Today I faced a fear.
Honestly, it is a little silly but I learned some good things!
I'm taking a political science class right now and although I love the material, sometimes I really dread going to class. There are only two girls in my class and I am one of them. The boys in my class are very passionate to say the least and their comments usually end up in a heated discussion. It kind of scares me. So i have been content to just stay in my little quiet hole, listen to the teacher and then leave.
As I thought about this class and how I was slowly losing interest in it, I realized something needed to change. I have a very wise, handsome man in my life who suggested that I comment to help me stay engaged....haha like I was going to do that! Eventually, as I gave it a lot more thought I realized A.that he was right. B.If I wanted to get the most out of that class I needed to give a little! So I came to the conclusion that I was going to try my very best to comment and make the class enjoyable for myself as I became more engaged.
Walking to my class today I said a little prayer that Heavenly Father would give me courage. I felt very hopeful and determined. As class went on I could feel the time coming when I needed to say something. I got nervous, my hands were getting sweaty...lame I know but it happens. Then all of a sudden my hand shot up in the air and I said a silent prayer for deliverance. Words started coming out of my mouth and although it was nothing profound, I felt like I was sitting on the top of a mountain staring at the most wonderful view with a big piece of chocolate cake in my hands!
Heavenly Father helped me overcome my fear! As minuscule as my fear was, He heard my prayers and gave me the strength to overcome. All of us have fears...it is totally normal. There are going to be times in life where we feel down and just want to hide from the world and be miserable by ourselves. But what I learned from this experience is that we choose the outcome! We might not be able to choose all the little bumps in the road but we do choose what we do about it. Happiness, faith, courage and all those other good things are choices! You don't just wake up one day and say "I'm finally happy!" We have the blessing of waking up every day and saying, "Today, I choose to be happy!" That was something I really admired about my mission President. Anytime anyone would talk to him and ask how he was he would say, "I'm happy!" And he always meant it.
So let us choose to be happy! Choose to find joy in every moment! Choose to be engaged in life and make the most of it! There are going to be ups and there are going to be downs but we can always choose happiness! And when we choose happiness, we choose Christ. That is the path that leads to more joy than any cake could bring. :)
