"One Step At A Time"

Over the past couple of weeks, the change is sinking in more and more...I'm leaving my home. My place of comfort. And I don't mean home, home. I mean my family, my ward, my friends, this area we live in...My home.

As the middle child, I've always been aware of the changes happening in my siblings above and below me. I've watched both of my older sisters leave home, and get married. I've watched my little brother and sister advance in school and grow literally before my eyes. And now I'm leaving, following my older sisters footsteps. Leaving my younger siblings to grow up, and I can't quite be there anymore.

My parents have guided me since I was a young teenager as to how I should live life, and how I could live life to grasp all of the happiness I possibly could obtain. Thankfully I've done so, but only because of them. I've watched them live their lives, and set amazing examples for me and my siblings to look towards. I've watched them give effortlessly to those in need, and love all who enter their lives. I'm sad to leave my little haven of comfort.

The place I'm at right now, is partially due to the people that I've been surrounded by over the past few years. I've grow up in a ward full of love, compassion, perseverance, and service. We are truly a ward family. Every time I go to church on Sunday, I look around and think about every individual and how they have impacted my life. I think about the individuals who have touched my heart thousands of times with their warm smiles, loving gestures, and open arms. I'm sad to leave them.

I have over a thousand memories with people I call my best friends. I've met a few young women who shine so bright it's almost as if they are angels sent here to better the lives of those around them. I've met a few young men who stand ready and willing to face the life placed in front of them. These youth have blessed my life beyond belief. I tear up at the thought of not seeing many of them for a few more years. I'm sad to see all of us move on.

This area I call home is an area that holds millions of memories ever since I was a child. The rolling hills, the valleys, the moody winters and summers, they have given me many reasons to be so grateful for the earth we have. My favorite thing is to be out in nature to witness and absorb this amazing world God has given us. I'm sad to leave it behind.

...

BUT, while all of this is very saddening, this is life. This is the plan the Lord has prepared for each of us to live. We are meant to learn, to love, to cry, to laugh, to trip, to fall...To grow.

He does not wish for us to sit back and continue in the place we are most comfortable in. We are to find that place and move from there, taking all that we have learned with us. We are to pave our own lives as our Heavenly Father would have us do.

This quote has been my motto for about a year now. One step at a time. We are meant to struggle, we are meant to have heart breaks, we are meant to fall time and time again... But the Lord has given us this gospel to help us push ourselves forward. We are in control. We make the moves. The Lord provides us with our plan, and it is up to us how we deal with it. As we ask for his assistance, He gives us the strength to move on one step at a time.

This struggle I am in right now is not a fun one. It's not for anyone. Changes, transitions, and new-beginnings, they are hard--but they are meant to be!

I have learned from my family, my ward, my friends, and this area we live in. Because those people and places I hold close to my heart have blessed me with strength and knowledge, I am now prepared and excited for my life to fold out in front of me!

So...

Yes, I will dreadfully miss my family. But they will always be there for me. Yes, I will dearly miss my ward. But I can, and will, always come home to them. Yes, I will seriously miss each of my friends. The ones who have touched my life will always have a place in my heart, always. And yes, I will really miss this area we live in. It's blessed me with a full heart as I've witnessed first hand the Lords creations all around me.

But I'm excited and ready to move on to new things. I'm excited to get to experience living on my own. I'm ready to better figure out how I'll be living my life from here on out. I'm excited to see what the Lord has planned for me. I'm excited to see where the Lord will take my family over the next few years. I'm excited to be able to come back to my ward and share with them my experiences, and feel their love once again. I cannot wait for the day I reunite with my friends and see how each of them are doing. I'm excited to come back a few years from now, and still return to the places that hold so many of my memories.

But I am even more excited to come back a few years from now, once I am more knowledgeable and experienced than I am today, and still be able to call this place my home.

One Day At A Time

Love, Megs. :)