Spiritual Thought: Do Not Fear

A good friend of mine came to visit yesterday. We haven't seen each other in a while and it was so nice to chat and catch up. She has a lot going on in her life right now and a few months ago, I remember talking to her and hearing such distress and worry. It was such a drastic difference when I saw her yesterday - peaceful, calm, happy.

After our talk, I saw her share something on Facebook about her mantra for the past few months:

I absolutely love that and it reminded me of a conference talk from Boyd K. Packer, "Do Not Fear."  He is speaking mostly about parenting in a "troubled world," but I feel his comments can extend to anything we worry about or fear. He says:

"Each of us came into mortality to receive a mortal body and to be tested. Life will not be free from challenges, some of them bitter and hard to bear. We may wish to be spared all the trials of life, but that would be contrary to the great plan of happiness, “for it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things.” This testing is the source of our strength."

Often I spend too much time worrying over the "What If's." Gosh, especially since I've had a child. It's amazing and almost paralyzing the worry that comes over your child.

But Elder Packer has one simple line that I remind myself of often: "Fear is the opposite of faith."

We can trump fear, we can keep worry from getting the best of us, by having increased faith and trust in our Heavenly Father. Faith that he will sustain us. Faith that he has a plan and will guide us. Faith that this is but a mortal experience and we have hope of life eternal.

So press on, dear friends. Let your faith (and hope, and love!) be stronger than your fears.

(How perfect and gorgeous is this print from RuffledPaper on Etsy? I may have to get it as a reminder!)