2013's Most Important Lesson

I was going to write a blog that had four lessons that I learned this year, but I got to the last one and decided that it should be it's own blog (I don't like them to be too long).  And it's the most important, so what better day to reflect on it and share the most important lesson of, quite possibly, my whole life than today.

Forgiveness is real.

Not only does the Lord forgive us when we ask for it, but He gives us the opportunity to forgive others.  

I have always thought of myself as a pretty forgiving person.  I get over things really easily because so many things just seem so small in the big scheme of things.  But every once in awhile, something happens that seems unforgiveable.  Not only is it extremely hard to forgive, but sometimes you don't even want to. 

And that's when you start changing.  That's when you start becoming someone that you're not.  That's when you start hating another person and blaming them for the things that have gone or are going wrong in your life.  That's when you become unhappy, angry, fearful, defensive, offensive, sad, resentful, obsessive.  Or maybe you become melancholy, depressed, empty.  

But those things are not who you are.

And they are not what the Lord wants you to feel.  And that's why we have forgiveness.  I have always heard, and probably even said, "Forgiveness is not for the other person, it's for you."  But recently I got to actually experience that in a huge way.  

When we let go of our obsession with justice, we can have faith that God will be perfectly just.

When we give Him our heartache, He can lift us up.

When we let go of our hurt/anger/sadness/pain/resentment/hatred, we allow Christ to heal us.

So here's what I realized:

The Lord wants us to be happy.

True happiness and hurt/anger/pain/resentment/hatred/fear/depression/etc. cannot exist together.

Forgiveness, whether for us from God or for another person from us, has the ability to take away that hurt/anger/pain/resentment/hatred/fear/depression/etc.

This is why the Lord emphasizes forgiveness and repentance so much.  

Because in the end, we are so much happier when we just let go and let God.

Lessons from Hiking

Whenever I go hiking, I get at least one life lesson.  I have decided to share some of them from this year with you.  Share yours if you have any!

1. It is so much easier to go down than go up.  And once you start the journey down, there is usually no need to stop to catch your breath.  You have momentum.  We should constantly be striving to go up, even though it's hard.

2. When you slip and fall on the rocks, you have to get back up and keep going.

3. Sometimes you have to push through the pain.

4. The satisfaction comes when you have pushed yourself farther than you knew you could go.  When you get to the top, you can see how far you've come, and your perspective is clearer than when you were in the middle of the hike.

5. When you take the path less traveled, you might see some cool things, but a cactus will try to eat you and you will wish you wore long pants. And in the end, you're just grateful you made out out alive.  (This is a direct quote from one of my hikes.  There are many meanings here.  You can interpret it for yourself.)