A few lyrics came to mind tonight,

I can only imagine when that day comes
When I find myself standing in the Son
I can only imagine when all I would do is forever
Forever worship You
I can only imagine
I can only imagine

Surrounded by Your glory
What will my heart feel
Will I dance for You, Jesus
Or in awe of you be still
Will I stand in your presence
Or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing hallelujah
Will I be able to speak at all
I can only imagine
I can only imagine hey ya ah

(I can only Imagine) 

We can brave through those emotions too
'Cause I'm gonna stand by you
Oh, truth, I guess truth is what you believe in
And faith, I think faith is helping to reason
No, no, no, love, if your wings are broken
Borrow mine so yours can open too
'Cause I'm gonna stand by you

(Stand By You)

These are two of my favorite songs. 

As Easter is coming we remember the death, but more importantly the life of the Savior.  One day we will be at his feet, and how will we feel? Will we be filled with fear and sorrow, or will we feel worthy to be in his presence.  He knows that we have erred many times before, but have we worked to overcome it and repent? 

I know that my savior lives, and I know that He will save us from everything.  I know that He stands by us, and helps us along the way.  I can only imagine being in His presence.  I can only imagine, being speechless, crying, and kissing his feet.  As we stand by him, we will feel in awe and we will fall to our knees, but we must prepare for that day.  We don't want to feel guilty or scared.  I know that repentance can get us there.   No unclean thing can be in the presence of God.   

Today at church we learned about a change of heart.  How it is necessary to learn and grow and become a righteous child of God. 

What helps us have a change of heart? Is it a desire in our hearts? The love of those around us? simply our time in life? or that we have hit rock bottom and we finally see we want a difference?

Regarding hitting rock bottom, I read a quote not to long ago, "Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn." We won't always have the best day, or the time of our lives.  If we hit rock bottom, we can learn and remember that Christ is our rock. 

Helaman 5:12 " And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall."

When we face those mighty winds, they could push us so far down that we remember Christ and we desire to change our hearts.  With a changed heart we are more loyal disciples of Christ, and we strengthen our testimonies in Jesus Christ. 

Another quote is hung on my wall, "Darling, a beautiful thing is never perfect." While there may be many things in our lives which we wish to complain about, but if we turn our hearts towards Christ, we can face everything.  We won't fall into past temptations.  We will remember that He died for us, and that the Atonement is real in our lives.  Christ is living, and He wants us to truly follow Him.  We must change our hearts though.  We must have a pure heart and a contrite spirit.  We must be humbled enough to realize that we have to change.  It is hard, it will be painful, but with prayer we can do it.

It's a long road ahead without Him.

A quote by Elder Holland came up on my dash today, "God is eagerly waiting for a chance to answer your prayers and fulfill your dreams, just as he always has.  But He can't if you don't pray, and He can't if you don't dream.  In short, He can't if you don't believe."

I love this idea about praying.  It is dependent on us.  And dreaming is as important as praying, we must also pursue our dreams! We must put in our work too if we want to find those answers in prayers. 

"Do not despair.  Do not give up.  Look for the sunlight through the clouds.  Opportunities will eventually open up to you." -- President Hinckley.

Dream.  Pray.  Believe.  That is what it takes, but I also believe in acting.  Final step to get those blessings that God has promised us, they don't just fall down from the sky, we have to catch them. 

A piece of work at the BYU Museum of Art shows Job lying in misery and a scripture is above his head, and God is asking, "Have your forgotten that I am the creator of all things?" and a scripture below says, "Thou aren't yet as Job." A wise owl sits above Job, symbolic of Christ, looking over Job.

In this piece Job is symbolic of all of us.  We are down at times, we are depressed, and lost, but we cannot forget Christ, He who is the creator of all things.

DC 122:

7 And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.

8 The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?

9 Therefore, hold on thy way, and the priesthood shall remain with thee; for their bounds are set, they cannot pass. Thy days are known, and thy years shall not be numbered less; therefore, fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever.

All these pains and horrors and sadness we see, will only be for our good.  We just have to be patient in waiting for it.

DC 121:
7 My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;8 And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.9 Thy friends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands.10 Thou art not yet as Job; thy friends do not contend against thee, neither charge thee with transgression, as they did Job.

We must always remember the testimony that Job shared, "I KNOW THAT MY REDEEMER LIVES." 

Sustain means to hold up or bear up and support.  Just as we sustain Christ and his leaders on the earth today, they promise to sustain us.

Even if you cannot always see that silver lining on your clouds, God can, for He is the very source of the light you seek.  He does love you, and He knows your fears.  He hears your prayers.  He is your Heavenly Father, and surely He matches wit His own the tears His children shed . . . They (Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ) sustain us in our hour of need - and always will, even if we cannot recognize that intervention." Elder Holland

They are not leaving us without help.  We are being sustained all the while we sustain them.

"And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up."  Doctrine and Covenants 84:88

We are never alone.  We may feel alone, but we are never alone.  No matter the situation He will always be by our side wanting to hold us up. 

Elder Holland also taught us that Christ walked the long and lonely road alone, so we don't have too.

One thing I love about art history is that it connects the secular and religious history.  We see things in the art that depicts what happened in the Bible. 

Lately, we have been reading about the Saxons and other Scandinavian tribes.  They started very tribal, but later more and more missionaries went to visit them and they became more Catholic. 

A source by St. Patrick, he says, quoting the apostles, "the spirit held is when we don't know how to pray or what we should pray for."  Sometimes i am at a loss as to what to pray for.  I don't want to pray for my own desires nor do i want to say the same pray again and again.  We all have the spirit with us, and he is to guide us in ALL things.  Including prayer.  It also states that in Preach my Gospel.  Sometimes we kneel and just wait for our words to be guided and maybe those prayers are shorter, but they have the spirit with them. 

Continuing on it says, "the spirit prays with a language which goes beyond mere words.  The Lord is our spokesman who prays for us."  We pray through Christ, with the spirit, and the Lord always listens.   

In Alma we read, "Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord," 

I know that prayer is sometimes hard, we may feel we are talking to a wall, or no one is listening, but we must do it.  Every morning and night and walk with a prayer in our hearts throughout the day.  It is a commandment and it is the best way to receive help.  So pray to God, share everything in your heart, talk to him as you would your father, and tell him everything!

Being on my knees so long

My heart sang its song

I had a question on my mind

I was in a bind

Before me I saw two ways

I’ve mulled it over for days

I know what I desire

But they are things I can’t acquire

However, God knows what I need

And that’s why I plead

So he can guide me

And my salvation is a guarantee

As humans we want a lot of things.   We want new clothes, the biggest house, the nicest car, and many others.  Most importantly, we want our lives certain ways, and when it doesn't happen, we get upset.  We cry and yell out at God. 

Elder Holland once said, "don't rush righteous timing."  We want things to come fast, and we want them our way. 

But God has His way.  It's the right way, and the way we will be the most blessed. 

Relating to the scriptures, Lehi and his family were sent here and there and everywhere.  They were asked to do so much! Much of which, they didn't want to do during that time.  Though some murmured, Nephi and Lehi believed in God's plan.  Because of their selfless sacrifice and willingness to obey, they created a civilization that is still alive today.  Hundreds of years later, Moroni was able to leave the scriptures where they needed to be.  None of that would have happened if Nephi and Lehi didn't follow God's plan. 

We must trust in our trials and what is going on in our lives now, so we can be at the right place and at the right time when God needs us.

So maybe we don't want it, or we want something else.  God knows.  He plans.  And it will be just what we need.