Thank You Veterans!

As I have grown up and come to better understand the significance of Veterans' Day, this holiday has taken a special place in my heart. It was a tender mercy that I was assigned to write my post for the UFI blog on this day. This one is for my veteran grandpa's!
http://unitedfamilies.org/freedom/thank-you-veterans/

Ambiguous Loss

This article for the United Families International blog focuses on a topic I find very interesting. If you have ever lost a parent or grandparent psychologically to dementia, had a miscarriage, or experienced any other kind of loss that you just did not feel others could understand, this is for you.

http://unitedfamilies.org/marriage-and-family/ambiguous-loss/

His Will Be Done

I have been reflecting a lot lately on Heavenly Father’s perfect plan. I recently came across a list of goals that I had made at Girls’ Camp one year of the things that I wanted to accomplish in the following five or so years. I have now passed the age by which these goals were to be accomplished, and I achieved barely any of them. This is not because I wasn’t ambitious or dedicated enough, but because I had made goals for how I wanted my life to unfold that were different than how Heavenly Father wanted my life to unfold. I did not graduate with the degree that I had wanted since I was a young child, and I have yet to become a wife and a mother. But oh the opportunities and growth I would have missed if I had followed my plan. There was a lot of struggling, discouragements, and even despair along the way, but each of the trying moments I now recognize were important to get me to the place that I am now. I look back and see that I was not at all prepared for what I thought I wanted, but in following Heavenly Father’s plan, He has given me tailored experiences to prepare me in the specific ways that I needed so that when my dreams come true, I will be much more ready to embrace them.