Sunday, September 8, 2013

Girls' Camp 2013

So, I found my Girls' Camp Journal today, and I realized that my final Girls' Camp experience really needed its own post. So here it is!

As I mentioned in Summer Reflections, our theme this year was Brave, which was an acronym for Bold, Righteous, and Valiant Examples. (Get it? Get it?!) :) We had some amazing "solo time packets" this year. A solo time packet is a packet that each girl receives at the beginning of the week with quotes, talks, scriptures, questions, and a whole bunch of good stuff like that. Each day, we get to study one page and write in our journals. I love solo time! Solo time was the time where I had the chance to really think about what I was learning and to figure out how to apply it to my life.

On the first day, during solo time, we were asked to write down the Young Women's theme in our journals. As I wrote those special words, I remembered how much our Heavenly Father really loves us. We are His daughters, born with a divine potential to become just like Him! He wants us to have eternal happiness, and expects us in return to stand for Him and to be brave.

The next couple of days had amazing solo times as well! Here are some of my favorite quotes/thoughts/etc. from that week:


"Your testimony, when constantly nourished, will keep you safe."
-Thomas S. Monson
 
"Your strength will come as you strive daily to increase your testimony of the Savior by praying and reading in the Book of Mormon."
-Young Women General Presidency
 
"Decisions are constantly before us. To make them wisely, courage is needed: the courage to say "no," the courage to say "yes." Decisions do determine destiny."
-Thomas S. Monson
 
"Though the storm clouds may gather, though the rains may pour down upon us, our knowledge of the gospel and our love of our Heavenly Father and of our Savior will comfort and sustain us and bring joy to our hearts as we walk uprightly and keep the commandments. There will be nothing in this world that can defeat us. My beloved brothers and sisters, fear not. Be of good cheer. The future is as bright as your faith."
-Thomas S. Monson
 
 
 
Can you tell I have a slight obsession with quotes? Ha ha. Anyway, during that week, we were privileged to have the amazing Meg Johnson speak to us. Meg was paralyzed from the stomach down in a freak accident, in the middle of her dancing and leg-using career. As she told us her story and shared with us what she has learned, one thing she shared really stuck out to me. She related how after returning home from the hospital in her new wheelchair, she sat staring at herself in the mirror. As she studied her newly crippled body, she began to cry and wish that her accident had never happened. She then heard a voice say:
"Don't covet because I have given you more."
She went on to explain that she really has been given more. Through her experience, she has learned a lot and has been able to touch many peoples' lives. She has been able to feel so much love from Heavenly Father, both for her and for others around her.
 
This really touched me. I feel that I, too, have been given more, although maybe not as dramatically more as Meg has been given. But how many times have I watched a normal height girl walk by, and jealously wondered how easy it must be for her to find jeans, shoes, or a date for that matter? Or how many times have I stood next to my friends and wished that I didn't feel like an awkward monster? How many times have I coveted because I have been given more? Too many times to count, unfortunately.
 
On the flip side, how many times have I really appreciated the fact that I have been given more? I have felt God's love, more often than I can count. I have been complimented hundreds of times on how I carry myself, tall and unashamed. I know that I am a precious daughter of a King. I have promises of eternal happiness and glory. I know that I have a Savior, who suffered personally for my sins and my pains and my sadness. He understands and knows me better than I know myself. I understand my divine nature, and recognize that everyone around me has that same worth. I am stronger than I thought possible. I understand pain more than I thought possible. I understand love more than I thought possible. And my journey has only begun.
 
I am so grateful for my "more." I hope you, too, are grateful for your "more."
 
Thanks for reading, and I hope you come back soon!


Sunday, September 1, 2013

True Strength

So, once upon a time, three best friends started their senior year of high school. They survived through the first two days, and even had some classes together! They had a blast in Chamber Choir, and couldn't wait for what the rest of the year would bring.

Then, on the third day of school, one of the friends had an MRI that discovered a tumor in her brain. She was rushed to the hospital and put into the ICU because the doctors were worried she would have a seizure that could potentially kill her. She was scheduled for an emergency brain surgery the following morning, which also happened to be her 17th birthday.

Meanwhile, another one of the friends got home from school. She turned on her phone to find a text message from her best friend's mother, telling her about the tumor and asking her to let everyone know. An hour and a half later, this friend had to go to work after telling everyone what was going on, leaving a whirlwind of questions behind her.

That night, the two best friends couldn't stand to leave their other best friend alone in the hospital. They, along with four other close friends, drove in near complete silence for a half hour. Since their friend was in the ICU, they were not allowed to see her, but their cards and well wishes were delivered to her room by a kind nurse. The friends then returned home.

During the next twenty-four hours, countless prayers were said. Friends fasted. Phones were out between every class period, the owners desperately checking for updates on their friend. The surgery got postponed. Then she went in. Then she was done, and the tumor was out.

But she still wasn't back home. And her two best friends still hadn't seen her. And her two best friends desperately missed her. More prayers were said. She couldn't eat. Even more were said. And then, she was able to come home. Only four days had passed since her brain surgery. Her best friends went to her house at 7 that morning to tape posters and notes to her garage to welcome her home. And later that day, the three were finally reunited. One had lost some hair and a tumor, the other two had lost sleep and failed quizzes worrying about her. She was tired, but she was talking. And even though her two best friends still worried about her, they knew she was going to be all right.

Two days later, her miraculous recovery had only continued. Her two best friends marveled as she walked, talked, and acted just like her old self. The three stayed up late on a school night catching up and modeling wigs. They laughed. They smiled. They even cried a little bit. Everything felt almost normal again. Prayers of gratitude were said that night. All three knew there was still long road to reach complete recovery, but hope and peace were found.

I know that prayer and fasting works. Our Heavenly Father is watching over us, listening, and He will bless us. I owe the life of one of my best friends to Him. He loves us, and will not desert us. He will carry me and my friends, especially my friend who has suffered the most,  through this trial. We are his daughters and sons with infinite worth. Miracles happen, and will continue to happen for all of us and for my dear friend. God is the true and only source of strength, peace, and hope.

I love you all.