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Complicated

When I was working at a place in Michigan, there was one girl whose life was pretty complicated. She had recently begun a relationship with a man who was married (and not to her). She was distraught about everything that was going on. When trying to give her some advice (something sage like - quit it!) she said - It's not that simple, OK?!? Sometimes life is just too complicated.

My life has never been THAT complicated (thankfully).

It occurs to me that life is neither more or less complicated than we wish it to be.

I am not naive. I know that bad things happen to good people. I know that there are things that one must go through in life that are not a direct result of one's decisions.

But it seems to me that we have the opportunity to choose our pathway in life. These choices make our lives either increasingly complicated or increasingly simple. It's ironic - those choices which the world would have us believe limit our freedoms in fact seem to give us more freedom to choose.

Further, the commandments of God enable us to be happy, to be successful, and to gain a perspective on what it is we really want in life. It gives us hope for a better world while making this world better. It is what puts life in eternity and eternity in our current life.

I don't think we talk enough about these things. We are often very focused on the riches of eternity and how our reward in heaven may be secured. And this is truly the case. But it also seems to me that we have the opportunity to improve our current situation here and now, finding an incredible amount of joy, peace, and fulfillment in our current lives. King Benjamin encourages us to think of the blessed and happy state of those who keep the commandments of God, because they are blessed in all things temporal and spiritual. God loves us and wants us to be happy now, not just in some nebulous future...

And I am. I have been truly blessed by a great God who has (for some unknown and unmerited reason) chosen to give me great peace and joy. And I am grateful to Him, to my family, and to those who love and support me in this. My life is truly marvelous.

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