Well, how times are changing.
I have had some very earnest prayers and I feel like my deepest desires are being heard by God. It is an amazing feeling to have, and to be honest, a feeling I have not been used to in the past few years.
Some of the ways that God has answered my prayers have been very surprising. Paths that I wouldn't necessarily have dreamt of or considered. For example, I was called into the Young Women. I cannot tell you how much I love these girls already. It's just crazy. I really admire them. They face so much more adversity than I ever realized was in the world at that age and they do so with an amazing amount of faith and hope. They are cheerful, and fun to be around. Their focus on living a gospel-based life has been such a great reminder and encouragement for me to focus on the basics.
I haven't been in Young Women's for a long time at all, but I feel my testimony growing. What a blessing they have been to me! I wish everyone could get this opportunity because you really have to not only learn to watch yourself and your actions but focus on the basics and remember how important the little things are.
Another thing that I have felt to be an answer in my life is receiving acceptance to grad school. If you were to ask me if I ever considered grad school before I graduated from college I would have laughed in your face. I have always loved school, but I never knew many women to attend college so the thought of doing a lot of schooling was foreign to me.
The past few years I have thought a lot about continuing school. I have studied for the GRE, I have spent countless hours reading up on different schools and programs, but as soon as I started applying or picturing myself at a certain school, I would start to feel a feeling in my gut saying, "This is not right." This feeling has happened so many times over the past few years that I was getting so tired of it! Sometimes it felt like Heavenly Father was taking a huge eraser to the maze that was drawn for me and I was left with nowhere to go. So many times. This feeling happened with jobs, with dating, with school, living situations. I was just living in a big blank maze.
In August 2013, I was talking with a dear friend of mine Lizzie and she mentioned graduate programs out of the country. She said they were priced well and many of them were 1-year programs. So, after we spoke, I took a look at the programs available in the UK. I googled, "Largest University in the UK". And the first school that popped up was the University of Manchester. As I continued to research the school, there was a program that seemed perfect for me and everything just felt RIGHT. Within a week, I had spoken with admissions and had been accepted into the school.
At the time, I thought the admission deadline was for the following school year. However, there just so happened to be a spot in the program. I put in my two weeks, I accepted the place and started arranging my visa. Some of the visa requirements were a little difficult to meet in such a short amount of time and it would mean arriving possibly a month later. I decided to defer for a year and continue to work and save up money. I continued to work (thank goodness they let me stay!) and served in the Young Women while I lived at home and saved up money to pay for school.
Update:
During this time I also switched back and forth between programs. At first, I applied for the Development Studies program, but as time went on I changed my mind and finally ended up in the International Development: Development Management program. I feel it was an incredible blessing because I made some incredible friends in my Planning and Managing Development class that I believe will last for many years and have enriched my life in more ways than I could have imagined. They were such a wonderful part of my experience. I wouldn't have met them if I didn't defer for a year, I wouldn't have been in the program I am in, lived where I live, have the roommates I have and ultimately have the incredible experience I am having if He wasn't so intricately involved in my life and I am so thankful Heavenly Father's hand had a role in that.
It's so interesting that for so many years I felt my prayers weren't being answered but now I see how perfectly He heard them and answered them.
At the time, I thought the admission deadline was for the following school year. However, there just so happened to be a spot in the program. I put in my two weeks, I accepted the place and started arranging my visa. Some of the visa requirements were a little difficult to meet in such a short amount of time and it would mean arriving possibly a month later. I decided to defer for a year and continue to work and save up money. I continued to work (thank goodness they let me stay!) and served in the Young Women while I lived at home and saved up money to pay for school.
Update:
During this time I also switched back and forth between programs. At first, I applied for the Development Studies program, but as time went on I changed my mind and finally ended up in the International Development: Development Management program. I feel it was an incredible blessing because I made some incredible friends in my Planning and Managing Development class that I believe will last for many years and have enriched my life in more ways than I could have imagined. They were such a wonderful part of my experience. I wouldn't have met them if I didn't defer for a year, I wouldn't have been in the program I am in, lived where I live, have the roommates I have and ultimately have the incredible experience I am having if He wasn't so intricately involved in my life and I am so thankful Heavenly Father's hand had a role in that.
It's so interesting that for so many years I felt my prayers weren't being answered but now I see how perfectly He heard them and answered them.
No comments:
Post a Comment