First Post of 2016: Eternal Perspective

Can y'all believe that we are already halfway through the first month of 2016? Time sure does fly. I hope that everyone had an amazing Christmas season that was completed by feeling the powerful love of Christ.

Is it just me, or does it seem that when God wants me to learn a lesson, He always emphasizes things to me over and over in a short time span and in different instances, as if to make sure that I am noticing what He is teaching me? Right now, I feel like a theme that Heavenly Father is emphasizing to me is that of having an eternal perspective. Having an eternal perspective has so many aspects to it: remembering that life goes beyond the grave, that every experience in life is shaping us to become a better person and the person we need to be, and that growing and learning is always a process.

On my mission, I fell in love with the song "Homeward Bound" and its lyrics. Here's my favorite version (with lyrics below):

In the quiet misty morning

When the moon has gone to bed,

When the sparrows stop their singing

And the sky is clear and red,

When the summer's ceased its gleaming

When the corn is past its prime,

When adventure's lost its meaning -

I'll be homeward bound in time

Bind me not to the pasture

Chain me not to the plow

Set me free to find my calling

And I'll return to you somehow

If you find it's me you're missing

If you're hoping I'll return,

To your thoughts I'll soon be listening,

And in the road I'll stop and turn

Then the wind will set me racing

As my journey nears its end

And the path I'll be retracing

When I'm homeward bound again

Bind me not to the pasture

Chain me not to the plow

Set me free to find my calling

And I'll return to you somehow

In the quiet misty morning

When the moon has gone to bed,

When the sparrows stop their singing

I'll be homeward bound again.

I love the message that this song teaches. I like to think of it as a song between me (or any of you) and Heavenly Father. We are all on our different journeys, but we all hope to return to Him someday. We asked to come to Earth to gain experience and grow to become like Him, knowing that in the end, we would benefit. Although the distance can be difficult, He walks beside us in all moments. He knows what we go through and He wants us to return to Him. To me this song reminds me of the joy, comfort, peace, and hope that comes upon knowing that we have a loving Heavenly Father who has a plan for us. Life can be hard sometimes, but it helps me to know that it is exactly the life God had planned for me to become the person that He wants me to be. 

"Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not be sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him." (2 Corinthians 5:6-9)

I love the verse that says, "Then the wind will set me racing as my journey nears its end and the path I'll be retracing when I'm homeward bound again". I hope to feel that kind of urgency always, that I will always be racing to get home to my loving Heavenly Father. 

God is not far away. I have learned that as I seek Him, I feel His presence close. 

I love you all, and I hope that you all feel of God's love for you this week!