Facing the Future: Jeffrey R. Holland

“God expects you to have enough faith and determination and enough trust in Him to keep moving, keep living, keep rejoicing. In fact, He expects you not simply to face the future (that sounds pretty grim and stoic); He expects you to embrace and shape the future--to love it and rejoice in it and delight in your opportunities.

“God is anxiously waiting for the chance to answer your prayers and fulfill your dreams, just as He always has. But He can’t if you don’t pray, and He can’t if you don’t dream. In short, He can’t if you don’t believe."

Recently I have been in awe of Matthew's faith. When Matthew prays he is very specific. At first this was different for me. It seemed almost dangerous to ask for specific things... with the risk of not receiving them. To me praying for non-specific things leaves you at less of a "risk" because you don't necessarily know whether or not you receive them. I believe however, that miracles happen every day in our lives and the more we take note of them - the more we will see. Praying for specific things in our lives will allow us to recognize the miracles that take place around us everyday. Yesterday Matthew prayed twice that he would make two sales at work - and he did! What a blessing and a miracle.

In relief society a couple of weeks ago we talked about Elder Erying's talk titled "Oh Remember, Remember." He stated an experience he had when asking himself this question each evening: “Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to touch us or our children or our family today?” As I kept at it, something began to happen. As I would cast my mind over the day, I would see evidence of what God had done for one of us that I had not recognized in the busy moments of the day. As that happened, and it happened often, I realized that trying to remember had allowed God to show me what He had done." I believe that as we take time in our lives to recognize Gods hand - he will begin to show it more often.