FSY Week Two: Embrace Truth
June 17, 2022
I was stressed. I’m not going to lie, I was stressed coming into this week. I was worried about loving these girls as much as I loved my girls last week. I was worried about building connections with the boys this week and becoming their friend. I was worried that I would completely forget how to be myself and utterly fail as a counselor.
I was worried that my youth this week wouldn’t like me and therefore wouldn’t want to learn from me and listen to me.
At the end of the day, it is Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ who matter, but if these kids didn’t trust me or like me, then there would be no way I would be able to attract the spirit and help it speak to their hearts. There’s no way they would feel comfortable enough to feel Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ’s love for them.
So that being said, Monday was a difficult day for me. I felt so much pressure to love my kids this week as much as I love my kids from last week.
What I’ve learned, however, is that there is not a “love my kids more” from this week vs last week or last week vs this week. Instead, I love them for different reasons. I love them because of different experiences that we shared together. I love them because I have learned who they are, and I am appreciative of that.
Most importantly, I have heard and felt their testimonies, and I love them for that. Their testimonies only multiplies my love for them.
While in Colorado (where I was for week two), I attended a class about how to find “Happiness in Him.” One of the main parts of the lesson was that prayer can lead to a happier and more satisfying life.
The teacher said that when you want to talk to God, you pray to Him. When you want God to speak to you, you read the scriptures.
Then he went more into depth about prayer. He shared a story about a young mother who was really struggling getting her baby to sleep. She decided to pray about it and ask for help getting her baby to go to sleep.
Nothing changed, and it was really hard for her.
Chad H. Webb shared, “So Celeste decided to make a list of the things for which she had been praying. By making this list, she realized that her prayers primarily consisted of asking Heavenly Father for what she wanted, which was for Him to change her circumstances. She then decided to make another list, writing down those things that she was certain Heavenly Father wanted for her. Of course the two lists were not entirely incompatible—He loves us and wants us to be happy. But this little exercise teaches an important truth. While she wanted to change her circumstances, He wanted to change her. So, she decided to adjust her approach to prayer in order to better align her will with Heavenly Father’s” (Webb 2017).
Faith as a Principle of Action and Power (full talk here)
She knew God wanted her to be a good mother.
So she prayed and said this, “[Heavenly Father], please help me get some sleep tonight, but if not, help me to have enough energy to be pleasant and hardworking anyway.”
The formula is this:
Heavenly Father … please (ask for what you want) … but if not, (ask for something you know He wants for you)
Here are some examples:
Heavenly Father please help me find an eternal companion, but if not, please help me have patience and hope.
Heavenly Father please help my husband and me to get pregnant, but if not, please help us to grow closer together and have patience and trust in thee.
Heavenly Father please heal my friend, but if not, help her to have strength and courage amidst her pain.
Heavenly Father please help me to get along with my sister, but if not, please help me have more love and charity towards her.
Heavenly Father please help me to do well on this test, but if not, please help me study to do better on the next test.
Heavenly Father please help me make friends, but if not, help me be a good friend and have charity.
Do not negotiate your desires with God. Align your will with his.
Going back to being stressed about loving my kids this week. Before I attended that class, I was praying that Heavenly Father would give me inspiration to write a post for them.
After that class, I changed my prayers.
Instead of, “Heavenly Father please give me inspiration to write a blog post this week so my kids know I love them,” I said, “Heavenly Father please give me inspiration to write a blog post for my kids this week, but if not, please help my kids know I love them and feel my love for them through our interactions together.”
And suddenly I had a blog post idea. And it was ironically, (or not so ironically 😉) called “But if Not.”
My new prayer is this:
Heavenly Father, please help my kids always remember FSY and to trust in the Lord, but if not, please help them always know of thy love for them and help them feel it in their hearts.
Now June 22, 2022
(It’s a new week now)
During a morning devotional, we discussed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. In Daniel 3, it shares their story. To simplify for you, King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold and said that whoever didn’t worship this image would be cast into a “burning fiery furnace” (Daniel 3:6).
