Man plans, and the Lord laughs.

The quote is from Stake Conference. It's so true. Sometimes we make plans in our lives and then something happens and those plans go down the drain. God lovingly chuckles and says, "Oh, dear. I have something so much better for you. Now let me help. You'll see."

This happened to me when I was figuring out college and, you know, plans. For life.

I had just started my first semester of college at Utah Valley University last year (that was last year?!), and I thought I was going to apply to be a girls' camp counselor at an LDS girls' camp in Kamas, UT, that year. The application was due in January, and I was already writing out my application essay. Whenever people asked me if I was planning on serving a mission, I would sigh and say (perhaps somewhat exasperatedly), "I haven't decided yet." I think I knew all along that I was going to be serving a mission at some point. But my plan was to see if I got accepted as an Oakcrest counselor. If I did, I was going to decide whether I wanted to serve a mission after the next summer was over. If I didn't, I was going to decide once the school year ended. It was too much to decide right then, I told myself.

Well, God chuckled.

Long story short, I received more than one prompting from the Holy Ghost that I was going on a mission. In 6 weeks, I had gone through the temple and my papers were submitted. In 10 days, I got my mission call to the Georgia Macon Mission. In 2.5 months, I left. God chuckled and told me it would all be okay.

Guess what.

It's all better than okay.

I've experienced quite a few challenges: getting used to being away from home, talking to everyone (literally everyone), meeting new people, moving around, getting used to new companions, dealing with disappointments when things don't work out with people we're teaching, and learning to take the responsibility to fend for myself, among many others.

But I can honestly say there's no better way I could be spending these 18 months of my life. Sometimes I do wish I was home, I'm not gonna lie. I miss the people there. But doing the Lord's work is so rewarding. I've come to realize how important and how amazing it truly is and how important it is for everyone to have it.

Listen, y'all. Here's the most important part of the gospel.

GOD LOVES YOU.

You are His child.

He loves you more than you can even comprehend.

That's why He gives us the gospel of Jesus Christ: He wants us to live with Him again!

Is that not the most amazing promise?

I love y'all too. I know God wants us to live with Him again. So take the steps to get there, will you?

Sister McKay

I dropped my cream cheese toast. And not only did it fall face down, it fell face down AND STUCK TO THE WALL. So. That was my laugh of the week.