Never give up

Today I was sitting here thinking about all the wonderful things that I have in my life and all the things that I have had to go through to get here. Things in my life have not come easily, however I don’t think they come very easy for most people. I remember thinking a few years back “is this what my life is going to be, full of trails and hardships, and is there ever going to be a time that I won’t have to struggle?” Yesterday as I was driving to Houston I spoke with a friend of mine in New York and life for her these last few years have not been very easy. She asked me the same question that I have asked myself many time; “is this every going to end?” It really got me thinking about my own struggle to get to where I am now. My circumstances are so different today from what they were three, four or even five years ago, which makes my struggles different, but I still have hardships and difficult times. I truly feel our struggles, our trials and endurance of hardships is what shapes us into who we are and who need to be. As I was speaking with my friend I thought that maybe we go through things not only for our own growth but the growth of those around us. I have learned far more from helping others than I have ever learned from my own indulgences or even my own trials and difficulties. In fact, by helping others I can forget about my trials and struggles for a moment and in the end they do not seem as hard as I thought they were. As I was listening to my dear friend I understood her pain and I knew that if she kept moving forward no matter how hard it might be things would work out for her. Life does not always turn out the way we expect or the way that we want and sometimes the journey can be grueling and we may not see an end. The most difficult times in my life, times I thought I would not survive I come out of them stronger, with more faith and more understanding. I pray that my friend will stay strong even though things are difficult and I hope that everyone going through hard things will stay strong and keep moving no matter how difficult things may get. Never give up on yourself those around you and most importantly Heavenly Father. I have failed at many things and life did not turn out the way I had planned however I am not a failure because I never gave up on Heavenly Father and I never gave up on myself. Oh! How much I still have to learn and grow?