Joy in the Journey

The last month of my life can be briefly summed up in one word. Change. And...holy fetch did it change.  Here is what I have been up to:

1. Was offered a dietitian position in Twin Falls
2. Graduated with my Master's degree...No more school for me!
3. Left behind familiarity and moved to Twin Falls
4. Became roommates with a cool girl named Becky
5. Started my first "real" job
6. Learn, learn, learn, learn and train, train, train....oh the joys of beginning a new job 
7. Roommate search...Becky got a new job!

All this change has brought on a whirlwind of emotion. It has been HARD! My faith has been tried greater in this last month then at any other time.  I have been reading A Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl.  This book has allowed me to see that the only thing that cannot be taken away from me or changed without my consent is my reaction and attitude to the circumstance. In the October 2008 General Conference President Monson talked about change in his talk Finding Joy in the Journey. In this talk, he quoted a well known author when he said, "Both abundance and lack [of abundance] exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend...when we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that's present-love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature, and personal pursuits that bring us [happiness]-the wasteland of illusion falls away and we experience heaven on earth." It is so easy to dwell on the negative, rather than the looking around at and seeing all that is going right.  When we pause to look at the beauty around us we will be able to find happiness in the bleakest of circumstances.