To make and to keep

Earlier this week I had the persistent thought that I needed to get to the temple.  I found a babysitter.  I tried to recruit friends to join me but ended up making the 50-mile journey alone.  My time in the temple was shorter than expected, and I left feeling a little disappointed.  I snapped this photo on my way out.

Tonight I am re-framing yesterday's temple experience.  I find I am profoundly grateful for the chance to serve in a temple of God.  No matter what turmoil I feel in my life, what questions I have, or what challenges I face, I can always find peace and strength in the temple.  It is such a sanctuary for me, and I find myself longing to sit within its walls.  Fifty miles seems a very easy distance when I am searching for comfort or for answers.

I love doing sacred work for my brothers and sisters who didn't have the opportunity to accept the gospel of Jesus Christ during their earthly lives.  Yesterday I did work for six women who were part of two families, including a mother and two of her daughters.  I wonder what they think of these ordinances.  Were they watching me in the temple yesterday?  Did they rejoice as their work was done?  Just as I have agency to choose what to believe, so do these women in the spirit world.  I don't know what they will choose, but I do know the joy I felt as I said their names and gave them the opportunity to accept the blessings I enjoy in my life every day.

The sacred covenants I have made in the temple are my most precious possessions.  They help me remember that I am a daughter of God, and have the potential for exaltation and eternal life.  I try to keep my covenants every day as I devote my life to raising my children, being faithful to my husband, sacrificing my time and energy to service, and obeying the commandments.  When I remember the divine purpose behind my ordinary life, I feel endowed with power to give more, do more, and be a better version of myself--the kind of person my Heavenly Father wants me to be.

I make mistakes.  I stumble and fall all the time, both physically and spiritually.  Sometimes I lose the vision of who I am and what I am supposed to be doing.  Life can be pretty tough.  So I am grateful--oh, so grateful--for the healing gift of Christ's Atonement.  His grace lifts me every day.  And I know that when He is guiding my path, my eyes always look up to the temple.