Submission Pt. 2

Before you read this post PLEASE go back and read part 1 of "Submission."
Thank you.

So, the word submission has two definitions.

Part 1 was discussed in my last blog post. 

And part 2 is what today's post is about. 

Submission=the action of presenting a proposal, application, or other document for consideration or judgement.

Dun dun duh duuuuuuuuuh.

I present to you-my completed mission papers!

As I talked about in part 1 I have had a solid two years of aligning my will with God's.

And of being more submissive to His plan.

And through getting over a lot of my stubborn, perfectionist pride

I was able to reach a point where I was finally ready to be a missionary.

Strangely enough, obedience is like an important part of being a missionary.

As is humility.

Accepting God's will.

Understanding personal revelation.

And following the promptings of the Spirit.

Which are just a few of the lessons I've learned to get to the point I am at now.

Where I am going on a mission!

Last post I talked about some of the things I've gone through in the past two years

As I have figured out God's plan for me

And gotten better at listening to the Spirit. 

But the experiences I have had are what lead me to where I am at now.

At 16 I thought I would be going on a mission at 21.

(This is a picture from the EFY where I realized I was supposed to go on a mission)

At 17 I was sure I would leave on a mission on my 19th birthday. 

(Speaking of: When I was 17 I ran for Student Government with 2 of my best friends, Emma & Emma, who I am so excited to join in the mission field in a few months. Emma in Birmingham, England and Emma in Mesa, Arizona.)

At 18 I began realizing that I might have to leave at 19 and a half.

(As I left my family to attend SVU)

At 19 I thought that maybe I wasn't actually supposed to go.

That maybe I had mistaken every prompting and that the Spirit telling me to prepare for a mission

Was really that preparing would lead me to whatever I was actually supposed to do. 

And about 2 weeks before my 20th birthday I heard the message loud and clear saying, 

"It is time."

(These are the smiles of people who knew my secret before I told anyone else)

AND LOOK AT WHERE WE ARE NOW!

I have known for OVER THREE YEARS that I am supposed to serve a mission. 

If you missed that whole story you can find a link to it on my first post of this blog.

But I know I am to serve a mission.

Same as I know I have loving Heavenly Parents.



Same as I know that the temple is the House of the Lord.
And there we can learn of Him and make covenants with him.

Same as I know we are here on Earth to be tested and tried.

That we are here on Earth to prove ourselves.

To gain a body.

And to be a part of families.

Same as I know that the Book of Mormon is true!

I know it.

Same as I know Joseph Smith was called of God.

To be a prophet and restore the gospel in these latter days.

Same as I know that this life isn't it.

That we existed before.

And we will live after we die.

Same as I know that God trusts me.

That someone as weak and anxious and crazy as I,

Someone who has asked him the same question,

"Is it time yet?"

"Can I go on my mission now?"

"Are you still sure I am supposed to go?"

Is someone He has taken the time to mold and grow and mature,

Into someone who can teach and preach and do what missionaries do.

I definitely haven't grown a foot or two since I decided to go on a mission.

But spiritually? 

Spiritually I have grown leaps and bounds since that day in August 2012 when I felt the Spirit whisper to me the answer to a question I hadn't dared to voice.

That I was to serve a mission.

Submitting myself to the will of the Lord has changed my life for the better.
I am happier when I follow His plan than any other time.
And I love Him.
So here I am,
Send me.

Photo Creds to my amazing dad.

Submission

Accepting God's will in your life is no easy task.

Following His plan for you isn't that simple either. 

Or at least it isn't for me.

I am definitely independent.

(This is an independent woman right here)

So being submissive isn't my favourite thing. 

In Matthew 5:5 it says, 

"Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth."

Meek=Submissive.

Submissive= the action or fact of accepting or yielding to a superior force 

or to the will or authority of another person.

Bless all of you meek and submissive people who are a lot more obedient than I am and accept God's will easier than I do. 

Luckily I have other strengths, Humility being chief among them. ;) 

But I do have a point to all of this.

Facebook reminded me today of a post I wrote 2 years ago.

Two years ago I thought I was going to Stanford University...

I took a trip there and loved it.

(Here is some photos from my trip)

And to be honest I still hope to go there for Grad school.

#internationalrelationsmasterstanfordclassof2022

Obviously my path did not lead me to Stanford.

Instead it lead me to Southern Virginia University.

Which is about as far away from what I thought I wanted as I could get while still pursuing a bachelors degree.

Shockingly I was proven wrong.

SVU was exactly where I needed to be and want to be.

This blog isn't all about how much I love SVU, though I could do that post. 

