blessings in disguise

     As I anticipate what's to come in the near and distant future, I have been thinking a lot about the past and seeing how each moment (triumph or failure) and how each person has led me to where I am now, which is where I feel I am suppose to be.  I remember very vividly one night during my senior year of high school sitting at a restaurant with my parents and not being able to eat my dinner because of my situation at the time.  I publicly cried (something I hate doing and something my best friend whom I have known for nine years hadn't even seen me do until just over a month ago) as I explained my frustrations to my parents.  I had originally planned on attending Weber State University with hopes of pursuing a career in radiology.  However, after a fall out with my best friend at the time that was also planning on attending the university and after receiving a rejection letter to a scholarship opportunity I had applied for, I was reconsidering my decision but I didn't have a second plan.  After much thought, I decided to stay at home and begin taking the prerequisite courses for the Radiology Program at SLCC.  This decision led me to a biology course that introduced me to a classmate who suggested occupational therapy which brought me to the OTA Program and gave me the opportunity to go to Africa where I gained the strength to make some much needed changes when I returned home that have made me, I'm told, a noticeably happier person.  I have realized through all of these things, that that situation I considered to be a trial during my senior year has in fact actually been a glorious blessing in disguise and that most all of the trials I have faced in the past have been blessings in disguise because they have, in one way or another, made me the person I am today.  I'm not perfect and I am nowhere near the person I strive to become but I am better than the person I have been in the past.

     All of that being said... to be the person you strive to become, change is necessary and that isn't a concept I have always been extremely fond of.  Change is hard but as Rafiki says, "Ahh. Change is good."  Change is the only way to progress and although it isn't easy, it will be worth it.  A few changes have happened in my life recently and I anticipate some more major changes happening shortly.  I fear them but I look forward to them because I have learned that temporary trials can later become lasting blessings.  All we have to do is put our faith in God and trust that His plans for our life far exceed the circumstances of our day.