Stop Drop and Pray

I don't know if it is being pregnant but some days are just harder than others where it seems like life seems so hopeless when problems from the past appear over again and again.  I try to have the attitude and find the silver lining of the cloud that seems to hang over my head but sometimes it is harder than others.  I sometimes question if the reason I am dealing with the trials I have is because of mistakes I have made in the past; ones that I have sincerely repented for.  I think I am just dealing with all the stress of university and the critical voices of society. I was reading another Christian lady's blog and she said when hard days come to stop drop and pray no matter where you are.

So I have done just that over and over again and you would think that I would feel like Heavenly Father is sick of hearing my voice but I feel so much closer to Him.  I am prompted each time I pray to do something that will bring me closer to Him and teach of Jesus Christ.  One of those promptings was to turn to an ensign article "Awake My Soul: Dealing with Depression" that has touched my heart when I  have felt so lost and alone today.

Those critical voices in your head and from society that tell you that you are not good enough... who do you think they come from?

Once we can turn off the negative voices, we can see their source. Discouragement is not the Lord’s method—it’s Satan’s. Satan emphasizes your weaknesses; the Lord, your ability to overcome. Satan urges immediate perfection to make you feel inadequate. The Lord leads you toward perfection. Once we recognize the source, we can cry with Nephi, “Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul.” (2 Ne. 4:28.)

You mean that some of these critical voices are not my conscience or the Spirit of the Lord?

That’s right. Mormon tells us how to distinguish between “good” voices that are helping us to repent and satanic voices that will only entangle us more, when he says, “That which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God.” On the other hand, Satan “persuadeth no man to do good.” (Moro. 7:13, 17.) Thus, if the voice you hear leaves you feeling weaker, more doubtful about your capability of overcoming sins, if it continues to remind you of past mistakes and sins that you have already repented of, then it is not of the Spirit of the Lord.

The Lord seeks to strengthen you, to give you the power to overcome problems. He wants you to recognize your weaknesses and then dosomething about them, Jesus didn’t condemn the adulteress. He said, “Go, and sin no more.” (John 8:1–11.) Alma made it very clear to Corianton that he had committed a terrible sin in being unchaste, but he concluded with: “And now, my son, I desire that ye should let these things [Corianton’s doubts about God’s justice] trouble you no more, and only let your sins trouble you, with that trouble which shall bring you down unto repentance.” (Alma 42:29.)

Elder Marion D. Hanks has commented on this passage: “Alma didn’t promise that Corianton would forget. He taught him how to live with his memories, productively, humbly, continually appreciative for the mercy and long-suffering and forgiveness of God.

“‘You’ll remember your sins,’ we can almost hear Alma saying. ‘You probably won’t ever forget. But remember in the right way for the right reasons.’” ²

I usually dont dwell on past sins but I sometimes wonder if my marital problems come from past mistakes but I have realized the choices that a couple makes individually and collectively at the time will affect the marriage too.  If you have repented of past sins they will no longer be remembered by Heavenly Father but are only there as a constant reminder as to what we have learned and where we need to go.  In trying to cope with the daily bumps in a marriage I found another article "Coping with difficulties in marriage" that states, 

Ensign (E): One of the major areas in which Latter-day Saint couples continually seek encouragement and ideas from their bishop is how to resolve disagreements productively within a gospel framework. As you have worked with couples and families, would you say that it is essential in most marriages to have the ability to handle differences?

MacMurray (M): Absolutely. As a bishop I counseled with about three hundred couples, and I saw a good cross section there. Most of these couples felt happy about their marriages. But all marriages—happy or otherwise—have the need to manage different viewpoints, different feelings, in a manner that is helpful rather than destructive to the relationship. Actually, one of the greatest blessings to any marriage is the opportunity to share and obtain different viewpoints and different feelings on some matters. Couples can acquire interpersonal skills and turn their differences into opportunities.

E: Are there really people who have problem-free marriages?

M: It’s possible—but not common. Partners who have such a marriage may be extraordinarily mature.

E: Yet, on the other side, isn’t it rather negative to believe that nearly all marriages likely have some types of challenges?

M: Not at all! In fact, think how depressing it would be to think that your marriage was the only one in the whole world that had challenges—and lots of people do add guilt to their difficulties by thinking that way. Of course, differences should not be viewed as the foundation of marriage, but it’s important to realize that they exist as part of our earthly experience, and their very existence provides a potential richness and depth to the relationship.

The real issue is not that there are challenges—but knowing how to deal with them. Our similarities and differences can draw us into enormously compelling relationships with ourselves and our loved ones. Elder Neal A. Maxwell points out that “because the home is so crucial, it will be the source of our greatest failures as well as our greatest joys.” (Ensign, Feb. 1972, p. 7.) Latter-day Saints usually talk about the home’s potential for joy. One of the best safeguards against the home’s equally great potential for failure is recognizing that challenges can occur, and learning how to work together to manage them in Christlike ways."  

SO for those bad days just remember that you can get through the trials and the Lord is always with you

xs and os- Merr