Perseverance

I am struggling under the burden of 5 classes.  I feel like I can’t keep up.  I don’t know what’s wrong with me but this is really, really hard and I keep having setbacks.  Maybe I'm trying to race through stuff to keep up.  I don’t read instructions correctly; I don’t understand the assignment – I am dealing with criticism of my efforts and it’s hard to bear.  I am guilty of some kind of sick perfectionism that I have to let go of or it will eat me up inside.  It is causing me to feel bitter, especially towards one of my instructors.  I know I am in the wrong when I feel this way.

I know the Lord knows I am trying.  I am making positive changes and good things are still happening to me as a result of my studies – I am growing in knowledge and changing in ways that are really good.  I am faltering right now a little in my resolve to keep going and giving it my all.  In my prayers this morning I begged for strength and grace to help me keep going, keep plugging along.  I went to LDS.org and typed in “perserverance” and this talk from Elder Marvin J. Ashton came up called “Who will forfeit the Harvest?”  This talk is mainly about keeping our testimonies bright and strong, but I likened it to my own situation and felt like I could apply his closing paragraph to myself as a student.  My comments to his assertions are in red.

“Most of all, we forfeit the gift of eternal growth and progress. May we avoid the stony places of (1) unwillingness to accept human qualities, My instructor is human.  BYUI has entrusted him with the responsibility to teach.  I need to accept his ability of communication and not think unkindly of him because he isn’t meeting my expectations.

(2) unwillingness to accept change, Some classes are going to be harder than others for me.  That’s just the way it is and I can’t expect to be Patty Perfect in all of them.  That is not realistic.  Whether its difficulty in grasping concepts or difficulty communicating with an instructor, I have to learn to be flexible and make the best of every situation.

(3) unwillingness to follow instructions. There is no sin in misunderstanding something – it is only a sin when I rebel.  Pray for understanding.  Pray that I can follow the instructions and do my best.  If I have done my best, and have tried to remain humble and teachable, if I have reached out and made the best effort possible to understand, then I have still benefited from the exercise regardless of the outcome grade-wise.

, and (4) unwillingness to be totally committed. 'Don’t quit now!  I’ve come so far.  There will be setbacks; that is life.  Endure to the end.  That requires total commitment.  Even when I feel criticized.  Even when I feel discouraged.  Even when I’m tired.  Even when I don’t understand.  Even when I feel like this is busywork, even when my teacher is being nitpicky, even, even, even.  This is a good and worthy effort and I’m getting a BYUI education from the Lord’s University.  What a privilege!  What a blessing!  What a lucky girl I am!

By so doing we can establish deep, strong roots and thus reap the harvest our Father in Heaven wants for all his children.”  By doing these things, I am reaping the harvest of intelligence; I am growing in patience; I am learning how I can better serve others; I am learning to stretch myself;  I am learning small-L leadership; I am seeing what I am capable of.  I’m learning truths that I will take with me into eternity.  I am starting to catch a glimpse of myself the way my Father in Heaven sees me.  That is my most precious learning experience of all.

Three Random and Happy Things

1.  I went exploring with a new friend this afternoon and stumbled upon Papa Murphy’s at the WTC Mall, woo hoo!  A little bit of home in the middle of Abu Dhabi and I don’t have to cook tonight!

 

 

2.  We also found a tiny craft shop called Craft Corner today, that is next to the WTC Mall.  And here I thought Abu Dhabi was pretty bleak as far as craft supplies, but this little store had some cute scrapbooking paper, embellishments and a small selection of acrylic paint.  I found a nice jar of copper colored paint which I was missing and needed.  Score!  I have a little more time on my hands here than I did back home and my creative juices are flowing – it’s just hard to find projects and the materials to do the projects.  I’m excited because somebody gave me a beautiful plant stand that they didn’t want and I’m going to zhuzh-it-up with some paint.  I feel really good when I get to be creative.  I think this video explains really well why we as women feel so good about being creative.



3.  I saved the best random and happy thing for last.

This cute couple is getting married in the San Diego Temple on September 5, 2015.  They just got engaged this past weekend.  I am getting a new daughter-in-law and I couldn’t be more thrilled.

 

We have been studying this week about eternal marriage in my Family Foundations class at BYU-Idaho.  Elder Richard G. Scott said the following:  “One of the most beautiful, comforting doctrines of the Lord—one that brings immense peace, happiness, and unbounded joy—is that principle called eternal marriage.  This doctrine means that a man and woman who love each other deeply, who have grown together through the trials, joys, sorrows, and happiness of a shared lifetime, can live beyond the veil together forever with their family who earn that blessing. That is not just an immensely satisfying dream; it is a reality. Any husband and wife who have shared the joys of marriage here on earth would want that blessing. But only those who meet the requirements established by the Lord will receive that supernal gift. I bear witness that all those things that have and will bring me the greatest happiness in life have roots in the temple ordinances. Decide now to receive the ordinances of the temple at the appropriate time. Don’t let anything overcome that resolve.”

I am so grateful for my son and future daughter-in-law that have made good choices throughout their young lives that will allow them to make covenants with the Lord that will enable their marriage to last into the eternities.

I am happy.

