you were only waiting for this moment to arise...

"Blackbird singing in the dead of night, Take these broken wings and learn to fly. All your life You were only waiting for this moment to arise.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night, Take these sunken eyes and learn to see. All your life You were only waiting for this moment to be free.

Blackbird fly, blackbird fly Into the light of the dark black night.

Blackbird fly, blackbird fly Into the light of the dark black night.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night, Take these broken wings and learn to fly. All your life You were only waiting for this moment to arise You were only waiting for this moment to arise You were only waiting for this moment to arise."

Growing up, one of my favorite songs was "Blackbird" by the infamous Beatles. I loved the soft melody of the song and the imagery of learning to fly. It wasn't until a few years ago that the song was much more than that and I realized that I could completely relate to that little blackbird. The song now means so much more to me and it is an example of the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ in our lives.

Let me share my story of how I came to find this new meaning...

I was born and raised into a Christian home with a firm belief in Jesus Christ. Growing up we sang songs about Him in church and we learned about His life during Sunday School but I only ever had a shallow understanding of Him and His role for us. As a teenager I lost interest in church and by the time I was off at school and on my own it was never a priority or a desire and I lived my life the way that I wanted to. I lived my life in a way that I thought would bring me happiness.

Well, years later I finally came to the realization that nothing I was doing was bringing me real happiness. It wasn't until I was backed into a corner when I truly had a desire to look to God, rather than myself, for the things that I felt were missing. I found myself praying and going to church again and I felt like I had found the true path to happiness. I got to a point where I had to leave my old way of living behind and trust in my Heavenly Father and the teachings of Jesus Christ. Within this experience I had the scary but incredible opportunity to leave my past behind and change by turning to Jesus Christ and repenting. This is when I truly began to understand that Jesus Christ is more than this person that we read of in the scriptures. He is truly our Savior and Redeemer. 

"Take these broken wings and learn to fly..."

Through this experience I felt myself giving all of the broken pieces of my life and of myself over to Him, and with time He mended and fixed every last piece. With these things being fixed, I had the ability AND the desire to go and continue on my path to my Heavenly Father.

"Take these sunken eyes and learn to see..."

Before this piece of my life, I didn't really have anything to hope for. I was kind of just living day to day and never had a thought for tomorrow. Through Jesus Christ, my perspective of life was changed. I truly was looking at everything through new eyes. I was able to see past my trials and tribulations and see that God had much more planned for me. There is so much joy in this life and in the knowledge that we can return to live with our Father in Heaven.

"You were only waiting for this moment to arise."

Whether they realize it or not, I feel like everyone is seeking this in their lives. They are seeking to be fixed. They are seeking to change. They are seeking to be truly happy. Jesus Christ will always be the only and true way to finding all of these things. Because Jesus Christ suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane for each of us individually, He knows what we're going through and feeling. He knows how to comfort us and uplift us. (Alma 7:11-12 in the Book of Mormon) Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ we are cleansed from past transgressions and we are enabled to change and carry on through this mortal life with power. Coming to understand and truly feel this was something that I had been waiting my entire mortal life. It's something that I'm still learning to understand and feel more and more each day.

Christ knows the way out and the way up and if we truly give ourselves to Him, He will make us whole. I testify that the Atonement of Jesus Christ has the ability to change lives and to change hearts. I testify that we come to know who Jesus Christ is to us personally when we give ourselves to Him. When we finally grow tired of carrying our burdens and our struggles, there is one who will ALWAYS take them from us. He will always be there. He will always be our Savior, Jesus Christ.

So go on and give yourself to Him and start flying little blackbird.

Homeward Bound

Last week as my companion and I were leaving an appointment out in the country, it started to get really dark and there were a lot of windy roads so, naturally I turned the brights on. I immediately was like, "WHOA! I can see so much more now!" This is something so silly but I am always amazed how our vision and our sight increase in the dark once we turn those brights on. 

I relate this to how so many of us lose sight of our purpose and what the heck we're doing here on earth. Just like our vision increases as we turn on our brights at night, our eternal vision increases as we remember where we came from.  When we take time to think about who we really are and where we were before this life, we can more fully understand our purpose and our potential. 

Before we came here to this earth, we lived as spirits with our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ. We grew and developed. Because Heavenly Father loves us so much, He created a plan for us to become more like Him and live up to our divine potential as His children. Part of that plan was us coming to earth to gain a body like Him and to obtain experiences and trials that would help us grow in character and in faith. We chose to follow this plan and chose to follow our Savior Jesus Christ before we came to earth.

There is a talk by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf that so beautifully explains our experience in our pre-earth life and what might have been going through our minds as we made the decision to come here.....

"We do not know many details about life in that premortal sphere, but we do know some. Our Heavenly Father has revealed to us who He is, who we are, and who we can become.

Back in that first estate, you knew with absolute certainty that God existed because you saw and heard Him. You knew Jesus Christ, who would become the Lamb of God. You had faith in Him. And you knew that your destiny was not to stay in the security of your premortal home. As much as you loved that eternal sphere, you knew you wanted and needed to embark on a journey. You would depart from the arms of your Father, pass through a veil of forgetfulness, receive a mortal body, and learn and experience things that hopefully would help you grow to become more like Father in Heaven and return to His presence.

In that sacred place, surrounded by those you knew and loved, the great question on your lips and in your heart must have been “Will I return safely to my heavenly home?”

There were so many things that would be out of your control. Mortal life would be hard at times, filled with unexpected bends in the road: sickness, heartbreak, accidents, conflict.

Without a memory of your previous existence—without remembering that you once walked with your Father in Heaven—would you still recognize His voice amid all the noise and distractions of mortal life?

The journey ahead seemed so long and uncertain—so filled with risk.

It wouldn’t be easy, but you knew it was worth every effort.

So, there you stood on the edge of eternity, looking forward with unspeakable excitement and hope—and, I imagine, also with a degree of worry and fear.

In the end, you knew God would be just—that His goodness would triumph...

And a great step forward …

And here you are!

You have, each one of you, embarked on your own wonderful journey back to your heavenly home!"

This image that President Uchtdorf painted so wonderfully helps us understand that this life is truly a journey, a journey back to our Heavenly Father.

There was a period in my life when I did not recognize God or have an understanding of who He is. That was not something of importance to me. I will never forget the part of my journey that led me back to that knowledge of where I came from. It gave my life a whole new meaning. Shortly after receiving this sweet testimony I was listening to Simon and Garfunkel when their song "Homeward Bound"scratched across the record player. I sat and pondered on the title of that song and I immediately had this overwhelming feeling that I was finally back on my path to my Heavenly Father. I was truly "Homeward Bound." 

I want to bear testimony of what President Uchtdorf shared above, Heavenly Father has truly revealed to us who He is, who we are and who we can become. My favorite part of the hymn More Holiness Give Me, are the words, "..more longing for home." I invite each of us to truly take time to remember where we came from and where we want to be- back with our Heavenly Father- and to truly feel more longing for our eternal home with Him.

 Life is full of windy roads like the ones here in the South. When we think about where those windy roads are taking us, that's when the brights turn on and we are better able to make it home safely.  May we all make the decisions and live in a way so that we can truly be "Homeward Bound."