Stand Ye In Holy Places

I am always amazed at how I am led to things I directly need to hear and learn.

On Saturday I was working on my very, very belated Christmas gift for my parents, and decided to listen to some past General Conference talks while I quietly worked. I tried selecting a few different talks, but they wouldn't play. So I thumbed through the list for a different talk thinking, "I guess those ones aren't what I need to hear." I landed on, "Stand Ye In Holy Places" by Elder Faust. As I listened to the talk, my heart was full of gratitude. I was especially excited as he spoke about the temple, because that night I had plans to attend a session with a few friends from my ward.

I went about my day, attended the temple session- loving every second, and then returned home to my sweet hubby who had sacrificed time with me so I could go out with friends to the best place on earth!

I shared with Richard one of the thoughts I had while in the temple. As I looked around at all the small details of the temple the thought came to me, "God is in the details." Every action we make either increases or diminishes His presence in our lives. It's the details that count: what movie am I going to watch? What language am I going to use? What friends will I hang out with? What clothes am I going to wear? It's the little details that help us see Him.

At church yesterday, it was a full on workout just to keep up with William. I'm not sure why I haven't learned to simply wear flats or wedge heels, but I inevitably end up chasing Will around in my high heels and knee length skirts, trying to not show the world my undercarriage as I go up and down picking up Will, toys, food, etc. I finally gave up and took William to a contained environment: the car. We sat in the car for the last 45 minutes of church.

While sitting there, I thought to myself, "what is the point of this? Why don't I just stay home until he's 18 months and can go to nursery? It would be so much easier." I knew this wasn't really the right thing to do, but the thought sounded pretty convincing in my mind. I said a little prayer then continued waiting for Rich to come out.

Once Rich came out to the car, I exploded like a pressure cooker on him. I told him the thought I had to just stay home. He was a good listener, and said some sort of compassionate understanding sentiment (clearly I was listening well ;)). During a quiet lull on the way home, the words, "stand ye in holy places" came to mind. It was my answer.

Even though there are Sundays where I get little out of church and I am participating in an athletic event in Sunday clothes, it's a holy place to stand. If I were to be anywhere else during that three hour block of time, it wouldn't be the right place, no matter how justified it sounded. The decision to be at church is a little detail that magnifies God in my life. It gets me to refocus and remember that He is the source of my many blessings.

I feel very grateful that God cares enough about me, especially when I am struggling, to send me answers piece by piece. I am grateful that He doesn't leave me wanting, but adequately fills my life with little experiences that testify of His reality and His compassion. I am aware that He knows my imperfections, and am increasingly aware that He is willing to work with me through those exact imperfections. I feel so very blessed to be guided by Him.