 

Sugar Sugar, Honey Honey

The past couple of weeks in Family Foundations class we have been tasked with setting a health goal.  My goals were give up sugar for two weeks and walk 9 days within the two week period.  The walking I will accomplish.  However I've already blown the sugar goal.

You see, I live in Abu Dhabi.

Satan's Sweet Shoppe.

A short elevator downstairs brings me to Spinney's which is our mini/mart grocery store in our complex.  Not so mini however, that they don't have a full slate of British/Dutch/German chocolate bars, European cookies (or biscuits as they like to say here).  And that's just the pre-packaged stuff... they have freshly baked donuts and cakes, etc. in their small bakery section.  If that doesn't suit me, I can walk next door to Costa Coffee, which is the UAE version of Starbucks and there are shelves of muffins and tarts to go with the yummy hot cocoa.  Luckily I'm a little too cheap to indulge there.

Then there's the local grocery store/French super-Walmart store called Carrefour.  Carrefour has a little of everything, and since it's French... they don't just have a bakery, they have a PATISSERIE... yep, just saying the word Patisserie starts off my salivary glands.  It is surprisingly inexpensive.  You can get a whole tray of Arabic baklava for about 5 dirhams which is $1.35.  And if you want something a little more common than a French pastry, at the front of the grocery store is a Cinnabon and a Baskin Robbins.  Remember, this is just the grocery store.

Now let's move on to the malls.  And malls are everywhere in Abu Dhabi.  Malls have cheesecake kiosks.  Yes, kiosks... in addition to bakeries, and ice cream shoppes and gelato shoppes and donut stores and Belgian Waffle shoppes and the list goes on.  Candylicious is a big candy store chain here where they even make their own candy sticks and canes in all different flavors.  The candy-making lady was nice enough to pose for a picture.

All I'm saying is that Abu Dhabi is not exactly the easiest place in the world to conquer a sweet tooth.

And I really do want to conquer it.  Because I don't feel very good.  My joints ache (inflammation from sugar), if I eat too much I'm tired and it's hard to concentrate (carbo coma from sugar), and it makes me feel depressed!  So it should be easy to quit, given those reasons!  However, I still struggle.

I came across this quote today from Ezra Taft Benson:  "The condition of the physical body can affect the spirit. That’s why the Lord gave us the Word of Wisdom. He also said that we should retire to our beds early and arise early (see D&C 88:124), that we should not run faster than we have strength (see D&C 10:4), and that we should use moderation in all good things. In general, the more food we eat in its natural state and the less it is refined without additives, the healthier it will be for us. Food can affect the mind, and deficiencies in certain elements in the body can promote mental depression... Rest and physical exercise are essential, and a walk in the fresh air can refresh the spirit. Wholesome recreation is part of our religion, and a change of pace is necessary, and even its anticipation can lift the spirit."

Maybe instead of giving up sugar for two weeks, I just need to take it one day at a time... I've done it before so I know I'm capable of it.

I know Heavenly Father created me to be vibrant and healthy, and that Satan wants me droopy and sluggish feeling.  I'm not as effective in being an active participant in the work of the Lord when I don't feel my best, and I know that Satan is acutely aware of that fact.  So I will give it a go again, and again and again if I need to.  The Lord doesn't want or expect me to give up trying.

Philippians 4:13 is my go-to scripture... I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me.

My Capstone Project

I am taking a class called "Family Foundations" at Brigham Young University Idaho and I've been assigned a Capstone project to work on throughout the course of the semester.  I had a variety of things to choose from for this project, but the project idea that resonated with me was starting a blog.  For privacy reasons I won't be listing my name here, but Family and Friends know who I am - if you have a burning desire to know my true identity, feel free to send me an e-mail and let's talk about that.  I tried to pick a name that was representative of how I feel about things... I'm looking forward to the adventure of living somewhere different and seeing new parts of the world... but at the same time the people I love are always on my mind and heart no matter where I'm situated.

I've been assigned to share insights about the things that I am learning throughout the course of the semester.  I also thought it might be a good way to share news with my family and friends about what the heck the Hubster and I are doing over here! 

Over here happens to be Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

When we tell people about Abu Dhabi, many of them have a confused look on their face because they're not sure where in the world Abu Dhabi is.  But if I ask them, "Have you ever heard of Dubai?"  They smile and nod their heads and seem to know where Dubai is.  Then I tell them Abu Dhabi is about 90 minutes away on the freeway from Dubai.  Since I've only been here in Abu Dhabi for two weeks, I haven't made the trek yet to Dubai, but it's on our bucket list.

Here is a picture of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.  We live about a mile away from this.  It's huge, like a big Taj Mahal looking building.

We haven't toured it yet, but that is also on our bucket list :)

So to get back to why I'm supposed to start this blog in the first place - my Family Foundations class.  It satisfies one of my religion course requirements and we are basically studying in detail the tenets of the Proclamation on the Family - this is a statement from one of our prophets on the theology of the family as believed by Latter-Day Saints (Mormons). 

Tomorrow is Friday in Abu Dhabi, which is the observed Sabbath day here.  I will write a little more after church tomorrow about what I am studying, but for now I just wanted to get this blog up and running.  Stay tuned!