It is better to look up!

Background to the long winded post: This past General Conference I was really looking forward to listening to the messages given to us by the General Authorities. Unfortunately, I forgot to take into account the 4 children I have that have at the max an attention span of 5 minutes. It would be awesome if I could say that we all sat down and listened {and took notes} of the messages given. But, of course, I we didn’t. I attempted. And failed. And I look forward to the Ensign next month where I can reread the talks at my own pace.

With that being said, I was able to listen to bits and pieces of the talks throughout the 2 days. the one talk that really stood out to me was given by Elder Cook titled It is Better to Look Up. This is a topic that has helped me a lot. All too often I want to throw myself a pity party of how hard things are, or how nothing is going right, or how overwhelmed I feel, or how nobody likes me. And you know what? I do. I throw that darn pity party. And it doesn’t really make me feel any better. Well, maybe a little! I just have to remind myself, that it is better to look up!

“We are Heavenly Father’s children. He wants to be a part of our lives, to bless us, and to help us. He will heal our wounds, dry our tears, and help us along our path to return to His presence. As we look to Him, He will lead us.” It is so easy to think “Wo is me!” But when we do, the adversary wins, and we don’t feel any better. If anything, we feel worse.

So, my new mantra. It is better to look up. {I have it written on my white board in the kitchen. I read it every day. Over and over and over again.}

One of my favorite stories is You are Special by Max Lucado. If you don’t know what it’s about here is a brief synopsis: Every day the small wooden people called Wemmicks do the same thing: stick either gold stars or gray dots on one another. The pretty ones--those with smooth wood and fine paint--always get stars. The talented ones do, too. Others, though, who can do little or who have chipped paint, get ugly gray dots. Like Punchinello. He has a lot of dots. But one day, he goes to the woodcarver, Eli, where he learns that it doesn’t matter what other people think of him. The dots only stick if he lets them. And when he realizes what other people think of him doesn’t matter, the dots fall off. But, he needs to go to Eli every day to remind him of this.

So, like Punchinello, I need to remember to talk to my Heavenly Father. That He loves me. That He listens to me. And that I shouldn’t get caught up in what others think of me but to be who I know I can be.

{Me and my sweetheart! I ♥ him for-ev-er!!}