***For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the parable of The Ten Virgins, you can click here to watch the video clip or read it here.***

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I taught Relief Society this last Sunday about spiritual and temporal welfare. Due to the time constraint, we briefly went over temporal welfare and ended with a video clip of The Ten Virgins. My heart broke as I watched the five foolish women stand outside the door of the Bridegroom. Can you imagine being told that you do not know Christ and having the door shut in your face? All because you were unprepared? I don't want to know what that's like. And I don't want you to know what that's like!

I needed this reminder, not just temporally, but spiritually! Oh this is the time to prepare to meet our maker! I am always having to remind myself to more fully give my will to God. And sometimes it's hard. I feel like even at my young age, I'm so distracted by all the big decisions that I need to make that I fail to remember that my life should be in the service of God. Am I ever grateful for second and third chances that are given to humble myself and get back on path.

I want to be prepared for that day! I want to be a strong woman of faith who has withstood the evils of the world. I want to be there when He comes again in His glory. I want to be able to look back at my life knowing that I had tried my best and had done what the Lord asked me to do. I want to be able to have those memories of being the Lord's vessel in bringing others unto Christ.

Prepare yourself spiritually to be an instrument in God's hands. Oh how he will bless  you both spiritually and temporally! Through God you can do all things! Ancient and modern-day prophets have testified of this truth!

I promise you that you don't want to be one of the five foolish women outside the Bridegrooms door! You don't have to be. You weren't destined for that. You were destined for glory! Eternal life is worth it! We can prepare for it! And we can have it! Through Him, we can have it! We have all the tools to help us get there. We can endure to the end by careful and prayerful preparation!

Not My Will

Sunday was quite lovely. I can happily say that with a smile on my face. Church was beautiful beyond measure! Ward conference was absolutely  what I needed. Each meeting was just spot on. It was a lot to take in - I was scribbling down notes like mad. 

The afternoon was quiet and relaxing. No meetings = nap time! (I'm pretty sure that I had a dream about Harry Potter.) I got settled into my bed and started reading a book on my phone. I am currently reading "Growing Up Duggar" which is surprisingly good. (Book review on this coming soon) Somewhere in there, I fell asleep and woke up to my roommates laughing in the kitchen. (And goodness, they are soooo funny!!!)

Sunday night started off rough, but ended so beautifully! I feel so blessed to have wonderful people in my life. I had a good chat with my older brother on the phone who gave me great counsel. I received a blessing that gave me strength. I talked to some dear friends, who definitely cheered me up and helped me get back on my feet. I feel so blessed!

This was on my mind today:

How can I boldly say this to my Heavenly Father? How can I fully give my whole heart and will to Him? One of the few things that I want to do is to be able to fully give and dedicate my life to the Lord. I'm realizing very quickly that I can't just make this decision on a whim. I wish I could, but I can't. However, I'm building up to it. "By small and simple things are great things brought to pass." It's a constant process. The more obedient I am, the more trust I have in Him. Trust always makes the decision easier to make. I am just grateful that God accepts me as I am right now. That He accepts the fact that I struggle to give Him my whole heart. He understands that and He knows that I am trying. And that's good enough for now. I have a lot of time to continue progressing.