That is a wonderful goal, but the objective part of it is why you are wanting to Major in Special Education. If you have an answer to the why of your goal, that is one step towards a more fulfilling journey. When I was asked why I chose to serve on a service-mission, I knew what the answer was, but suddenly, I didn't know how to explain it, like it wasn't set it in stone. That is why it is so important to write your goals down, because it sets things in stone. Let's say I wrote down: I want to play cello every Tuesday for the next three months, what a wonderful goal, but let's take it one step further and put a why into it: I want to play cello every Tuesday for the next three months because I want to be able to be well practiced to perform during Christmas. Now it's really set into stone. As a missionary, we are serving the Lord, but that isn't our personal objective. I had to think about that, why did I want to serve a mission? It was definitely to serve the Lord, but there is more to that question. I am serving the Lord because I want to be able to strengthen myself and others around me. That is my objective. I had to write it down in order to fully understand that. Although we have our super objective, there are usually smaller objectives that can lead us to it. In order for me to serve the Lord the way I wanted it to be; I have been training, leading the choir, setting goals for small tasks, and many other things to fulfill what I'm after. When I complete my mission, I hope to have achieved that with the best of my ability. As we complete one objective, another will come into place. It's all part of the journey, but between our many objectives, there are also obstacles. Our paths may be disrupted, but that is still part of the journey. Part of our objectives can be to overcome those obstacles, but if those obstacles get too much in the way, there is nothing wrong with changing out objective. So I would encourage you to write down what you are after right now, what your super objective is and what possible smaller objectives can lead to it. If you already part way through your goal, also write down what you have done already. Our life is full of objectives and obstacles, but as long as we know what they are, the journey towards our destiny will be "extraordinary". Okay, so maybe I can't entirely define this for you, as it is different for every individual, but I can make some suggestions. What is your passions? Just think about that for a moment. Perhaps you may be going through an unhappy part of your life right now because something is missing. The desire to living your life the way you want it to be. Finding yourself doing nothing or doing things that you don't enjoy doesn't exactly sound like a happy-filled life. I really enjoy writing, I need to write or I'll suffer, and if I'm not writing, I'm visiting with friends, I'm talking up a storm or performing something. No matter what, I need to be doing something that fulfills what I am passionate about. Right now, I am very passionate about this church service-mission, I am out serving the Lord and if that gets taken away from me, it would make me very sad. Now I have a lot of passions, but it doesn't necessarily have to be more than one. Perhaps your passion is being around children or reading romance novels. There doesn't have to be talent in a passion, just a mindset that makes you happy. So let me rephrase my question, what makes you happy? If you have an answer for that, that is what you are passionate about it. Fulfill it! Set goals, make sacrifices to fulfill it. Between trials, hardships, etc, passions are what brings our true selves out. I have failed to write as much since I've started this mission, but over the last couple of weeks I have really struggled with trying to find happiness. I decided to get back into writing every day and I realized that was what kept a smile on my face. The mission also keeps a smile, but writing is an everlasting joy that I can't ever get rid of. I am near to sending one of my books out to publishing and because I am on a service mission rather than a teaching, I have that ability to do that. And that excites me! Why? Because I am extremely passionate about it. So whether you know it or not, fulfill your passion, or passions. That's what living your life at the fullest is, it is by doing what you love. If I could make a suggestion, there is this amazing woman that I have been inspired to write a lot of my posts from. Her name is Aileen Xu, she does her own YouTube videos and has her own website. She also has a small course where she helps trying to find yourself and what you are passionate about. Here is the link if anyone would ever be interested: https://www.lavendaire.com/about/ So to close off for this weeks post, I would just say that passions define your destiny. It's the importance of happiness and taking care of yourself, and I will say, I'm very passionate about finding it. Man, I cannot tell you enough. We get so much expectations to go and help others, to help them, but if you aren't doing okay, it's not going to do much good to help others either. I will painfully admit that I tend to do that. I try to put other people's needs in front of me and for that, I have realized how much I can suffer for not taking care of myself. There is nothing wrong with putting other people's needs in front of you, but if you are suffering because of that, there is a time and place where you need to take care of yourself as well. Not only that, allow others to take care of you. I can get pretty stubborn when someone offers to get me something because I have nothing in my wallet, when they insist, I still decline. I have realized that if I want to give the charity to others, I should learn to accept it as well.