Well, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego refused to worship this image, saying that “our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king” (Daniel 3:17). Then in verse 18, “But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up” (Daniel 3:18).
This caused King Nebuchadnezzar to get very angry. He ended up throwing them into the furnace, but through Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ’s unlimited power, they came out unscathed and unharmed.
The point that I’m trying to make by sharing this story is that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego had an abundance of faith. A myriad of faith. They expected a miracle. What took even more faith than expecting a miracle, however, is that they were okay if they did not receive a miracle. If they were not delivered. They still chose God, acknowledging that a miracle may not come.
That’s what “but if not” is. It is having so much faith that you acknowledge that His wisdom and understanding is greater than yours. It is having so much faith that you acknowledge that His perspective is eternal and all-knowing while yours is earthly and two dimensional. It is having so much faith that you trust Him, no matter what.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding; in all thy ways acknowledge him, and He shall direct thy paths.”
I’ve now spent over three weeks at FSY focusing on this very scripture. Each session director approaches it differently, so when I tell you that there is so much depth to this scripture, I truly mean it. Especially when you break this scripture down, piece by piece, to get a deeper and better understanding of it.
I’m not going to do that for you. Sorry [insert shrug and winkie face here] 🤷🏻♀️😉
What I am going to do, however, is share that I believe that “but if not” is the simplified version of that scripture. Trust. In. Him. Align your will with His.
Our prayers can align with Proverbs 3: 5-6, According to MY understanding, I want this. But if not, I understand that you know best. You have all understanding. You can direct my paths.
I’m well aware it is not easy. But I’m working on it. I hope that it gets easier to trust in the Lord each day, but if not, I hope I can still trust anyway.
PS. I love you Embrace Truth! 😘
I miss you! You are such an amazing person and I’m so glad I got you as a counselor
I miss you too Eden! It was so special to witness you being so touched that you didn’t want to leave FSY. I’m so proud of you and of your testimony. I’m *also* so glad you were in my group. 😘
Definitely one of the most heart felt messages/devotional all week! I learned so much and am so glad we were lucky enough to have you as our counselor!
Aww you are so sweet! I hope everything went well going home 😉
I am so extremely grateful you were in my company! You are amazing Shyla and such a force. Never forget that you are strong and can do really hard things. 😘
You’re really on a roll with me lately ☺️ Once again it’s just what I needed to hear today!! Truly amazing!!
Thank you Kyra! It was the strength I needed after hearing about the news with Melissa. Love you!😀
Kyra this is absolutely beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing your experiences so beautifully! This is a great reminder for me! I got goosebumps when I read that your prayers changed right away. I remember when I read that story from Bro. Webb, mine changed too. Thank you for reminding me of that and helping me be better! Sure love you!
Once again exactly what I needed… I love the “but if not”. Certainly implementing it in my prayers… I LOVE IT!!! So inspiring!! Thank you!!
Thank you Kyra for your post. I said a prayer the other day hoping the Lord would rid me of this terrible scratchy couch I had. The thought then came to me, “Melissa, I am allowing this cough to remain with you to keep your matastsized lungs stronger.”. That really humbled me. I love the examples of the prayers you gave and how we need to align our will with his. This battle with cancer has tested my faith like no other, I have the faith to be healed, but I also have the faith to trust in his will and his plan for me whatever that may be. I love this paragraph you shared, “It is having so much faith that you acknowledge that His wisdom and understanding is greater than yours. It is having so much faith that you acknowledge that His perspective is eternal and all-knowing while yours is earthly and two dimensional. It is having so much faith that you trust Him, no matter what.” I love you Kyra! Thanks for sharing your experiences and testimony. You are wise beyond your years.
I remember you telling us to add “but if not” into our prayers when asking for something, and I still incorporate it into my prayers all the time <3 what you taught me has truly stuck with me these past few years. Thank you Kyra!
Thank you so much for this Tatum! Sometimes I wonder if I did much good that first year, so it is humbling to hear that some of the lessons I taught stuck with you! 🩵
I love this “But if not” idea. I actually have had it with me for maybe even over a year now, and it comes up occasionally when I ask for something, and then remember that it can’t always be how I want it. So then I add, “but if not”, and instantly feel peace.
