Hope

Andrew and I have moved A LOT in the almost 2 years that we have been married. (5 times to be exact.) Based on the number of times we've moved, you're right to assume that we like moving. Wrong. It is not fun. We will be moving in May of next year and I don't even want to think about it. (But, this move means we're finally done with this college thing which is exciting!) Anyway, because we have moved so much, we have been in multiple wards.

Andrew and I seem to be walking targets for speaking assignments in church. We really have nobody to blame but ourselves though. It seems to be the thing to do to ask the couple that just moved in to speak in Sacrament Meeting. We have lived in our apartment since September and I bet you can guess who got asked to speak in church today.

Because of all the practice I've had, I am finally getting better at not being nervous. I used to get so nervous my entire body would shake and everyone in the audience could see my skirt swaying back and forth due to my fear. Boy am I glad those days are over. Today I was pretty calm. I still do write my talks out word-for-word which helps me.

Andrew and I were both given the topic of hope. At first, we were both a little concerned because we were given the same topic and no specific talk to go by. I think our talks turned out well. It's always such a good feeling to be done speaking. What a relief. We celebrated by having homemade Cafe Rio. Yumm.

I based my talk on President Uchtdorf's talk from 2008 called, "The Infinite Power of Hope." I used Stephanie Nielson as well as Elizabeth Smart as examples of hope. Both of these women were put in situations that are incomprehensible and both didn't lose hope. Meeting both of these women is definitely on my bucket list. 

I want to share a story from Elizabeth Smart's book that gave her hope. (pg. 131) One night she was starving and extremely thirsty. She hadn't had water in a very long time. Elizabeth went to bed and had a restless night because she was so thirsty. In the middle of the night, she woke up and noticed a cup of water. It was cold and filled to the brim. At first she thought she was dreaming, but she touched it and knew it was real. Making sure her captors weren't awake, Elizabeth drank the cup of water and said it was the best-tasting water that she had ever had. She says that she knows this water came from God.

Even in such a horrible situation, Elizabeth was still able to have hope. Luckily her family didn't lose hope either because she did end up returning to them several months later.

I'm grateful for the opportunity that we had to speak. I love hearing Andrew give a talk. He never lets me read his talk beforehand, so I'm never sure what he is going to say, but it's always good. :)

The good news is that we are off the hook until at least May for speaking. Hooray!