Watching the Symphony That Is Life

Soooo, something finally occurred to me tonight. I'm sitting here, pondering life- my life- and how certain people came to be a part of it. Okay, really I'm just in awe of how one certain person became a part of it. And it hit me that we spend our days meeting people. We see faces, we hear names, and we encounter so many of God's spirits every day. But it isn't until we connect with them, that we realize that they are actually more than just a face. They have a name, a story, and a connection with us. It isn't until God shows us why certain people cross our paths that we then look back and see the grand orchestration of the first meeting, the first smile, the first date, maybe even the first kiss.

We don't notice the symphony God is creating all around us, until we begin to hear the music reach a Crescendo. We don't see ourselves as the section leader and Him as the conductor until one day we realize the importance of a special someone in your grand musical number. Life is one beautiful piece of music... 

This has me wondering: who else has crossed my path that I've overlooked that will one day play a pivotal role in me finding my unique song and finding out who I am.

Things happen in our life that we can't always explain. People appear, they disappear, we love or we get our hearts broken... that just makes it all the more real that when it's God's time, things will happen. We cannot deter them or slow their course. Great things will come, and bad things will come and they will all come when they are supposed to. Right now, I'm part of a great thing that is life. A weird, fast, great thing. 

Now, if you had asked me on May 23 where I would be today, I couldn't have possibly guessed this.
But that's the beauty of life: we never know what God has in store for us. But if we trust Him, life can be a wonderful adventure.

We Are All Inventors

Wow. Spring Term has been one of the most enlightening semesters for me at BYU thus far. My classes, while rapid and very challenging, have opened my eyes even more to the plan Heavenly Father has for me. Especially in my IP&T class. In this education class, we focus on just about everything we as future educators can do for our students, from effective assessments to interventions and even how we can instill hope in our students. Today, especially, I had it reconfirmed to me, that my role as a teacher will be one of divine origin. And my job description broadened once more.

I realized once again that my job is going to expand so much farther beyond just teaching my students the curriculum. I am going to be everything from an educator, to a statistician, to a psychologist. I will be a friend, a role model, and now an inventor too. 

What an exciting career that has chosen me!

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We talked in my class today about the power of a self-fulfilling prophecy, or a prediction that causes itself to become true either through negative or positive feedback between belief and behavior. That sounds like a very formal definition but really, it's what we as members of the LDS church practice all the time. We receive positive feedback and we make a good behavior become a reality through the Atonement or righteous living. In fact, my professor gave an example from the Book of Mormon of when King Lamoni was converted by Ammon (aka my all-time favorite scripture story). He felt a very strong impression that he needed to share with us that if a murdering savage like Lamoni could find redemption after seeing a positive future for himself, that truly anyone can.

As teachers and human beings, we cannot forget that just like how one person saved many nations, one person can save even more inquiring minds. 

Professor Wilkinson went onto say that every thought, every belief, and every perception is all invented. And because of this... we are all inventors. We invent hope in our students, we invent what we think of them when we first look at them, and these assumptions that we invent have the power to hold us and our students back. Or they have the power to propel us forward. The choice is truly ours. When we stereotype or assume something about our students, it's not that these thoughts we have in our mind are untrue or wrong, it's just that they are incomplete. 

As teachers, we are called to do so much more than any other career I think. We have to become aware of our unconscious biases that we have as human beings and turn off incomplete thoughts when we look at our students. We have to hold all students, no matter race, gender, or economic status to the same level of expectation in the classroom. We have to ask ourselves, "What might I invent that I haven't yet invented that will change my assumptions?"

 The whole point of self-fulfilling prophecy, or the Pygmalion Effect, is this idea that when you force your desire on something it can become a reality. 

As children of our Heavenly Father, we are aware of our divine potential. However, we often forget that we are made of absolute perfection. Our Earthly minds perceive our faults and our shortcomings. And we start to become them if we aren't careful. Yet, God see us as the most wonderful creations He has ever made. We must mind this gap. We need to try to see ourselves in a positive light and bridge this gap that this mortal existence creates. This goes so much farther than a classroom; this is truly a lifestyle. We must realize that our words, to ourselves and to others, affect what we believe in ourselves and in others. 