Kyra this is so fun, reading your old blog posts, and listening to your podcast episodes, because it’s crazy how much we think alike. We have had soooo so many of the same thoughts, same ideas, and same personal conclusions about things, it’s kind of crazy. Like seriously, sometimes I think it’s almost like we are the same person, but from different universes. 😂. (Except for, I am yet to turn 16… so hopefully I don’t break anything once I am 16, cuz I don’t want to be like you in a physical sense. Just like u in all the spiritual awesomeness sense.😉😉😉)
Kyra, sometimes it still hurts really bad when I think about fsy. Especially as the season is starting to change, and it’s getting gloomier and cooler outside, that week feels farther and farther away.
I miss you. I miss my friends. I miss feeling the spirit the most strongly I’ve ever felt in my life on earth (quick tangent: if I cry every time I feel the spirit strongly, image how exhausted from crying I’ll be, in heaven -in at least 80 years 😂- before I get used to being in Gods presence constantly? 😂 well that was a weird thought 🤣)
But honestly I’m glad it hurts to think about fsy. I’m glad I still have memories. It means I care, and I’m glad I still care. Because it would be really sad if I didn’t.
Oh also last night I FaceTimed with a friend (who’s also lds! 😁) and talked for OVER HALF AN HOUR about me following through with my big prompting at fsy that I got, and following through with a couple once I got home (and seeing some really cool results occasionally too 😄), and how awesome you were, and how cool fsy was this year, and how awesome you are, and etc.
BUT, what I was trying to say is I talked to her about it, and it was really pretty cool because just me recounting the story, and feelings, made me feel the spirit, and made me feel those same feelings (just in a smaller scale) that I felt while I was actually experiencing those things. So it was really fun retelling it all to her, and she was super sweet about it too, and listened, and thought that is was all super cool. (Thanks to sister Rudolf, I think that Eva, the friend that I was talking to is TRUE friend 🙂
And to end my second longest “comment” I’ve ever written, I’ll give you a “but if not” for yourself. 🙂
(Real quick, I just want to say that hopefully it’s not me being like “oh everything’s gonna be okay if this wanted and prayed for thing doesn’t work out, just keep being hopeful and happy! It’s gonna be okay!” I don’t mean to be annoyingly cheerful if thats what it sounds like -I’m also not trying to assume what your thinking about, and I also feel like I’m butting into your personal life, sorry 😭, BUT aNywAys, here’s the “but if not”scenario from what I personally think would be the case:
“Heavenly Father, please help me to get this job that I’ve been really wanting.”
But if not…
Please help me to trust and know that you have bigger plans for me, and that they are on their way”.
Anyways, that’s all for now. (Sorry I went all over the place with this comment 😂) Love you Kyra! You’re amazing!! Your awesome!!
And you’ve got this!! Love, -Isabella R 💕
(I just realized, I’m pretty sure this comment is actually a whole lot longer than my first long comment lol 😂 😭 💀 🤣)
This is actually so awesome and so enjoyable for me. It’s like messaging personally but it’s not breaking any rules because it’s all public and anyone can see! Haha I love it!
I’ve never had someone dive so deep into my blog and podcast. It’s probably crazy getting to know the 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20 year old me!
I think that’s so tender that you said we have similar thought processes and similar spiritual journeys. I’m very curious what thoughts you’ve had that have been similar to mine!
And I sure hope you don’t break anything because that is NOT fun and I do NOT recommend.
In relation to the “spiritual awesomeness” I sure hope you aren’t giving yourself a hard time or holding yourself to too high of standards. I wasn’t always the way that I strive to be now haha! It was a journey and a process.
Isabella, I understand what you’re saying more than you know in relation to it being painful that fsy is over. I know you’ve heard me read it, but feel free to reread “I Miss Them Too.” Sometimes the most precious and most sacred prayers are those when we bear our soul, putting all the pain and sorrow out for Heavenly Father to hear. He knows already, but it is sacred to share that with Him.
