So I blogged about S'mores like 5 minutes ago

And now something a little more spiritual because it is Sunday after all...

I was in sacrament meeting today and people were sharing their testimonies and there was a girl who talked about how she got back last year on Thanksgiving from her mission and then I was like "hey, me too" and then she said "and now I work at the MTC" and I thought "I work at a juvy center (which is sometimes like the same thing...)" and then she started talking about teaching her missionaries about the gospel and I thought "I do not do that at work" but then was looking back on this group discussion I led with the girls' unit the other day and was glad that this girl got up because it got me thinking about this:

The group I led was about being the change in your life that you need. We talked about Glenn Cunningham (click here to get to his wiki page, he's incredible) and how he took a horrible situation and made it incredible. I showed it to them like this:

1+2=3

If that's true then it's fairly simple to figure out what goes in the blank in an equation that looks like this:

1+___=3

They all got it right by the way...

Now let's change the equation to this:

Bad Situation + ___________ = Amazing Result

But what goes in the blank here?

We talked about courage, determination, having a goal 

in mind and above all else believing in yourself enough to 

know that you can make the change you need. Those were things that made it possible for Glenn Cunningham not only to walk again but to run at Olympic speed.

And here is where I realized that I DO talk to my girls about the gospel, we just call it "change" instead of repentance. 

In the words of the beautiful and kind of crazy Florence 

(of Florence and the Machine):

I am done with my graceless heart
So tonight I'm gonna cut it out and then restart
Cause I like to keep my issues drawn
It's always darkest before the dawn

Anyone who has ever changed can tell you what it feels like to cut out your heart and then restart. Unfortunately, the entire quote is true and often the change happens just AFTER your very weakest moment. 

As someone who's experienced weakness I can vividly remember myself at my weakest and recall the exact words that came out of my mouth when I admitted defeat. 

As it turns out though, I was admitting humility because the next morning when I woke up and for the weeks following I felt myself progress dramatically. I always thought "it's always darkest" meant scariest or most heartbreaking but it also means deceiving because we can't see clearly in the dark. It's not until dawn that we can see what happened with the light that finally comes. 

Talking to the girls was really incredible, trying to motivate them to realize the responsibility they have over their lives and how to prevent any action that will bring them back to the facility.

And what was more incredible was realizing that I can't preach to these girls about how Jesus Christ can change them but knowing that He will do it anyway.  So for them He will be Courage, Determination or a Goal but I will know that He is Someone who believes in them enough to know that they can make the difference in their lives. 

At the end of the day the equation will always be:

Bad Situation + Jesus Christ = Amazing Result