I have recently been working on cleaning out my room in
preparation for moving to Texas after Ty and I are married in a few months. As
I was cleaning it out today, I came across an old journal entry that recorded
some of the things that were mentioned in a father’s blessing I received over 2
years ago. My father has always been extremely close to the spirit and I have always
admired his ability to be so in tune with it, especially as he gives me
priesthood blessings. I have seen every promise and blessing he has pronounced
lovingly on my head come about. And the counsel and advice he gives through the inspiration of a
loving Heavenly Father is always what I need. At the time I received this
specific blessing, I was sending off a missionary who, as I mentioned before, I
was sure I would be with forever. It was the day before he was to enter the MTC
and I was an emotional train wreck, but luckily my family was visiting for
spring break so my dad was there to give me a blessing. At one point, he
stopped for a long period and I could tell that he was nervous to tell me the
words the spirit was prompting him to say to me. He eventually told me that “at
the right time in my life I would meet a wonderful man at BYU who would cherish me,
love me deeply, and bring me true happiness and joy.” I honestly felt like
within in a matter of seconds, my world came to a screeching halt. My Heavenly
Father just told me I would find a different man than the one I had planned out
my entire life with and I was in shock. It was hard to swallow.
A few month later, I received another blessing from my dad
when I was home from college for the summer. This time, he said “when things
don’t work out the way you have hoped for and planned, don’t be disappointed. Know
that the Lord has wonderful blessings in store for you and that he knows what
is best.” I tried to think that maybe I would just “realize” that my missionary
was the right one after a while. Or that he would come to “love and cherish” me
as the blessing said. I tried to think of how other things in my life hadn’t
worked out to try and comfort myself into thinking that the blessing wasn’t
talking about my future with my missionary. But every time I approached the
matter in that mindset, I had an unsettling feeling. There were even times when
I could distinctively point out the spirit telling me in my mind and heart “I
have someone different out there for you.” As I talked about in a previous
post, my heart softened and I eventually followed what my Heavenly Father asked
of me in letting go of my missionary.
Today, I am 55 days away from marrying the man that was
talked about in my priesthood blessing years ago. Things have not worked out
the way that I hoped and planned they would have 2+ years ago, but I couldn’t
be more grateful that such is the case. I can testify with all my heart that
the priesthood is real. The blessings and counsel we can receive from the worthy
men who hold it is astounding and real. There is no other church where worthy
men can act so directly in the name of God because the LDS church is the only
one with the priesthood keys. Just like the blessing I was promised years ago happened
for me, I know that any promises we are given by the Lord in any way, can be
ours. I’ve learned so much through everything in the past couple years and that
stands out to me. The priesthood is worth more than gold to me because of the
direct counsel and guidance from a loving Heavenly Father it can provide. No
matter the promise, know that the Lord will come through as we do our part. He
is bound by the promises he gives to us and he is a God of his word. He wants
to give us the blessings he’s promised. For anyone out there seeking a blessing
that doesn’t seem to come, I testify that we can trust in the promises he
gives, no matter what the timing may be, because He loves us and wants to see
us succeed.
