...To The End

Do you ever have Sundays where you just know every church talk/lesson was meant for you? Well, yesterday was totally meant for me!
I "lucked" out by being able to go to church by myself. I believe Ella is getting her two-year molars and so she wasn't feeling awesome. Since Andrew had been out of town last week and is gone again this week I had him stay home for some much needed daddy daughter time.
This resulted in me being able to pay attention for ALL of sacrament meeting! Woohoo! Can't remember the last time I was able to do that.
The high counselors spoke in sacrament and both gave wonderful talks about forgiveness. Forgiveness of yourself, others, and Christ. Even though I've been told multiple times that Olivia's heart defect is not my fault I still can't help but blame myself. I've also been struggling with forgiving some others who have hurt me/loved ones. But after those two talks I feel nice and renewed and ready to conquer these resentful feelings! And in case you were wondering, I am not bitter at Christ.
Then it was off to Sunday school where we studied the last couple of chapters of 2 Nephi. Part of the lesson was about scripture study and prayer which was a nice reminder as always. But, while we were discussing these other things we started focusing on another part of some of my favorite verses. In 2 Nephi 31:16-17 and then again in verse 20-21 it mentions enduring to the end. I think we can all understand why that would mean something special to me at this time. But what I really appreciated from this was a comment that one of my best friends made. She mentioned that in Spanish (which she speaks) when translated literally, "Endure to the end" is actually "Persevere to the end." I love the "Persevere to the end." Endure seems like such a weak word in comparison. Action versus inaction. So, since I'm a nerd, I looked up both words when I got home just to make sure my thoughts were grounded in truth. Endure means to hold up under or to tolerate. That seems pretty weak to me. So just hold on. Do nothing, but hold on and you'll get through it. Then you've got persevere which means to continue a course of action in spite of difficulty, opposition etc. So, even though life gets hard, keep living, keep doing your best, keep fighting for better things. Keep praying, keep studying the gospel, continue to have faith in the Lord's plan. Forget "Endure to the End." I want to "Persevere to the end" and come out on top and I want my girls to have the same mindset. While things may eventually work themselves out while you endure to the end, imagine how much better things would be if you persevered to the end. It's in our hands to be happy if we only persevere.