Even Hidden Treasures

I've told myself that I don't want another month to go by without putting down a new blog post. So while my husband is at Priesthood session I thought I'd take some time to tell you about the latest things I've learned in my exciting life.

For one thing, I am so grateful to have a job. The nation's current events have made this task somewhat of a challenge for anyone in the unemployed market. When my husband and I sat down and recognized the very real necessity that I find employment, I felt for perhaps the first time in my life the stress and anxiety of being poor. If my family was poor growing up, I never knew about it, because my parents were so wonderful at budgeting and keeping us happy. Now as newlyweds, Brenton and I are on our own in that department, and like so many newlyweds before us, are realizing how very expensive it is to live. We knew the day would come when we would discover that, but as I've said before, there is no substitute for experience.

With that being said, I knew that the Lord would bless us because we were paying our tithing and fast offerings, and doing everything we could to remain worthy of His help. Each week while we went to the temple, I would leave that sacred building knowing that all would be well. Then while Brenton was in class, I would research jobs, send in applications, and practice interview questions in the mirror.

At last the return phone call arrived for me to be interviewed by a potential employer. Although it went well, once I had left the building all the fears and anxieties returned for the next week as I waited to hear back and still continued to search for other jobs. While I felt comfort from the Holy Ghost, I was still nervous and apprehensive. But the Lord did hear my prayers, and I was offered the position. Not only that but it's a position that addresses all the needs Brenton and I were praying so earnestly for. It is also a job that I can truly take pride in. I believe in what I'm doing there, and what the company stands for.

I was expecting this great answer to my prayers to fill the needs that I hoped it would. However, I have been continually surprised at how it is answering my other prayers, too. It often makes me think of the scripture in D&C 89:19 "And [he] shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures." Upon arriving back in Utah I felt out of place, almost like I had taken a step backwards for getting a degree, because my whole world was still back at school. This new job has given me a place where I feel comfortable, and proud of my accomplishments. I'm learning a great deal about self reliance, and several tasks in my training are helping me to solve other problems in my life outside the job. I have a reason to get up each morning, eat a decent breakfast, and I have somewhere to be each day. It has given me confidence because I feel needed. My husband is grateful for the efforts I'm making for our family, and we are more affectionate and kind to each other at home. I am discovering that my efforts in school and the dozens of humanities classes I took are a real asset to my job, and I'm grateful I chose that major. I am eating better, sleeping better, and finding great self-fulfillment, putting the stress off my husband to try and fill that need. All of these things are blessings that I was not expecting to receive from work. They are the fulfillment of that scripture for my life. They are my hidden treasures.

Most often, the greatest blessings in life require us to take a step in the dark before the Lord turns on the light. That is what faith is. It is obedience and work combined with a trust that the Lord's plan is far better than our own. It does require "all that we can do," in my case researching jobs, applying, practicing, etc. but then the final step is one of faith and trust. And when the Lord turns on the light revealing the next step in the path it is one of glorious surprise: our hidden treasures! He has so much more in store for us than we could ever have produced on our own, and I try to remember that when things still get stressful in my life; particularly at work when I'm trying my hardest to grasp every new concept in training.

I know that my Heavenly Father listens to my prayers. I know that He answers every single one in a time frame that works with His will, and not mine. I know that His will is infinitely better for me and for my family. I know He hears and loves me, and I know that there is no other way to find greater happiness than by following His path, for that is when the hidden treasures are found.