Instead it is about submitting to God's plan.

I was semi-forced into accepting God's will for me and went to SVU.

Instead of going on a mission.
Instead of going to Stanford.

Instead of being in California with the promise of beaches nearby.

(I do have a love affair with the ocean, it is true)

I eventually aligned my will with God's.

I got over myself.

And I got better at listening to the Spirit.

But that has been a looooooooooong road. 

In spite of all the temper tantrums, struggles and tears the past two years have held.

Because seriously?

5 Surgeries in 7 Months.

(This is me crying blood. No big deal.)

Being a Bridesmaid.

(Which was fantastic by the way, love these girls!)

Finishing Personal Progress FOR THE SECOND TIME.  

(And receiving my Honor Bee)

Graduating. 

(3 weeks Post-Surgery no less)

To not only crossing the continent but going to a different country for school.

(And saying goodbye to the people I love the most)

Being Director of Soccer Operations at 18.

Meeting my best friend Kadee.

(When we took this picture we were just teammates-we had no idea of what lay ahead)

Meeting my best friends.

Going to NYC for my 19th Birthday with my dad who flew out from Canada. 

(Isn't he adorable!)

To going to Florida for Spring Break with aforementioned best friends. 

(#squad)

Flying to April General Conference.

A Summer of Working-and going to California with my Family.

(Reunited)

(Pre-work Selfie)

(California with the family)

Returning to SVU to be a Resident Advisor. 

(With these cool cats)

Continuing on as Director of Soccer Operations. 

(With my besties by my side)

And spending my 20th birthday in what truly is the happiest place on Earth.

With all the craziness of those happy moments and those hard moments these past two years have been busy.
But....

I was able to align my will more closely with God's will for me in spite, or maybe because of it all.
I learned a lot about myself.
And about who I want to be.

To get to the point I am at now....

Which you can read about in my next post! 

Love,

Em

God knows...

I would like to begin by saying that God knows His children.

He is painfully aware of us and our trials.

He leads us and guides us.

His hand is in our lives.

The best description I have ever heard of Heavenly Father and His children is that we 

(by we I mean all of us here of Earth)

are literally children. 

Like 3 year olds.

Trying to be all independent and walking and taking care of ourselves.

When really we don't have a clue.

So He guides and helps and lifts us when we fall.

He doesn't get mad when we colour on the walls.

He doesn't turn away from us when we have tantrums.

He love us.

Infinitely and Unconditionally. 

He knows me.

He knows that in my perfect world I wouldn't have to be involved with anything. 

That everything would work well without me.
And I could just sit back, safely inside my room, not having to deal with anything.

Is that what Heavenly Father wants for me?

NOPE.

When I was applying to universities I was applying to BIG schools.

Tens of thousands of students.

Somewhere I could blend in and quietly do my work and graduate and all would be grand.

Instead of my great plan He sent me to Southern Virginia University.

Which is SMALL.

About 750 students or so....

Fine, I thought to myself, it will be harder to blend in a smaller school but I can do it...

NOPE.

Somehow, and this still needs to be explained to me because honestly it's all a blur,

But I ended up as the Team Manager for the Women's Soccer Team!

I was downright terrified.

Despite my fears, and my inability to measure yards because I am a Canadian,

I ended up doing a good job.

And was promoted to the Director of Soccer Operations.

And they won't fire me!

I'm only about 95% kidding about that.

I can't express how out of my comfort zone this job made me.

But that is exactly where God wants me.

I have had to learn how to be responsible. 

(Which I already knew but even more so)

I had to commit to a team in a way I never had before.

I booked hotels and coordinated meals and buses and all of these things that I did not feel prepared to be figuring out. 

I learned to love this team.

I became an "athlete" 

(Not really, but because my friends are my team I am grouped with them always)

I organized uniforms and coordinated game-day things.

I helped with practice plans.

I had coaches meetings and discussed everything pertinent to the team everyday.

I am an important person on my team.

What inspired my telling of this story is this photo.

Feel free to ooh and aah.

It is adorable.

At our Halloween practice for soccer I dressed up as a sister missionary and told my team I was leaving.

Where I'm really going with all of this is that God loves us.

And He wants us to succeed. 

So He gives us the opportunities we need to succeed.

Explain any other way I ended up at a small school in Virginia as a Resident Advisor and a Director of Soccer Operations when all I wanted was to just blend into the crowd?

At the end of the day I am grateful for the opportunities I have had.

I love where He has put me.

I am grateful I chose to follow.

Because my life is so much better because I went to SVU. 

#svuwsoc