Sometimes one moment of time can change the course of our entire lives. It doesn’t always have to be what we choose, but sometimes the actions of others can impact us greatly. Two experiences this week illustrate this principle quite well.
A friend of mine was very excited to become engaged. He had asked her dad for permission, and even purchased a ring. In anticipation, we even got her nails looking gorgeous and sparkly to accent her new accessory. Further she sold her housing contract, bought a new one, bought a plane ticket to visit his family over Christmas break, started applications in a new state for teaching licenses, and the list goes on and on.
A few days later a wrench was thrown into her carefully planned new life. Through the tears it came outl he said something about trying to move forward, but freaking himself out at the thought of commitment. In a nut shell, he was breaking up with her. So one day she was planning wedding arrangements, the next she was planning how to make it through the hour without becoming even more confused.
In my own life recently I have enjoyed the roller coaster of seeing the Lord’s will for me. I quit one job to work another. Then that job fought to make me full time, so I quit the other. Then they offered me full time work as well. After weighing my options I turned in my notice to both and applied for the full-time positions. I’m still waiting to hear back on this, so I’ll have to let you know later.
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So what does she do now? Does she move forward with her life and totally ignore the man she loves? Does she give him time and space and let him return if he chooses to? Do I move closer to one job or the other? Do I look for a totally new option? As you can see, sometimes there are more questions than answers.
Whatever the wrenches are, I think one lesson is the same. The only constant in our lives is the Lord. If we are honestly and truly seeking to do His will and to follow His plan, something will work out better than what we could have imagined. My friend and I both have no idea where our futures are headed, but we trust in the promise made by Gordon B. Hinckley, “The time has now come to turn about and face the future. This is a season of a thousand opportunities. It is ours to grasp and move forward.”
Ashley Dewey is extremely talented at being single. Hobbies include awkward conversations with members of the opposite sex, repelling third dates, talking to boys about their girl problems and to girls about their boy problems. In her spare time she also has a very fulfilling school life, work life, and social life.
Besides being a professional single, Ashley is also a BYU graduate with a degree in linguistics (Aka word nerd). She enjoys studying other languages, particularly American Sign Language, and finds most all of them fascinating. She is currently pursuing a masters degree in Teaching English as a Second Language.
Ashley works most of the time and has often been accused of being a workaholic. Currently she works full time as a merchandiser and supervisor in a retail store, and part time doing social media work. On her day off she works (really it doesn’t feel like work) in the Provo LDS temple. The only kind of work she finds difficulty focusing on is house work.
Her favorite activities in her free time are reading, writing, creating social experiments, and spending time with great friends and family. Specific activities with those family and friends include: going to concerts, plays, dance recitals, BYU basketball and football games, and watching sports on television.
Though I can’t say I complete relate to all of the issues written, I do feel like I can relate to the “single life” as a whole. It’s terrible. It’s awful. This being said, my testimony remains unshaken of the fact that Heavenly Father’s will only benefits us. Remember that “He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for the loveth the world” (2 Nephi 26: 24) Besides, “…we know that all things work together for good to them that love God…”(Romans 8:28). So as long as we keep doing what we’re supposed, everything will just sort of work out the way it’s supposed to. That’s why the gospel’s so awesome!