Tell Them You Love Them

This morning of millions of parents said goodbye to their children as they made their way to school. Some of them lovingly hugged them, or maybe kissed them on the cheek. Others were frazzled. Everything went wrong this morning, the breakfast burned, a new shirt ruined, they were late for work, and their child was whining because they didn't want to go to school. Some maybe said harsh words that they didn't mean because they were stressed. But oh, how each of them loves their children.

Last night there were millions of big brothers and sisters busy at work. It's the end of the semester. Projects and tests are overwhelming even the most dedicated student. Maybe their little brother or sister wanted to play a game with them and started to be annoying. Perhaps they took the time to play, or maybe, in a moment of frustration, they lost their cool and snapped at the child, ordering them to go away. Maybe they promised to play with them the next day. These older brothers and sisters worked late into the night, far past when their young siblings go to sleep, and woke up before them as well. Surely they will have time later to show their beloved brothers and sisters how much they really love them. 

Now the world weeps, and the angels along with them. Today parents were robbed of their children, brothers and sisters were torn away from the siblings who love them. Their last moments with their loved ones vary, but no one expected that their last words would be so final.. They never expected that their brief hug goodbye would be their last. And why would they?

Perhaps today a mother found a perfect gift for her little girl and wrapped it with care. Perhaps a small child was smiling at his friend and classmate, boasting of his plans with his beloved older brother. Perhaps we shared similar moments this morning with our loved ones as many of the victim's families did with theirs. 

Tonight a mother weeps, unable to look at the messy room that was such a big deal this morning. Tonight, a father wishes he had taken a moment  in his busy morning to glance into his child's room and see his sleeping angel. Tonight siblings long for a simple game with their beloved brothers and sisters. Tonight families wish for one more moment to hold their beloved little ones. 

Now God holds those children who were welcomed to their heavenly home far too early as he wipes away his own tears. Tonight he longs for the people of this world to reach out to him so that he might heal their broken hearts.

So tonight, tell your children you love them, call your mother and tell her that you care. Take a moment to play with your sister, or remind your father that you are still daddy's little girl. Hold your loved ones tight and remember that life is fragile. And most importantly, pray. Pray for your sister as she struggles with her class, pray for father that he might return safely from work, pray to have the strength to do what is right, and pray for those whose little ones were so cruelly taken from them.
May we all take the opportunity to show our love more now than ever, and may God grant peace to the hearts of the victim's families. 

Faith vs. Fear

A sickening knot ties itself in my stomach. I inhale, I exhale, but it doesn’t seem to make a difference; it’s just as if I didn’t breathe at all.  I feel the starting of a dull ache in my head. I’m stressed, I’m afraid, and I know that I can’t do it.

The closer I get to graduation, the more afraid I become. I’m afraid because I don’t know what to expect, I’m afraid because I don’t know what to do, I’m afraid to try because I’m afraid to fail, and I’m afraid I’ll be unhappy. It becomes easier to just sit back and hide from the world and try to escape to a place where fear doesn’t exist. It’s easier to stop moving forward.

The debilitating power of fear is one of the strongest forces on earth. Relationships are destroyed, dreams are never realized, and kingdoms fall all because of fear. Nothing makes a task more difficult to accomplish or a goal harder to reach than the gut-wrenching feeling that you can’t do it. Maybe you’re afraid is because you are trying something new that you don’t feel prepared to face, maybe you are afraid because it’s something you’ve failed at before, or maybe you are afraid that you aren’t up to the task simply because you believe you aren’t enough. The motivations are varied, but the effect is the same. Fear makes a difficult task impossible. As long as you allow your fear to rule your decisions, you are destined to fail. And it’s true; I would fail if I didn’t know one simple truth.

Faith is stronger than fear.

Faith has the power to calm any heart and soothe any soul. Faith is strong enough to wipe out all fear.  “If ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.” Alma 32:21. I don’t have faith that I will land my dream job and all of a sudden my life will be perfect. I don’t have faith that my problems will be simple and easy to solve. I can hope for these things, but because they aren’t necessarily truth, that’s not faith. Knowing that God is in control, he loves me, and as I strive to align my will with his, I will find happiness, is faith. As I have faith, I know that my life will not be easy. I know that I won’t always succeed.  But I also know that as I do my best and I trust in the Lord I will be happy.

I feel myself start to calm down. I inhale, I exhale, and I feel my heart rate slow down. My head still hurts, but I know soon that will fade. I’m still stressed, I feel pretty nervous, and I know that I can do it.

Destination Identity

Hi. My name is Kassidy. I am 21 years-old and a senior at BYU. For sixteen of those years I have been a student, and it has become a large part of my identity. As graduation has been getting closer and closer, I have realized that my student status has defined me in many ways. Soon I will lose that part of me, and I’ll start to figure out who I am beyond a girl with a laptop and expensive textbooks. This blog is a way for me to figure out who I want to be, and what that entails.

This quote by Jodi Picoult essentially encompasses everything I want to say.

“It’s about a girl who is on the cusp of becoming someone… a girl who may not know what she wants right now, and she may not know who she is right now, but who deserves the chance to find out.”

I may not know what lies ahead, and I might not know how I am going to get there, but this is my journey of becoming who I want to be one day at a time.