F.A.I.T.H

The last couple weeks have definitely been rough ones. Work + school + friends + not very much time = a very stressed Brianna. On top of all of this stress, I have been faced with some difficult trials. Things where I have had to search deep down, to find out who I really am, and who I want to become. While going through these trials, I found something that I wrote a few years ago in a journal of mine. Something that really helped me through. What I found was an acronym for the word faith that I came up with while in Young Woman's. We had discussed the value faith, and had been asked to write what it meant to us. I didn't write very much, but what I did write has been exactly what I needed these last few weeks. The acronym I came up with was this, Faith is...

Finding
An
Inner
sTrength in
Him.

When I read this I knew that if I had faith in my Savior, I also had the strength to get through my trials. Not only the trials I was, and am facing now, but everything that I will be faced with in the future. I have learned that the only way we receive true strength is through our Savior Jesus Christ. When we have faith in him, we are given the strength that we need to make it through this life. None of us can do it alone. Not one of us on this earth. We all need the love and mercy of our Savior in order to return and live with our Father in Heaven. This life is hard, we will be faced with things that will test our faith, and shake our testimonies, BUT if we have true faith, we will be blessed more than we can imagine. We will become closer with our Savior, and as we become closer to him and our loving Father in Heaven, we begin to see who we really are. We will begin to see ourselves as they see us. And when we know what are potential as children of God is, when we see ourselves as God does, that is true strength. Satan does not want us to see that, he does not want us to know our true potential, and he will do anything to try and stop us. So, when life gets tough, remember to have FAITH. It will give you the strength that you need to make it through.

Once Upon a time. . .and They Lived Happily Ever After!

Everyone has a story; each person's life could be written down and published like a book. I like to think of my story as a fairytale! It started with Once Upon a Time, and will end with and they lived happily ever after! My life is like the fairytales we all know. No I do not have a wicked step-mother, seven dwarfs, mice that do my cleaning, I don't live under the sea, I have never been on a flying carpet, and I have no fairy godmother. But I do have trials. of my own, I face setbacks every day of my life. Just like the princesses did in their stories. There is not one fairytale I know where the princess just had everything perfect. They all had things they had to face and over come before they reached their own happily ever after. As do we all! Cinderella, Jasmine, Belle, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, the Little Mermaid, they all had their problems and struggles, but the kept going, tried to be happy, and eventually the found their prince charming and lived happily ever after! That is how we have to be in our lives. When we face trials and difficult times we have to try and be happy, keep going, and the hard times will pass. I have a favorite quote that says, "Everything will be okay in the end, if it's not okay, It's not the end." Fairytales are known for their happy endings. The ... and they lived happily ever after. I bet if you were to ask Cinderella how things were playing out in her life in the middle of her story, she would probably be a little discouraged. Fairytales aren't happy all the way through, they don't go straight from once upon a time right to and they lived happily ever after, they have their rough times the times when they just want to give up and cry and call it quits. At the same time look how they all end. They all end happy, with them falling in love and riding of in to the sunset with their prince. It was okay all the way through, but in the end it was. That is what keeps me going, it's what keeps me writing my story. Even though it is hard now, and sometimes I want to cry and give up, knowing that it will all be okay in the end make me want to keep going.
We all have the opprotunity to have a happily ever after. No matter who we are we can all get through the struggles we face, find love, and with our prince charming live happily ever after. It is possible!

I know I probably sound like a hopeless romantic with this crazy view of love. But we a can all have our own fairytales, we can make life whatever story we want it to be, we just have to choose. Each of our lives has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Many times throughout our stories we will be faced with hard times, don't let it get you down. It will all be okay in the end!

Change...

So last night I attended a meeting where they combined our singles branch with another one from Syracuse to form a ward. We knew change was coming, and that this was probably going to be what happened but that didn't make it any easier. Our branch presidency was released, which is the hardest part of this change. We have had the best presidency, and we were all really close. With new boundaries in effect, we also will lose a few of our dearest friends. Last night was a tough night. Our branch didn't want to make this change. We wanted to keep things just the way they were. But this got me thinking.. Life is full of change, most of which we have no control over. Sometimes we like the changes that take place, but most of the time we don't. Change is good for us, it's healthy, and it keeps us on our toes. We can make the best of every change, if we go into it with a good attitude, and give it a try. I look back at the many times in my life that something changed that I wasn't happy about, and how more often than not, it ended up being a very good thing for me. Things turned out way better than I thought they ever would, and I met people I never would have met. Things happened in my life, that needed to happen, whether or not I wanted them to. We have a loving Father in Heaven, who knows what we need way more than we do. He can see how it will affect our future, where as we can only see how it effects the here and now. If we trust in the Lord, and have faith in His plan for us, and accept change with a good attitude, our lives will be blessed!

No change won't always go our way, and we probably won't like some aspect of it, BUT change is good for us. It provides us with learning experiences, and opportunities to get out of our comfort zone and become stronger, more knowledgeable people. Make the best of every change that comes your way, and you will be made a better person.

P.S. Although I am sad to see our old branch presidency go, and I will miss them tons and tons, I am very excited to get to know our new Bishop, Bishop Read and his counselors. They will do an amazing job.