The Sweet Message I Received in the Temple this Weekend.

It had been such a nice day.  At work we had a fun lunch celebrating the first “District Executive Appreciation Day” a special day we created to show appreciation for the professional scouters at our office.  I made my special chicken Alfredo stew in the slow cooker and there were an abundance of hot biscuits to go with it.  We had such a fun time eating lunch together.  After work I headed up to the temple.  I love going to the temple.   I love going to the temple especially on Fridays when my friends are serving there.  It was a beautiful session with sweet ending that made me feel loved.  I was happy as I entered the beautiful Celestial room and sat in the brilliant light of the chandelier.  I’ve started a new tradition for myself that whenever I do a session by myself, I spent some quiet moments in the Celestial room and look through the scriptures for a message I feel Heavenly Father wants to tell me.

I opened the triple combination and it was at 3^rd Nephi in the Book of Mormon, chapter 13 as the Savior is giving his Sermon on the Mount to the Nephites.  This is the first thing I read, “Therefore take no thought, saying ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘Wherewithal shall we be clothed?’ For your Heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.” I’ve read these verses and the ones following several times and always understood them to mean that Heavenly Father will always provide for those who are on his errand as long as they seek first for him and his kingdom.  I felt that Heavenly Father was telling me to not be concerns about the future, as there have been some heavy-duty worries on my mind and heart lately.  I left the Celestial Room and walked back to the dressing room.  It was as I was preparing to change my clothes that the Holy Ghost opened my heart, revelation flowed, and I received a very special message.  The phrase “Your Heavenly Father knoweth you have need of these things,” entered my mind again, but this time it was more than about temporal needs.  I had a feeling that my spiritual Father, who knows me infinitely better than I know myself was telling me that he knew what things Bethany Blake needs to thrive in life.   

He knows I need human connection.  I need people in my life I can believe in; who inspire, love and anchor me.  He knows I need work that I care about and can be devoted to.  He knows I need special occasions, traditions, and other times when loved ones come together.  I need summer days and Christmas lights.  I need beautiful moments and the words to be able to describe them.  I know my Heavenly Father does indeed know I have need of these things, because he has been providing them for me in tender and sweet ways my entire life. 

Sometimes seasonal depression and anxiety get the best of me.  In those times, it feels as if my sense of “It’s going to be okay,” is broken.  Heavenly Father knows that too.  It’s amazing to me how he sends help in the way that I need, not anybody else…just me.  Sometimes it is immediate, sometimes there is a long wait, but there is always some little message of hope, something for me to hold on to.  I am so grateful for a Heavenly Father who knows what I need, and knows what delights and strengthens me, because loving me and helping me become who He wants me to be, is what delights him.

Photo: lds.org