{No More Sad}

I know that it has been forever and a day since I have posted. For that, I am sorry. I guess you could say that I have been busy. But really, I've been lazy and not really doing anything that I used to do. 

I suppose that I am really far behind on catching you up, but there is not time for that today. Se-lave, right? So I think that I will just keep you updated on what has happened most recently. As you know, I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the most true and perfect thing out there!

As the Bible does, I'll start in the beginning. 

This semester in school, I signed up for an Old Testament class at institute. What was I thinking, right? I loathed the Old Testament. Why on earth would I intentionally sign up for this class? A few weeks into class, I began to ask myself that very question. On Tuesdays, I am at school forever! My first class (which happens to be another institute class) starts at 7:30am, my last class ends at 8:20pm. This Old Testament institute class with Sister Seamons is at 1:30pm. I must admit, I began to sluff this class, which makes no sense. Why not choose the 7:30am class to sluff? Don't even ask because, I honestly don't know. 

But, this is how I felt about that Old Testament!

VERY DANGEROUS!

A very long, and spiritual experience happened that caused me to return back to this class. 

I'm going to tell you a secret. 

I LOVE the Old Testament.

WHAAA???

Yeah, I know. It seems impossible for someones opinion on this book to change as quickly as it did for me. But, it did. The Old Testament is SO incredible. I also find it amazingly fun to read because things will happen where you'll say "WHAT IN THE DEVIL??" Many, many times has that happened in my personal study. But after thinking about it, the stories were amazing. Can you imagine being Jael, and be like "oh, you're lookin' for Sisera? He's in my tent, I nailed him to the ground!" Then there is the whole Ehud story; I could go on and on about these amazing acts of Faith and Trust in the Lord!

But, before I do that (because I could), I want to talk about one woman. Her name is Hannah.   

Yes, I did learn about this in my Institute Class yesterday. But, this is why you take the class, to love and learn the Old Testament. 

The story of Hannah is in the first chapter of 1 Samuel. To sum this story up. Hannah is a "sister wife" who hasn't had any children. Her husband's other wife basically mocks Hannah for not having children. So, Hannah goes to the temple and prays. The descriptive words they use to describe how she feels are incredible. "her adversary also provoked her sore", "she was in bitterness", "wept sore", & "poured out my soul before the Lord."

While she was in the temple Eli saw that her mouth was moving, but couldn't hear her words. So, his first thought, was that she was drunk. After asking her, he found out why she was so upset, and this is his promise to her. "Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him." WOW! He just promised her that her prayer was heard! Now, in the very next verse, is says "So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad."

In class, many were saying, "that is such great faith, because I would have to have ended up pregnant before I was happy." Which is true. This is a great example of faith. 

But here is my thought.

Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ aren't afraid to put the words "Joy", "Happy", or "rejoiced" in the scriptures. I know this, because I have read them. But this says, that she was "No more sad".  So I began to think about my own life and the times where I have poured my heart and soul unto the Lord for the sadness that was hovering over me. Most of the time, the answer didn't come immediately after that heartfelt prayer. As a matter a fact, most of them were much later. But I can honestly tell you, that after I prayed to him, asking for help, that I was no longer sad. That isn't to say I was happy. But I was at peace. I was comforted. Because I knew that the Lord had heard my prayer. And that He could help through the rest of the hard days.  I know how hard this is. But I am so grateful that I can trust in the Lord. That I can lay my burdens at His feet and know He will help me stand back up. And that He will make things turn out the way they are supposed to. 

I love this Gospel. And I love the Old Testament.

Until next time..

Peace & Blessings! :)