The worst year of my life...

Yes, there is a year that I have labeled the worst year of my life. But for the first time in my life, I'm thankful for it.

So as I was working on getting my papers resubmitted, one day, I was really frustrated because things just weren't working out, and I pulled out my scriptures and was very much guided to Doctrine and Covenants 68:6, which says:

Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear record of me, even Jesus Christ, that I am the Son of the living God, that I was, that I am, and that I am to come.

And that was exactly what I needed. Now things are working out better than I ever could have expected. I have officially been cleared to serve a mission, and my papers should go in tomorrow or Wednesday, so I will have the opportunity to bear record of the Savior, though I don't know where yet. And I have received a stronger testimony of the Lord's timing, and that He is mindful of me. He has turned some of the worst experiences of my life into one of the greatest blessings.

Some of you probably know that senior year of high school was by far the worst year of my life. I changed medications, and it was awful. First the dose was too low, and then once we got to a decent dose, the side-effect anxiety was terrible. Because of this, I went through some serious depression and anxiety. For a little bit, I tried Prozac, but that actually made the problem worse. So instead I'm on Zoloft. But if I had gone out on a mission without having had to deal with depression or anxiety, it probably would have manifested itself while I was out, and then I likely would have had to come home to sort out medication. And even if I hadn't, they probably would have tried the Prozac first, and after that, I most definitely would have had to come home. So for the first time in my life, I am thankful that I went through that, so that now I can go on a mission without having to worry about that as much.