Daily Gems

Everyday I get emails from a church website subscription called "Daily Gems". I love them because they are just that--gems. There is never a quote that I read daily, that I don't draw something from and try to apply to my life. Sometimes, I even feel that the daily gem was meant and inspired specifically for me. Today's was one of those quotes:
"[Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego] knew that they couldtrust God--even if things didn't turn out the way they hoped.They knew that faith is more than mental assent, more than anacknowledgment that God lives. Faith is total trust in Him. "
Faith is believing that although we do not understand all things, He does. Faith is knowing that although our power is limited, His is not. Faith in Jesus Christ consists of complete reliance on Him." (Dennis E. Simmons, "But If Not . . .," Ensign, May 2004, 73)

I really feel like this quote was inspired for me today. I think so much of my life I try to control and take into my own hands. Sometimes I feel like I try too hard to force things to work a certain way, and then I realize if I have to force it in such a way, then it must be something that isn't in complete alignment with Heavenly Father's will. I've been really trying to relish in everyday, and not live my life from event to event, from year to year like "When we own a home..." "When I can go back to school..." "When we get to go on a vacation...", and just be grateful for everyday, and the experiences and lessons that can be found in each and every day. The reason I feel like that relates to faith, is having the faith in knowing that Heavenly Father truly does know the desire of our hearts. He truly wants us to be happy, and more importantly, knows exactly what it takes to make that happen for us. When you think enough about it, not aligning our will with His is completely counter-productive, because we'll eventually be either back where we started, or worse, furthur away from our goals. And waiting for the next thing to happen to be happy, is saying that the blessings and experiences that Heavenly Father gives us in every day life, aren't enough for us. And defintiely, for me at least, not learning the preliminary lessons and experiences that Heavenly Father has put in my path, would be a complete tragedy when it comes to the test of those lessons and experiences...when I realize why I was meant to have gone through what I was faced with.
So this just really touched me today, and helped me to realize that, no matter what every day is going to bring me, I am going to try to have the faith to accept it and look at it as His hand in my life, giving me the blessing of experience, that leads me ultimately, to what He knows will lead to real and lasting happiness.