Faith: "Confidence in something or someone. As most often used in the scriptures, faith is confidence and trust in Jesus Christ that lead a person to obey Him. Faith must be centered in Jesus Christ in order for it to lead a person to salvation." -Guide to the Scriptures
Today it has been 6 months that I have been married to my best friend!
We both agree that it has been the most peaceful and happy 6 months of our lives so far! Recently I've felt a strong desire to express gratitude for the many miracles we have already seen in our life together, and reflecting on this has brought me back to a simple gospel principle: faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It has been confirmed over and over again to me that a life of peace and joy comes from building our personal life and family life upon faith in Jesus Christ.
Faith precedes the miracle.
I am a big believer in miracles. Miracles of all shapes and sizes. But I know that faith does not come from witnessing miracles. But miracles do follow when we exercise faith in Jesus Christ. Because He is the worker of miracles. As we have faith in Him, we allow Him to touch our hearts and lives. And with the Master's touch, our hearts and lives change in ways that are miraculous.
Jesus Christ has worked miracles in my life, and I feel that I can express my gratitude to Him by inviting others to follow Him. To do this, I'd like to share some of my own experiences in which my faith in Christ has lead to witnessing Him work miracles in my life.
When I graduated high school, choosing which college to attend was a challenge. I had three incredible options: BYU (in Utah), BYU (in Idaho), and BYU (in Hawaii)! I knew each option was very good, but I also knew I would have very different experiences depending on which one I went to. I also felt strongly that there were people I needed to meet and that which school I went to would determine the people I met. It was an act of faith for me to decide to go to BYU-Hawaii. I had no idea what it would be like! I had never even been to Hawaii (or that far from home) until Mom and I landed there to drop me off for my first semester. I feel like this was an important first step for me in learning more about faith.
We learn in the scriptures that "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (the Bible, Hebrews 11:1). For me this evidence of things not seen is often a feeling. As I prayed about attending BYU-Hawaii, there was no visible evidence that it was the right thing for me. (Although most people would think that Hawaii is obviously a great choice for anyone:)) I had no way of seeing what would happen when I got there, or what the results of the decision would be. But as I prayed about the decision, I felt a sense of peace. This feeling of peace gave me courage to go forward with my decision. And I remember having the feeling that I would meet someone important at BYU-H.
My husband and I first met at Brigham Young University-Hawaii, during my first semester there! Of all the places, we met in a Chinese 101 class, taught by his dad! Seth and I were both pretty shy, but we got to know each other a little in class, became friends, and I remember feeling really comfortable and peaceful around him. We didn't spend a lot of time together, but just saw each other in class, at church, and occasionally ran into each other around the neighborhood.
Over my next several semesters at BYU-Hawaii, I met lots of great people, and dated a variety of people too. Seth received his mission call to serve as a full-time missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Korea!
Meanwhile, I dated someone pretty seriously and actually got engaged. In my mind, it was the perfect path for me. But I kept having this feeling of anxiousness and uncertainty that I couldn't explain. I prayed and prayed, and instead of feeling more peace, I felt less and less peace. As I began to feel less peace, I realized that not everything in my relationship was as ideal as I was telling myself it was, even though he was a great person. But I didn't want to accept that. When I prayed, hoping for a confirmation that what I was doing (planning to get married) was the right thing for me, I instead felt a feeling that said to me, "You can go ahead with it, but this isn't the best path for you."
This was a turning point in my life. I could go forward with what made sense to me (and what I thought I really, really wanted), or I could follow this feeling I had that I should pursue a different path. It felt to me like following that unknown path would be like taking a plunge into the dark- because I had no idea where it would take me or where I would end up. But I wanted to feel peace again. And no matter how much I thought my current path made sense in my mind and was exactly what I wanted, it did not feel peaceful in my heart. When I finally decided that I would do whatever it took to regain the feeling of peace that I wanted so desperately, even if it meant breaking off my engagement, the feeling of peace returned to me. I felt that the Lord was pleased with the step of faith I was taking. I felt that that step was a step of faith in Him, and was a demonstration to Him that I loved Him more than I loved what I wanted for myself. I didn't know what was ahead of me, but at least I knew Who was leading the way before me, and that filled me with peace.
Breaking off the engagement was extremely hard. Even though my heart felt peaceful again, there were many days filled with tears, and many nights filled with heartache.
During that time of heartache after breaking off the engagement, I had thoughts like, "Why did this all have to happen? Why do I always date the wrong guys? Are there any guys out there who truly exemplify those qualities I hope for in a companion? Where are those guys?" As I prayed about this and expressed my discouragement and confusion to my Heavenly Father, a little thought came to mind that said, "What about Seth? He's that kind of guy!" It suddenly hit me that indeed, Seth was that kind of guy! I had always hoped to someday marry a young man who loved the Lord with all His heart, who was gentle and kind, and faithful in living the gospel. It struck me that Seth was that kind of person, and that thought brought me a tremendous amount of comfort. There were young men out there who had those qualities. Even though at that time I had no idea I would end up marrying Seth, I felt a strong desire to write him a letter, just to thank him for his example to me. In a time that I was discouraged, thinking of Seth's example and love for Jesus Christ really encouraged me.