We invent our realities and the realities of those around us. We have the power to build someone up, or tear someone down. We affect ourselves and the people that are placed in our path. As a future teacher, I'm so grateful that I'm learning the power of self-fulfilling prophecies now. I'm grateful that I've been entrusted with the skills necessary to reach my potential in this truly divine calling and career.

I am truly an inventor with so much to create and I hope that my influence is a positive one. 

Why I Believe in God...

While doing my homework today for one of my classes, I was searching around the internet for an answer to a question I had... and as I typed into the search bar, a video came up by some comedian entitled "Letting Go of God." The video documents how this woman went from being a Christian to an Atheist seemingly overnight. My heart stopped as I read the title. I did not watch the video. I did not need to. Because I know that her views are probably much the same as so many other people in this world. I firmly believe that people are inherently good, however, there are individuals that are easily persuaded by Satan and his lies. And as the last days are upon us... those people seem to be everywhere. So as I looked at this video, and the people like her, I grew despondent at the fact that there are people in this world that do not want to believe in a God. 

Yet, I was hopeful as I remembered that some may not believe in God. But I do. And my belief in Him may one day inspire others to know Him as well. 

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I believe in God, because the Earth is too beautiful to be made by just science. A heavenly hand made those clouds I love to look at and the autumn colors I cherish. 

I believe in God because I am happy. Some may say that we create our own happiness, but I am most cheerful when I have the slightest sliver of hope that there is some one greater than I am. 
I believe in God because I have prayed to Him and I have seen Him answer my prayers. 
I believe in God because I have loved and been loved. 
I believe in God because I believe in second chances. And never-ending improvement. 
I believe in God I just do. I can't explain it with my human words, but I know He is there, and has always been there. 
I believe in God when I see people share their talents.
I believe in God when I use my own talents. 
I believe in God because technology is progressing too rapidly to be the work of human minds alone. 
I believe in God because my life has had so many trials, but I have overcome them through a power that was not my own. He has a plan for me and everything works out.
I believe in God because I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
I believe in God because I believe in the testimony of Joseph Smith regarding the First Vision. And there is no way to deny what he saw and that God is real.  
I believe in God because I have been in the room with President Thomas S. Monson. There is no way to deny that a host of angels is in there with him.
I believe in God because I get chills when I read of joyous experiences and random acts of kindness. It's my spirit reminding me that this is who I want to be. 
I believe in God because I know that Jesus Christ is His son and they are two separate beings. One died for me and the other allowed His son to die for me. 
I believe in God because my best friends are preaching His word all over the world, sacrificing their life for a gospel that is His and they are protected by His hand. 
I believe in God because I have been given so much in this life and continue to be blessed. 
I believe in God because I know so much, and still have so much to learn. And my knowledge had to come from somewhere. 
I believe in God because I live in the body He made for me. 
I believe in God because when I share my testimony I feel complete, warm, and content. 
I believe in God because He loves me  even when I do not honor Him as I should. He never punishes, only loves. 
I believe in God because He does not make evil, Satan does. But He does not destroy it either, because He loves us enough to let us choose if we want to return to Him or not. 
I believe in God because as I write this I am safe, and warm, and well-fed. I live in a country that has religious freedom, and I attend a prestigious university. My family and friends are safe and their health is well. 
I believe in God because even if none of that were true, I would know that He still loved me because I would  be happy. And happiness is from Him. 
I believe in God because I have read the Book of Mormon and prayed to know of it's truthfulness. And got an answer that it was. 
I believe in God because He believes in me. And He loves me more than I can comprehend. 

I have been humbled enough to know how to honor God. And to honor His name is to proclaim my adoration for Him and my gratitude for His plan. People today are disillusioned and quite frankly prideful. They cannot wrap their minds around the idea that someone might be more powerful than them. However, I have never doubted that all I've been given has come from God. 

And that's why I believe in him with every fiber of my being. Because I am His.