It doesn't matter if it's mental, physical or emotional, take care of yourself. A lot of times, we think faking it until we make it will cure the problem, but it's like putting a band-aid on a serious cut, it won't heal itself unless you take care of it. I can list you a bunch of times when I may be having a hard time and I feel the only way to fix it is a bowl of ice cream and a chick-flick movie. Although it may make you feel better for a few hours, it doesn't cure the problem. Whether it's a counselor, an ear to listen to you, a twenty page document for venting, or all of the above, you need to find something to help you. Our destiny can be hard. It may seem like it is tearing us down, but there is a reason why you aren't the only living breathing being on this planet. Someone somewhere understands. Of course, the number one person that will understand the most is our brother Jesus Christ, but even the people around us can understand. Please don't feel alone in this situation, because you aren't. Perhaps you're trying to make sure others don't feel alone when they are struggling, but that should apply to you as well. Someone will listen to you, someone will understand, you just need to find them. Often times, a simple prayer can give you the right answer, whether it be sending someone to you or allowing your questions to be answered through scripture or other written text. Heavenly Father works in mysterious ways, it's wonderful and beautiful and perfect. He will not leave you alone, He will not leave you comfortless. So I would advise to everyone, even if it may not be a terrible time of your life right now, to please take care of yourself. There will be times when you are in that refiners fire, but if you aren't taking care of yourself, the heat may crack the beautiful teacup Heavenly Father is trying to make you into. Don't make this a situation you have to do alone, talk to someone, or multiple people, allow them to help you make it through your refiners fire. Nobody should be left alone to deal with their trials. Patience can often be an acquired trait, but it exists and everyone can use it if they set their mind to it. One of the most common things the adversary will do to oneself is to rush them. Rush them on making decisions, feeling like they need to get to someplace, or get something done, or try to finish before anyone else. We are often rushed every day, even if we don't full think about it. It's okay to slow down. My brother went to South Korea for his mission where he came across hundreds of Koreans who refused to even listen to him. My brother found that they often had too many other things, they were too busy to listen to the gospel. My brother himself, had to learn more patience on finding those who weren't in such a hurry to get to where they needed to. Although we aren't quite in Korea, it doesn't mean we here aren't rushed in our daily tasks. It's okay to give yourself a moment to breathe, to think before acting on an instinct. I feel there are too much expectations for being busy, but what happened to relaxing, to resting? Sunday's are a wonderful example of allowing yourself to sit, pray, think and relax, but it doesn't always need to be just Sundays. I found myself being rushed into making a decision on two wonderful places. They were both good, they both had good people, but both sides rushed me on making the decision. There seemed to be no middle-man, just me and my Heavenly Father. There is nothing wrong with that, but I felt alone and rushed and it was difficult to truly be satisfied at which one to really stick to. This week, I came across one of the employees who supported me no matter what decision I made. That was the type of person I needed and it helped me make that decision. He didn't rush me, nor did I feel rushed. It had taken me nearly three weeks before, after speaking with the employee, I made my complete decision. In a sense, it wasn't me that was impatient, it was more like the others around me was impatient for me to make the decision. Because of that, I was impatient with the Lord to help me make the decision. Often times, the Lord wouldn't even give me a direct answer, I have to make a personal decision and when I act on it, then will I know that it was for me. This happened when I first decided to come to the COB in the first place. Heavenly Father did not confirm to me entirely that I was supposed to go, but I chose personally and as soon as I entered the building, I knew this was exactly where I was supposed to be. I feel this applies with the Global Service Center as well. So throughout your journey, just remember to stop and don't allow your entire life to be so rushed. It's okay to slow down, take a deep breath, and go at the pace desirable for you. Because with patience, there is no need to rush. I get it. Sometimes putting a smile on your face is difficult when it seems there is no reason to. Between struggles, hardships and that refiners fire, how can we smile? Often times we define smiling to be only used when you feel happy, but what if I told you happiness is the result of smiling? So smile! I don't care what is going on in your life, it's okay to smile. Find an excuse, what makes you happy? Family? Friends? Your mammoth stuffy? Your dog? Think of moments, adventures you've had in the past. Several years ago, my mother went to the seminar where this lady mentioned what she does every day. She held out a clicker with a giant smiley face on it and said this was her 'Happy Clicker". She would just keep this clicker with her every day and whenever any positive thoughts or happy things happened, she clicked it. It made her realize, after two weeks of doing this, how much happier she was. It didn't matter what was going on, there was at least one thing that day that made her happy or think happy thoughts. The more she clicked, the more happier she realized she was. Whether you have a clicker or not, think of how many happy things you find every day. Maybe it's a dark rainy day, you didn't get enough sleep, your homework isn't even done yet, you failed your first periods test and you forgot your lunch. Wow, sounds pretty miserable. You can go around and tell people that and it won't make anyone feel better. Now what if, during that same day, someone gave you their bag of carrots so you can eat something during lunch, you had the ability to retake your test and it gave you enough time to study an extra day, dinner was your favorite meal and the rain smells really good. Change the perspective, and you can change the day. So smile, I don't care when or why you can't, because it's somewhere. And consider this, smiling takes a lot less muscles than frowning anyway. I want to tell you a parable of a teacup. If you observe this picture, the elegance of the flowers and designs, the way it glistens. It's beautiful, but it didn't originally look like this. With muddy hands, an artist works and molds together a wet mass of clay until they have shaped a teacup. Although still ugly and wet, the artist leaves it out to dry until it turns into this pasty white. With a paintbrush and paints, he paints the elegant designs, but they look faded and dusty looking. Then the cup is placed in an oven of scolding heat, too much heat, and it will crack it, too little heat, and it won't refine it. After a long time in scolding heat, the teacup is taken out and turns into this intricate porcelain dish we are all familiar with. The reason why I explain the process of a teacup is because we represent this teacup. We may be beautiful and nice as we are molded into who we are, but it's not until we are placed into the refiners fire when we become this beautiful refined individual. Perhaps right now there may be a refiners fire in your life, but Heavenly Father will never put too much heat on you, but you can't be refined unless you have the right amount. This heat may be scolding, but with an end date in mind, you are taken out as the most refined you were ever. I know this analogy is simple, but it defines something we all must go through, but it's only there to refine us and beautify us. Another analogy of a teacup, is, in China, when a teacup is broken, they seal it together with gold. Although you can still see the cracks of the teacup, it gives this beautiful intricate teacup with lines of gold through it's body. We may go through a refiners fire, and even if we break, we are put together by gold, refining us into yet another beautiful teacup. So this week, think of the teacup. If you want to, make it an object lesson. You can go the old fashioned way and go to a ceramics place and mold and shape your own, or you can just go to the little painting shops like Color Me Mine or other local places where it is already molded, you just need to paint it and they make one for you. If you do this, just think of how whatever your molding or painting, this will enter into that scolding heat and when you return to pick it up and take it home, it will be this glossy rich colored masterpiece. Our destiny defined in a teacup. |
Kaylee CasuttI have been writing for over eight years now and have been both building to publish my first book and serve as a service-missionary of The Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Everything I write will contribute to the journey destined I have been striving to find and build. Archives
May 2020
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