DD Day 10 Report

Chapter 41 of Isaiah begins with a plea for silence to "let the people renew their strength". To let them come near. To come near together. Today I discovered in my neglected inbox a message from another amazing friend. She sent the message five days ago and when I read it I thought how timely it was that we can come near together. She no longer lives across the park from me but she is still drawing near. Sometimes when I feel like my ship is sinking fast I'm glad I can pause and find others in the same ship. To know that reaching out together we can bail the water quicker.

Have I mentioned that President Uchtdorf is one of my favorite speakers? Yes. Oh, good because he is. I really felt like I needed another day pondering this talk. In fact, I may need to hear it every day. I love that one section of this talk is "Why does Heavenly Father loves us?" I ask myself that question a lot. Why does He love me? President Uchtdorf says, "He loves us because He is filled with an infinite measure of holy, pure and indescribable love. We are important to God not because of our resume but because we are His children... this means that regardless of our current state there is hope for us."

Hope is a powerful word. In it resides possibilities. Things, good things,laying in wait to be claimed. In the context of this journey hope holds the power of light to illuminate the dark shadows. It is magnification of those small things Heavenly Father would have me find in myself. It is the tool to fix that broken focus knob so that the blurry images I see can become clear. Hope. You know I don't always like this word. Many times it has left me disappointed. But today it leaves me faithfully waiting on the promises of Heavenly Father. Today it reminds me "not to get discouraged if I stumble at times". Today, hope lets me know that trying is enough. "We must try to believe. Try to learn of God: read the scriptures; study the words of His latter-day prophets; choose to listen to the Father, and do the things He asks of us. Try and keep on trying until that which seems difficult becomes possible- and that which seems only possible becomes habit and a real part of you." Thank you President Uchtdorf. I could not have asked for a greater confirmation that this: a prophet of God describing exactly what I'm doing as the solution to my exact problem.

God is for me. He is never against me. CONFIRMED.