All is well. All is well.

...gird up your loins,

fresh courage take....

our God will never us forsake.

And soon we'll have this tale to tell....

All is well...

All is well.

We sang the song in church a few weeks ago...and I don't know why I really heard those distinct words this time. But they hit me.
We are all going to have experiences in our lives...similar to the pioneers. We won't have to walk the plains. But sometimes we will have to see those we love pass on, or struggle through financially hard times. We might have to do without for a spell.

Or feel betrayed,

or ridiculed,

or harassed.

We might have to work harder than we ever have and than we think we can.

Our lives might turn out very different than we ever imagined.

Well, I think our lives WILL turn out different than we ever imagined.

BUT

when God is on our side...or when We are on HIS side....

all is well.

and then each experience will be a badge we wear...

a story to tell...

an entry to write...

a memory to reflect upon.

Because we survived.

We did the impossible...

the unlikely.

the improbable.

...and it is amazing.

One time years ago...when I was going through an especially difficult time in my life, I was given a blessing. And in the blessing I heard....all is well....all is well.

It was very touching, because even though life didn't feel 'well' at the time, I knew it could be. Hope is an amazing thing.

But what was even more amazing is that things started opening up for me.

Things I really never could have imagined.

But things the Lord knew were in my future.

All was well. I just needed to wait a bit to see it all unfold.

In my mission we had so many amazing things happen all the time. Sometimes they were really good amazing, but many times they were crazy, freaky, 'you will never believe what happened to us' amazing. We started having contests with some of the other missionaries over who had the craziest experience each week. There were some weeks we just KNEW we were going to win...but sometimes a set of Elders would come up with something even more unbelievable...It was so crazy. And it seemed like for a time we had a great story EVERY week!

This time in my life was also what I thought of...when I was singing...

and soon we'll have this tale to tell....

While we were going through some really hard things...either my comp or I would mention...we're going to win for sure this week! and all of a sudden we were relishing our crazy experience. :)

I know easy entertainment...what can I say.

but, it gave us a totally different perspective! We couldn't wait to brag our 'story'!

Wouldn't it be great if we could do that with all trials...'just wait til soandso hears about this!' instead of the standard pitty party! :)

Some of my most challenging experiences have become some of my most cherished memories.

learning how to lean on the Lord

feeling peace amid the storms

experiencing the plan of salvation first hand as loved ones takes the leap into their next estate and KNOWING they are still with us

overcoming weaknesses

All is well...All is well!