I have a testimony that He hears every prayer, and He pays special attention to the ones that we can barely get out.
How blessed am I to hear from you even after FSY has ended! Isn’t it cool that now we can be lifelong friends?! It’s not like my blog is going anywhere (it’s not) and my podcast isn’t going anywhere, so even though we cannot message one another privately, we still have those! I’m telling you, reading these comments MAKES MY DAY. You are so kind to me.
So my friend, I want to let you know I miss you too. And I’m so so blessed that you thanked me each day, especially day one. I was sitting in the hallway, and you said thank you for every thing before you went to your room.
Being an FSY counselor is sooo hard sometimes, and Mondays can be so taxing and stressful and exhausting. It feels like I’m still proving myself, and that’s sooo tiring haha! What I’m saying is that hearing “thank you” really really meant a lot to me. So thank you.
WOW. The most strongly you’ve ever felt it in your life on earth?! Girl that’s crazy! Did that happen Wednesday night?! (Side tangent but this is why I pushed forward with my plan even though I had anxiety …)
I agree, it would be really sad if you didn’t care. And I know you filled that journal, so now it’s worth more than gold! Yippee!
I am SO GLAD you got to share your promptings and the stories of you following those with your friend. That’s why I LOVE sharing stories. They are so powerful and make you feel good inside too!
Keep sharing those experiences. Not only with others benefit, but you will too. 👏🏻🙌🏻🥳
As much as I LOVE (trust me, I do hehe! And I don’t think I’ll ever not love it …) you talking about how awesome I am, I hope it’s because I’ve turned you towards the Savior. That’s something they drill into us at training and throughout the summer. They say, “If the youth go home talking about you, you did it wrong.” I am not doubting that you came closer to the Savior because I KNOW you did. I guess I’m just putting my worries out there haha! Genuinely I do love to hear that you think I’m awesome though because even I could use the reminder 🫣😂
I’ve debated whether to delete the paragraph above because I don’t want you to think that I’m reproving you or anything (I am most definitely not). I guess I’m just sharing my worries with you. I want to be awesome because I led you closer to Christ, ya know? (And because of my amazing stories, obviously. *read in a silly voice*)
And don’t worry about invalidating me, so seriously no stress there. I don’t feel like you’re “butting into” my personal life haha. We are friends!
I love you Isabella! You’re thoughtful and kind and heartfelt and generous and genuine and insightful and a disciple of Jesus Christ.
Keep on being His hands! You’ll never regret it!
🩵Kyra
Thank you for the “but if not” about my
I was smiling the WHOLE time reading your comment reply, and laughed too!
Yes! I felt the spirit the most strongly I ever felt in my life, Wednesday night. 100 %. And I have felt it extremely strongly before, so that is saying something! And yes! The reason I love talking about you so much is because of all the amazing spiritual experiences you helped me experience and continue. You helped me feel our Saviors love sooo strongly, it was actually insane. That was also mostly during the prayer as well, I KNEW, that EVERYTHING about the Gospel was was true, that God loved me, and the girls around us SO MUCH, and just feeling that love and power, was so amazing. It was crazy. That’s why I love sharing stories about you, and that’s why I’m so so grateful for you, for helping me grow stronger spiritually, and grow a MUCH stronger testimony of all I already know. (Yes! you are awesome! because you brought me to Christ, because you were so brave, because you were so genuine, and funny, and were accepting and loving yourself EVEN THROUGH any flaws and mistakes, and of course because of you amazing stories. *Read in a silly voice 😉😉😉*
I’m so grateful u went through the stress and anxiety to say that prayer for us, it was WORTH IT.
And I am soo grateful for this tender mercy, of us being able to talk like this, through the comments section. It feels so so good, recounting fsy memories like this, and connecting over other gospel and life related things too.
I’ll make sure to keep telling you things as I feel prompted, because I really do keep seeing the small things that make me go “Wow.”, and it’s fun to share with somebody you gets it and can relate.
Until next comment 😉😁, -Isabella 💕