Perfect Brightness of Hope.

C.S. Lewis said, "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world."

My mom gave a talk in sacrament meeting today in my home ward in California. She called me this afternoon and read it to me. It was one of the best talks I've ever heard. While I was walking around my room attempting to clean it, finding the flip flops I lost and the coke caps I need to enter codes for, my eyes welled up with tears when she read this quote to me by C.S. Lewis. It rang so true, I asked her to read it to me three times.

My mom also talked about when I came home from Africa and how I cried because when I came home and saw my closet full of clothes, my house, my computer and my car, I couldn't believe what I was born with. I didn't understand how I could be born in California with the gospel, the freedom from my government, the educational opportunities, and the material things while all of my friends I met in Africa were given so little. I had to sleep on the floor because I felt too ungrateful about getting into my comfy bed that night. When my mom reiterated what she said in her talk, I remembered this experience and again got emotional. I really forget sometimes how lucky I am.

Sometimes my life is so busy with distractions and getting caught up in school. I'm so thankful for Sundays when I can really stop and reflect on the most important things in my life. I'm eternally grateful for hope that comes through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.