God Is There For You

Wow!  What a week!  For many of you reading this I know that it has been quite the week for all of us starting a new semester.  I hope that you will take a moment and watch this video, if you haven't seen it already. 

I know that this week, and always, our Savior's arms are always ready to catch us and help us up when placed in difficult, and sometimes seemingly impossible situations.

I would like to bear my personal testimony that I know that my Heavenly Father and Savior have been and are there for me.  They are cheering me on every step of the way, and they are cheering you on too. I have seen this in many ways in my life.  For example, I am always nervous to start a new semester, stressing about getting stressed haha, knowing that when I am stressed it over-activates my immune system making me sick again.  And the more I experience my life with this obstacle that I have to work with, the more I begin to love it.  I know this sounds weird, but Crohn's Disease is teaching me to really love myself and to "let go" just like the brother does in this movie.  And you know what?  My Savior has never ever let me fall and I know that he will not.  This week has been stressful, which has made my symptoms reappear a tad.  But I do not dispare, and do not want to fear because I know without a doubt my Savior will "catch" me and will not let me fail nor fall.  Our Savior will do the same for you, too.  He expects us to do our part, and he will take care of the rest.

I don't particularly like to write a lot about Crohn's, because I can feel embarrassed or even ashamed. But I know that one of the reasons that I have it, and have been overcoming it so well, is because my Savior and Heavenly Father expect me to share my honest and pure testimony with others about what I am learning through my difficult experiences with this.  And this is what I have specifically learned about it this week: "do not run faster than you have strength", it is ok and even a must that you take time for yourself, pray for strength and guidance,  and do not fear but rather place all your faith in Christ, all of it!!

If for some reason you may be questioning God's love or even existence, consider this.  Last semester I was able to take on 18 credits, have an internship, not get sick over life's unexpected and expected stressors, possibly start training for a marathon, live life like a normal college student, and basically not even notice my crohn's.  And even when I did notice it, it brought me closer to God because it reminded me to turn to him. I know that if we open our eyes to our most difficult challenges, we will be surprised to see just how much God is helping us.

God is good!  He gives us challenges because he loves us and knows that we can become stronger from these challenges.  He gives us learning and growth opportunities so that we can one day become like him.  And he wants us to succeed.

God is there for you!