better than good

Faith is like jumping off of a cliff and hoping that either a) Heavenly Father is building a much more stable ledge somewhere close enough to land or b) He's figuring out a way to teach you to fly. Faith requires so much trust for Heavenly Father, and I have come to the conclusion that the only way to really be able to develop that trust is to go through experiences where God is the only way to move forward.

I'm not going to lie --  these past couple of weeks, I've probably exercised my faith more than I've been able to actually get out and exercise my body.

"But why?" you might ask. "Everything is going great for you! You're at your dream school, you got your dream job ... why do you need faith in a moment when things are so good?" I've asked myself the same question a million times ... and this week, I thought of an answer.

The truth: it takes faith to leave a good thing.

I've been thinking about our life before we came to the earth. We had it GOOD there! We lived with Heavenly Father and knew him and life must have been pretty great ... except that it was impossible to reach our full potential unless we left that GOOD LIFE for something better ahead. Leaving that behind must have been a HUGE act of faith, especially considering that we had no guarantee that we would go through life without trials.

With that lack of knowledge, we jumped ... and I am confident that the experiences we are having on earth are helping us to fly to levels of happiness that we could never imagine.

Similar to leaving our pre-mortal life of splendor (but probably not as big of a deal) was my decision to leave Rexburg, Idaho. I was so content at BYU-Idaho. I knew people EVERYWHERE I went. I knew how to interact with them. I was doing so well in my classes. I had a full-ride scholarship. My brother was there. I had a great ward.

It was good.

But I knew that I needed to leave, somehow knowing that I could never reach my true potential unless I started living outside of my comfort zone again. I felt guided by Heavenly Father to take that jump and come down to Provo, leaving behind loved ones, financial aide, and the promise of academic ease. It took some crazy faith to believe that God was working to make my life better than good ... that he was in the details to making my life extraordinary.

I am happy to say that I have seen God's hand more than ever in my life after my decision to take a step into the uncertainty of my future. I am still so uncertain about so many things, but I am beginning to see the beautiful blessings that come from trusting in Heavenly Father's tiny micro-plan for tiny old me. They are abundant and real.

He has raised me up to thrive at BYU ...

He has helped me to find amazing people to associate with.

He gracefully allowed me to get my job AT THE MTC.

I feel so incredibly blessed! Even with those blessings, however, being in Provo still requires the daily decision of faith in good things to come. In Christ (who is sometimes call a good priest of high things to come), I have a pretty good foundation to rely on.

If you are facing a leap that seems terrifying, take heart. Life will almost never pan out exactly as expected, but I promise that God is a perfect architect of happiness. He is already working to build a future for those that trust in Him that is better than good.