1,461 days later.

"I will come to you in the silence

I will lift you from all your fear.

You will hear my voice, 

I claim you as my choice,

be still and know that I am here.

I am hope for all who are hopeless,

I am eyes for all who long to see

in the shadows of the night,

I will be your light,

come and rest in me.

I am the word that leads all for freedom,

I am the peace the world cannot give.

I will call your name,

embracing all your pain,

stand up, now walk, and live.

Do not be afraid, I am with you,

I have called you each by name.

Come and follow me,

I will bring you home;

I love you and you are mine."

A difficult thing for me to grasp sometimes--

As I claim him to be mine; I am able to do so proudly because of who he is.
its easy claiming him.

When I am reminded that he too, claims me, 

that's when I become confused. 

In the song lyrics above, he clearly states: 

by choice, you are mine. you are mine because I choose you.

As humans we all want to be desired, to be loved and cared for. 

out of love, not out of obligation. 

"I claim you as my choice," is an expression that we are not out of obligation, we are chosen out of the agency that has been given. A personal choice to love and care for us.

oh how I love Jesus Christ.

today marks my 4 year anniversary of becoming a follower of Jesus Christ.
My heart is full and my eyes are fighting back tears.
Thinking about four years ago,
stepping into the water, prepared to go under and prepared to become clean,
preparing myself for a lifetime of following Jesus Christ,
prepared and committed to love him and take upon myself his name

it makes me so emotional
remembering how I felt on that day
what i was learning and preparing to become.

Thinking about who I used to be-
I realize that a lot has changed since that day four years ago.
four years ago I was a completely different human being than I am today.
and all of the credit of that goes to the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
Every small thing about me is new and improved.
all credit goes to Jesus Christ.
He has changed my heart, softened it and grown it.
he has given me compassion and tenderness towards others,
taught me how to be a good friend, daughter and sister.
he has taught me how to be a good stranger to those around me,
whom i do not know. He has taught me to set aside all judgement and gossip.
He has taught me how to be happy and how to have joy in every day life.

I'm grateful that I have such a special day to reflect on,
to remember to love and cherish

I'm grateful to be apart of Jesus Christ and his army.

some things are difficult to understand --

some things are difficult to accept -- 

& some things are difficult to admit --