Come What May and Love it

So this isn't because I have been reviewing my journal, but I have been thinking about this for quite a while.

My mission president's father was Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin. 

There is a talk titled the same thing from him... Come What May, and Love It

Anyways, now that that is out of the way, I will begin my post. 

While on the mission I often wanted to be in control of what was going on. I thought many times "I am the Lord's missionary! Why isn't He making this easier for me?!" Other thoughts were similar "Why does everyone cancel on us?" "Why don't they get it?" "why is every door being closed?" "Why does it have to be raining when I don't have my umbrella?" Etc. 

Thoughts are super powerful and gratitude is one of the best things ever. When we are positive and see the good in our lives, we are soo much happier. The more negative we are, the more it seems that we have a rain cloud over us constantly. 

President W. would always say "If you wake up on the wrong side of the bed, get back in bed and wake up on the right side of the bed." When he was asked how he was able to be happy day after day, he would simply say "I wake up and decide that today will be a good day. And it always is."

The last few days have been a bit colder than it has been previously. Today we even got snow here (I know, all you in NY would be happy to not have snow at this point.) Many friends and acquaintances began to complain about the snow and the cold weather, and I thought to myself "Hey, we can't change the weather, and it's actually really great that we are getting moisture now..." I also thought a lot about my mission too. I have never experienced a winter like I did on my mission. I now love snow and cold because it reminds me of NY. As the snow came down tonight, I stood in it and looked up to the sky. I breathed it in, I laid in the snow, made a snow angel and spun around. How enjoyable snow can be! 

There is so much that we can not control, so why try? Come what may and love it. We can be agents unto ourselves. We can choose to act and not be acted upon. We can choose our thoughts and actions. We can choose how we react to each situation; if we want to respond with anger, sadness, laughter, or joy. 

Buddha said "Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional." We can choose how we react to every thing. Laugh or cry, well as Sister Hinckley said "crying gives me a headache." haha. So, laughing is usually what I pick. :)

We can all find joy in each situation. Way harder to do than say, but as we practice, it will become a habit. Like Elder Scott says (and I know I have quoted this before) "We become what we want to be by consistently being what we want to be become each day." 

I'm going to keep this short, but I do love how I have been able to see recently the power of positive thinking. I encourage all of you to begin now to try and be more positive in your life. It's definitely worth it. :)