Grace and Royalty

This post is about a princess......

And no, I don't mean Princess Grace!

I mean a real life princess. You may not have heard of her, but she's royalty all the same. 

Still stumped? I'll give you a hint....

She's me.

While you finish laughing, I'll give the back story  If you remember my first post on this blog, my life has been...well...we'll go with insane. (http://thesimpsonsandhobbiton.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-journey-is-far-from-over-but-there.html)

A friend recently posted an amusing article on my time line that sums my life up quite well (http://joannarenteria.com/2011/12/13/i-was-considering-grad-school-and-then-i-saw-this-hilarious/). 

I can't tell you how much I've wanted to feel normal again, not weighed down and sorrowful. And nothing seemed to be helping. I tried to be positive, but inside I was anything but. 

At this point, I still can't in good conscience recommend graduate school to anyone, I am still feeling deceived about it. But I have learned some lovely lessons lately I am happy to share!

Part I: Two Sundays ago I went to the missionary farewell for a good friend. As she has shared her experiences preparing for a mission, I have seen a lot of my own experiences in hers. In her talk she shared some of the apprehension and anxiety she felt about going, and how she knew it was the right thing to do even when she didn't want to go. I found that's like my life when I was getting ready to go on my mission and now: I know what I'm doing is the right thing to do, but I don't want to do it. Then she talked about the Atonement, and the important aspect of the Atonement I usually overlook: grace. I was reminded that as I am obedient to my covenants, I am evenly yoked with Christ in pulling my burdens. And what's more? I don't even have to pull an even share of the weight if I can't. He will pull all that I cannot.  The way I felt during her talk was the first time in weeks I felt buoyed up and full. It was definitely the grace of God that made me feel so good!

Part II: Last Saturday I promised myself I would attend the Temple.  I spent the morning cleaning and it got later and later in the day, and I was running out of time. But I promised! So I got dressed and drove over. It was beautiful outside. Warm and sunny, and everything had that gorgeous golden Fall light. The Temple looked stunning, and when I got out of the car, the smell of Fall hit me and took me back to a bunch of memories, most of which centered around Fall 2010, my last few months in the mission. I specifically thought of this day: 

Enjoying the Fall colors with Sister Adison, Erickson, and Iosua. I had far too much fun with these ladies.

And the Temple looked lovely. So all in all, I was feeling really good about life! Normally when you go in the Temple, the cute little old man at the recommend desk scans the recommend, hands it back and says something like "Welcome to the Temple Sister Simpson." This time it was different. He scanned my recommend and said, "Jessica? Like Princess Jessica??"

I had no idea to whom he was referring, but I'm used to people commenting on my name, so I said, "Yes. That's me!" (by the way, I've googled it, there is no Princess Jessica besides me, in case you're wondering)

He handed my recommend back to me, and with a small bow of his head said, "Good afternoon your Highness, welcome to the Temple."

For a moment I was so confused, and then it hit me: this man is reminding me of who I am. And with that I walked a little taller, smiled, and felt proud to be royalty! My day went so much better because this kind brother reminded me that I am a real life Princess!!

Here's where I tie all of this together. 

In True to the Faith, "grace" is defined as thus: "The word grace, refers primarily to the divine help and strength we receive through the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ..." So the sacrifice of my Savior does more than just pay for my sins and erase my sorrows from Heavenly Records. The grace of the Atonement bears my burdens as I am living them. As you and I walk through life and carry our weights, we are blessed to only have to carry a small part. And Christ will carry the rest. And carry us. And make us happy.  All at the same time. That is grace.

President Lorenzo Snow once said, "As man is God once was, and as God is man may become." As spirit children of the King of the Universe, we are already royal! Step one: become royalty. Done! Not only that, but God has been where we are, so he provided grace (help and strength) to get us to the next step: be crowned Kings and Queens for time and all eternity.  But being born royal means we have to act royal. Now, I couldn't find a conference or CES address about being royalty, so these are my thoughts. Members of royal families understand that their needs come last. Their primary job and responsibility is to care for those over whom they have stewardship. Their people. They sacrifice time, energy, personal needs, and sometimes even their own life for the greater good of their people. These unselfish rulers are the ones history will remember, the times when life was happy and good. Not easy, but good. And it's because the ruler remembered who they were, their duty, and strove to live that way. So. As members of the royal family (all members of Christ's church are part of this family), we have to remember who we are. As a princess, I am obligated to serve my brothers and sisters, my "people". I am obligated to attend the Temple and serve the dead, fulfill my calling without complaint, look for opportunities to do missionary work and perform simple acts of service. And I will find that as I do, I will be happy for it. And the grace of Christ's Atonement will make up what I cannot do. So when Monday kicks me in the teeth (as it usually does), I just have to get up anyway and the grace of God will make my efforts enough.

This is all easier said than done, and I have already done my fair share of complaining and crying this week. But I also know this is path God has prescribed. It will work for me, and it will work for you.

So chin up! Stand up straight, and remember that you are royalty. Be obedient, and you will have divine help and strength to buoy you up every step of the way. Be cheerful, and you will find pure happiness. The kind that never dies.

I love you,

Princess Jess