The Lord definitely works in mysterious ways! My first month of college has been lots of different things, exciting, spontaneous, scary, thrilling, stressful, exhausting, hectic, and lots of other things but I can't think of anymore words. There are many things that have strengthened my testimony and also many things that have tested my faith.
A new friend we met while here has been to the hospital twice this month due to some illnesses and psychological issues he has. We have been trying to help him and support him as he goes through his trials but it has been very hard. I'm not going to go on a rant about all the things that are on my mind but a lot of the things he says and does really irks me and many other people. He is a great kid, don't get me wrong, but at times he is very contradicting and well, annoying. It makes it hard to be around him sometimes. Recently I have been getting very fed up with his lies and his attitude and I was feeling very conflicted at what to do I had been praying for help and asking for this boy to be comforted through his trials. One night while reading my scriptures I read 2 Nephi 2:1-8, In the first verse it says "...In thy childhood thou hast suffered afflictions and much sorrow, because of the rudeness of thy brethren." Then it goes on to talk about how much Jacob will be blessed for having to go through that but dealing with it with faith in the Lord. That was the first thing I read after praying for help, prayers answered? Wait, it gets better. Then the next day in institute we talked about the good Samaritan and being a good neighbor. That was when I realized that this guy just needs to be cared about and loved and we are the ones who can do that. And I don't mean just being tolerant of him, I mean actually loving him. Serving him and praying for him, truly caring. I realized today that that isn't as hard as it sounds. I look at him as a child of God and I remind myself that he is just as loved by our Father in heaven as I am.
Things are going better now and life is moving forward. Last weekend My roommate, Sarah, and my neighbor, Keagan, and I went to Keagan's grandparents house for General Conference weekend and, of course, for the USU vs. BYU football game. The weekend started out great with us totally defeating BYU 35 to 21. Then, as always, General Conference was AMAZING. I love listening to all the messages that come from our church leaders. They are all amazing people and truly are the words of our Father in Heaven. The rest of the weekend was spend jamming out to Guitar Hero, obviously I kicked everyone's trash! We had a lot of fun but it felt really good to finally be home. That was until I discovered that I had gotten food poisoning by puking up all the apples and granola bars I had eaten for dinner. It was SO MUCH FUN! My ideal vacation is laying on the couch either hungry or puking for 24 hours straight! My roommates thought it was the flu so they stocked up on disinfectant wipes (that kill the flu virus) and sanitized everything I touched. I felt better after I slept for about 18 hours straight but I still didn't go to class, just in case.
The rest of the week has gone a lot smoother and I haven't had much to worry about. Hockey starts tomorrow, against BYU! I'm so ready to watch them get slaughtered! It probably drives my roommates insane how much I talk about hockey but its too great of a sport to not talk about it. Anyway, the moral of the story is to always do what the Lord would have you do, always make sure your chicken is cooked, and always watch hockey!
Much love :)
