"Though hard to you this journey may appear..."

Yesterday at church Alexis gave her very first talk in primary. She did such a good job.. and she gave it on the temple! I'm so proud of her for being brave and going up in front of all the primary kids. She said all the words very clear :) I can't believe she is old enough to give talks now.

Since Pioneer Day is coming up this weekend.. the Sacrament talks were all given on the Pioneers. I caught bits and pieces of all the talks (Alexis kept asking me questions, or bugging me to get something out of her bag..) you know how kids are. Anyways one talk really stood out to me. The speaker was giving a talk on a Pioneer that had lost 9 children and his wife all within a year I believe.. to chills and fever. I can't even imagine... I don't think anyone in our day can imagine the pain and loss these Pioneers went through.. We sang the song "Come, Come, Ye Saints." I never really listened to how powerful the words are to that song. The words really stood out to me as we were singing it yesterday.

The first couple of verses are:
Come, come, ye Saints, no toil nor labor fear; but with joy wend your way. Though hard to you this journey may appear, Grace shall be as your day. Tis better far for us to strive Our useless cares for us to drive; Do this, and joy your hearts will swell - All is well! All is well!

Why should we mourn or think our lot is hard? Tis not so; All is right. Why should we think to earn a great reward if we now shun the fight? Gird up your loins; fresh courage take. Our God will never us forsake; and soon we'll have this tale to tell - Alli is well! All is well!

I really like those verses.. especially were it says "Though hard to you this journey may appear, grace shall be as your day." And also "Why should we mourn or think our lot is hard?" Like I said before I don't think any of us could ever imagine what the Pioneers went through. Anytime I start feeling sorry for myself, I try to think of all of those people who are less fortunate. I have been very very blessed... I think in this day we often forget what is REALLY important. It is not how big our house is.. or how many vehicles we have.. and it is definitely not how much money we make. The most important thing is for us to strive every single day to get closer to our Heavenly Father, so that we can return to him. It is hard not to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life. I think when life gets hard, or when something bad happens we tend to focus on all the bad stuff... and forget about all the things that our Heavenly Father has blessed us with.. I feel like anytime something "bad" happens to Jonathon and I, we've learned from it and grown from it. I'm so thankful for the church and the things it brings to our lives!!