Being led

I feel like I need to go back and say something about the General Conference that happened a few weeks ago. Of course it was fabulous, it always is. I always feel this strong yearning to be nourished and filled on conference weekend. A real hunger for spirituality. One benefit of having such a smart husband is that, thanks to the TIVO that he built, I can watch different talks again.

It started with a bang. Elder Richard Scott struck such a chord with me. As Rob and I have been trying to figure out what we are going to do about jobs and homes, we have really sought for Heaven's guidance. When Elder Scott started by saying, "What can you do to enhance your capacity to be led to correct decisions in your life?" I felt like it was a talk prepared for me. We have felt very guided many times this year. I really need to write about Rob's job some time, but that would take too long for now. We wouldn't have even considered selling our house this summer if we hadn't received divine guidance. We have been so guided up to this point, but we have also felt like now we are standing in the dark... taking steps that we are not quite sure where. Elder Scott told an important story... after receiving personal guidance, he made sure to thank God and ask if there was anything else. Then more inspiration came. That really struck me. I have appreciated the Heavenly direction so much. Peace has come as I have followed it. But I needed to tell my Heavenly Father how thankful I was for his guidance.

That is something that I love the most about my religion. The most central difference of the LDS church between any other religion is our belief in modern day revelation. It began with Joseph Smith's vision of God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. But it did not end there... in fact, the point of the church is that each individual receives their own revelation, or "testimony", from God of what is true. This is not usually a vision, though I do know people who have had visions. I personally usually have a certain feeling... a feeling of peaceful conviction, that guides me to know what is right and true. Whenever I have followed that feeling: from deciding to be a nurse, choosing to be baptised, getting married, even deciding to sell my house, etc. etc. I have NEVER regretted it. Even when it didn't seem like the best choice logically, it has always turned out for the best when I followed the Lord's guidance.

Last Sunday, Rob and I fasted and prayed to know what we should do about a house. From having no idea on Sunday, 3 days later, I feel excited and guided. So this is our plan: We close on our house tomorrow. We can stay in our home until Nov. 15. Rob has found a small 2 bedroom apartment on the ground floor of family housing up at the U of U, and we should be starting to move in there on Nov. 9 and may stay there a few months with our stuff in storage. Today we put an offer on a house. It is actually not even on the market right now, so we will see if the bank accepts our offer. The house is one we looked at over a month ago. We had looked at a lot of houses and were driving around. There is a home across the street that is for sale, and so we stopped to look at a flyer. Glancing across the street, we noticed a house that had the little sign in the front window that indicated that is was empty. I found a door out back that was unlocked and we toured the home (a neighbor walking by joined us). The house had been gutted, probably by the owner before foreclosure. No carpet. No sinks. No toilets, tubs, cabinets. No doors. The kitchen was actually just floor and walls. Everything had been taken out. But we loved the floor plan. We loved it so much, we couldn't sleep for 2 days. Like I said, that was over a month ago. We figured the house needed over $100K of work, we didn't think we could afford it, and we didn't even know who owned the house, so we kept looking at other houses. Since then, we found out what bank owns it, got in contact with an affiliated realtor, talked with neighbors about the neighborhood, and yesterday put together a contract. We won't even find out about it for several weeks. But that's okay. We are following where we feel lead, but I feel really good that even if it doesn't work out with this house, it will be okay. I hope it does work out, though.

Anyway, that's our story. So far. I am so thankful for revelation that continues to lead me and my family on this wild ride we call life.