Look Inside

     Life is hard and seems to be geting harder! Everywhere we turn there are problems and difficulties even when we are trying our best to be the best person we can be. Problems still come into our lives from so many areas! After all, there are a lot of areas in our lives to deal with. Some of these things are created by our own weaknesses, some are due to our relationships with others and some are just a part of this world we live in. But no matter what the issue is we always have to remember that it is up to us to do our best to fix it. Lately I have been listening to several youth songs written for the youth of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that have helped uplift and inspire me, but one in particular fits this theme of my blog. In part it says, "I can blame no one for choices that I make. I can blame no one for pathways I may take. For the Lord has given me the gift of agency, Whatever I become is up to me." And there have been so many thoughts I have read lately along those same lines. No matter what the issue may be we need to look inside ourselves and decide how to deal with it. Even the choice to put the blame on someone else is a choice, but it is one that will do us no good! If you do this you are dodging the responsibility for fixing the way the problem has affected you. If you blame it all on someone else then you are doing nothing to help you overcome it. You will probably just wallow in self-pity and moan and cry about how miserable life is. AND what if IT IS all someone else's fault? Are you going to allow that person to continue to control you? That is what you are really doing if you don't look inside and say, "This sucks and I did not want things this way, but I know I can move past this and keep growing!"  Forgive that person as best you can, even if it takes a long time, because if you don't you are still allowing that person the control and you will fall further and further into the pit of "oh, woe is me", which has never helped anyone be a better person nor find peace and happiness! Look inside yourself! Find the strength and courage to face the difficulties and overcome them step by step; even slow tiny steps are better than no effort at all. And as one of our Church leaders has assured us, "The Lord loves effort!" Take control of your life by looking inside and quit pointing the finger at everyone else because when you point one finger at others three fingers point back at you! Look inside! Take responsibility for your own life, your own feelings, your own thoughts and move forward knowing that if you do this YOU WILL find peace, courage, strength, happiness and become the person God set you apart to be before you came to this earth. And another huge benefit is that you will have confidence in facing the Lord in the end because you did the best you could and did not blame others!! The Lord WILL make all things right in the end and the one who has the fault, IF they do nothing to truly repent of it and fix it, will face the eternal consequences.