Hopeful and Excited

I have been consumed with all things inaugural this week. It was almost like Christmas was coming! I woke up Tuesday when my alarm went off early and actually got out of bed and went to the gym, because I was thinking "Today is inauguration day!" I was so excited. I watched about 4 hours of coverage that morning. At the gym, I watched the Obama's leaving the church service and going to the White House to have coffee with the Bush's. When I got home, I watched the entire inauguration, plus most of the commentary afterwards. I watched the Obama's walk the outgoing President to his helicopter. Today I watched all of my recorded coverage from last night's inaugural balls. Why am I so fascinated with all of this?

I voted for Obama and I believe in him. I don't agree with all of his policies. I don't think he is the answer to every problem our country has. However, I do feel optimistic about the future of our country with him at the helm. I felt honored to be a part of such a historic event in our history. I am grateful that every child in America now knows that it is a possibility for anyone, regardless of color, to serve in the highest position in the country. I was near tears the whole day yesterday, thinking of what his election means to so many people.

Oh, and I love the way he respects his wife! Did anyone else notice how they looked at each other during their dances last night? He always opens the door for her. At one of the balls, he said to the crowd "Isn't my wife good looking?" Just another reason I'm feelin' the Obama love.

Faith vs. Fear

It seems as if bad news is everywhere these days. Hearing about the current economic crisis, along with natural disasters, war, disease, and increasing levels of filth in the world, I have found myself feeling increasingly stressed, anxious, worried and even scared about my future and the future of my family. These emotions were starting to take center stage in my mind more often than the emotions of optimism, happiness and gratitude. I was in serious need of a shift in thought.

Luckily, two weeks ago was General Conference. I watched the Saturday sessions on TV all day while Brandon was at work (while I folded laundry and made a ginormous batch of mini pumpkin chocolate chip muffins to freeze for later enjoyment). It was like every single talk was written just for me. The whole day seemed to have an underlying theme of faith, hope and joy. A couple talks in particular really stood out to me. One was by Neil L. Anderson, who said: "Faith and fear cannot coexist in our hearts at the same time. In our days of difficulty, we choose the road of faith. Jesus said, 'Be not afraid, only believe.' "

President Uchtdorf (don't you just adore him?) gave a fantastic talk called "The Infinite Power of Hope." This talk was a beam of light shining down on my discouraged self. Some of my favorite quotes were:

"Hope has the power to fill our lives with happiness."

"It [hope] is believing and expecting that our prayers will be answered. It is manifest in confidence, optimism, enthusiasm, and patient perseverance."

"There may be times when we must make a courageous decision to hope even when everything around us contradicts this hope."

"This kind of hope is both a principle of promise as well as a commandment, and, as with all commandments, we have the responsibility to make it an active part of our lives and overcome the temptation to lose hope."

His words were a wake up call for me to stop wallowing in pity and worry and CHOOSE to be optimistic and full of hope. I needed the reminder that I am in control of whether I decide to let fear creep in and crowd out faith and joy, even if I'm not in control of what goes on in the world. These talks truly were answers to my prayers, and I'm not too proud to say:

LESSON LEARNED.