So I decided to write him a letter! This was another small act of faith that has brought forth great miracles in my life. I am eternally grateful that I trusted in that little answer to prayer ("What about Seth? He's that kind of guy!"), and acted on that feeling to write him a thank you letter.
It was a blessing that his dad was my very favorite teacher at BYU-Hawaii, which made it very possible to get Seth's mission address! I e-mailed his dad, telling him I'd like to write a letter to Seth and asking for the address. Then I wrote a letter to Seth, simply telling him I had gone through a hard time, but that when I remembered Seth's good example I had been comforted, and thanking him for being that example to me. Seth wrote back!
Before I had gotten engaged, I had been seriously considering serving a full-time mission for the Church. After breaking off the engagement, it became clear to me that serving a mission fit in the Lord's plan for me. As I prayed and considered going on my mission, I felt tremendous peace. I had practically already finished my mission application before getting engaged, so it was an easy process to finish it up and send it off. I received my mission call to the Belem, Brazil Mission. (And later I would be delighted to also serve in the San Antonio, Texas Mission while waiting for my visa to be approved).
Seth and I continued writing back and forth. Those letters continued throughout my entire mission. Through our letters, we shared our testimonies of the gospel and the experiences we were having on our missions. There were many times on the mission where at the end of a particularly hard and emotionally draining day, a letter from Seth would arrive in the mail. Reading his testimony of Jesus Christ, reading about his experiences, and reading his funny jokes always lifted my spirit. We became the best of friends.
After we both returned from our missions, we both found ourselves at BYU (in Utah) and began dating. By the end of last year, we were married for time and all eternity in the Manti, Utah temple. Every single day, I am grateful for the guidance and direction the Lord gave me in helping me to marry the right person, in the right place, at the right time. I cannot imagine a happier path for me than the one the Lord has guided me to be on. And I cannot imagine being married to a more wonderful man. We truly complement each other, and I know that the Lord knew how happy we would be together, so He helped us to end up together. My marriage to Seth has been one of the greatest miracles in my life, and it's incredible to think that the Lord has brought to pass such a wonderful miracle because I simply tried to have faith in Him in small and big ways (like going to BYU-Hawaii, breaking off an engagement, writing Seth a letter to say thanks, serving a mission, etc).
One thing that I always really, really liked about Seth (even from when I first met him at BYU-Hawaii) is his love for family. Aside from Jesus Christ, he loves family more than anything!
Seth and I both grew up in incredible families. We were blessed with loving and kind parents (who taught us how to follow Jesus Christ), and with awesome siblings.
Growing up, we both always knew we wanted to have a family and that that was very important to us. During our dating, we learned that we both had strong desires to begin a family shortly after marriage. It was a desire we had both already had for a long time.
We weren't really sure how everything would work out. Getting married can deplete a person's savings! And we knew we wanted to be responsible in our decision making. We wanted to be able to support our family and be financially independent. We decided we would do our very best, and trust that the Lord would continue to guide us.
It wasn't long after getting married that we felt it was the right time to invite a child into our family. At that time, we had a lot of questions. Questions about finances, our preparedness, and how things would come together. But as we prayed, we continued to feel a great sense of peace about starting our family. In the Bible and Book of Mormon, we learn that if we keep His commandments, the Lord will provide for us and bless us. We both believed this was true, and felt the Lord would guide us and take care of us if we did what He asked us to do.
As soon as we made the decision to take a step of faith and welcome a child into our family, the miracles quickly followed!
Our first shopping trip together, we ran into a friend of Seth's who he grew up with as a kid, but hadn't seen in many many years. We talked with him, told him we had just gotten married, and it was fun to visit with him. We saw him several times throughout the grocery store. By the time we were checking out, he had just finished checking out too. To our surprise, he wheeled his full cart of paid-for groceries over to us, left it next to me, and while walking out of the store with only one or two bags in his hand, said, "This is for you guys! Congratulations on getting married!"
We were so touched, we both felt like we might cry. We both had the same deep impression that this was a sign from the Lord- He was telling us that He would provide for our family, just like He had promised.
Several weeks later, we found out that we were expecting a baby!
That experience at the grocery store was only the first of a chain of miracles that has continued every day of our marriage. Miracles have come in the forms of great job opportunities, scholarships, help with doing well in school, gifts people have given to us, joy and peace in our marriage, and so many other ways! We started out full of faith but without knowing the details of how things would work out, and every day it becomes clearer and clearer to us that the Lord is happy with our decision and is working out the details for us. We have been so blessed and are eternally grateful for Jesus Christ.
I know without a doubt that it is upon faith in Jesus Christ that we can build happy families. That means that sometimes we will have to do things that don't completely make sense to us, but that we feel are right. It means that we have to continue our whole lives to do our best to follow Jesus Christ, and to follow the guidance He gives us. It also means having a life that is filled with joy and peace. And filled with miracles. Because miracles follow faith in Christ. And Jesus Christ LOVES us and our families.
We are so excited to meet our baby boy around October 3rd!
