A Change of Plans

Plans. Plans are important. It's important to know how to plan. We set up daily plans, weekly plans, monthly, yearly, five-year, ten year plans. We, as humans, make plans. We have to remember though that there is someone who can change these plans on us. Our Father in Heaven knows what is best.

My life plans changed dramatically with a series of events that occurred before coming on my mission. Many of these events are why I am here, why I decided to serve, and what happened to put me in a position to be able to serve.

It really all started when I began to pray about what school to go to. I prayed and prayed and thought I received my answer when I received a scholarship to Utah State University (Go Aggies!). I was very excited to attend and that was what I told people my plans were. I was going to USU and that was that. I didn't have a back up plan or anything.

Well, in April 2012, this plan decided to no longer be my plan. For various reasons, I would not be able to attend USU in the fall. I was heartbroken and begrudgingly began my application to Brigham Young University-Idaho. Not my first choice, nothing against the school, I just had no desire to attend.

Next, though, that application process took FOREVER!!!! And I mean a long time... It took me almost 3 months to get my acceptance and another 2 to get my track assignment. Yet again, my plans were up in the air.

On October 6th, 2012, I came home from my 3rd graveyard shift in a row at Jack-in-the-Box. I was dead beat and fell fast asleep on the couch. My phone, for some reason, was on full volume and sitting right next to me ear. I got two text messages and woke up to my phone going off. My thought was, "Who in the world is texting me and why?!" Well, one text said, "Are you watching General conference?" The other said, "I CAN GO ON A MISSION IN 10 MONTHS!" Needless to say, I was extremely confused. Not even joking, so lost. Anyways, I texted both people back and asked them what was going on. One told me to watch President Monson's talk from about 30 minutes earlier. In this talk, he announced that the mission age was changed. Sisters could now serve at 19. I felt the spirit so strongly, more than I ever have, tell me that is what I needed to do. I felt urgent about it. So I had my mission papers a few days later, and departed to serve here in the Arizona Mesa Mission February 27th, 2013. (It's almost been a year. Where has the time gone?!)

Now, was a mission in my plans? Yes. But not until I was 21 years old. Nothing has ever felt so right though. This has been the best decision I have ever made. It may not have been my plan, but it was God's plan for me.

God has plans for us that may not be what we planned, but they may be what we need. He has a way of redirecting us to the way He wants us to be. This is if we let Him into our lives. I am grateful I let Him have control of our plans. It's quite wonderful the situations we can get ourselves into if we do. We will learn more, grow more, and yes, progress more. When we let God control our life, our progress will become more.

This is what I have learned here in Globe, especially. I think I've always known it, but really came to a strong knowledge of it here. I'm sad to say goodbye to this area, but am very grateful for the lessons I've learned. I love this gospel. I am excited to learn more and grow more in my next area with my new companion.

With the New Year coming, make a resolution to invite God into you life more, to let Him be a major part of your planning. Most of all, trust that when something you plan doesn't work out, you are being put in a position for something amazing.

I love you all! Next time I write it will be in Mesa!

Love,                              

Sister Mackenzie Esmond

A Spoonful of Sugar

I want you to ask yourself: when was the last time I laughed? And I mean, really, really belly laughed. Like cry you are laughing so hard! I know this is something I love to do. Laughter really is the best medicine for sadness, depression, a broken heart. So laugh!

Having a sense of humor makes life so much better. Something that I've noticed is how often my family laughs. I got the awesome opportunity of Skyping my family on Christmas and most of our conversation was laughter. I grew up in a family that loves to laugh. Coming on my mission, I have learned that I love this so much and it is something I want to have in my future family. I want to laugh. I love to laugh!

So, I'm going to admit, I just began to sing the song "I love to laugh, loud and long and clear! I love to laugh! It's getting worse every year! The more I laugh, the more I'm filled with glee. The more the glee, the more I'm a merrier me." (Yes... I'm a musical geek and know that song by heart.I just love Mary Poppins.) The point I'm trying to make is laughter truly is the best medicine. Mary Poppins says "A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down." The truth in this statement is awesome. When we are looking for positives in a world of negative, looking for laughter every day, life is better. When we seek out the good in others and learn not to take ourselves too seriously, we are happier.

Enjoy life. Enjoy every moment. I'm grateful for everything, the good, the bad and the ugly. I'm grateful for hours spent quoting Disney movies, ridiculous play rehearsals, inside jokes. I'm grateful for being a klutz sometimes and making a fool of myself. This world teaches us that we have to be perfect, but joy is found as we embrace imperfection and seek for progress.

Life is so much more than the serious moments. We need to seek out happiness. Be grateful for what we have. Be grateful we can laugh. Remember to laugh everyday, live every moment, and love everyone.

I love you all!

Love,
Sister Mackenzie Esmond

A Work in Progress

I have loved the last few months being able to keep this blog. It is a blessing to use my love of writing and words to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ and give insights to how it applies to everyday life. This blog has been a work in progress, much like we all are. I have slowly been changing and adapting it and finally came up with a better blog title than my name.

Why did I change the title to "A Work In Progress"? These are my reasons for doing so.

1. This is where we all are. This is who I am and who i will be my whole life. If we aren't working and progressing, than what are we doing with our lives? Absolutely nothing. Everyday is a chance to better ourselves and to learn, grow, repent, and to just keep swimming.

2. Life in general can be summed up in this. Life is something that is ever changing and evolving. It doesn't stay the same and the status quo changes daily. This is why I don't like ever being okay with the status quo. It's not something that we should ever be okay with. We can always change and grow and learn and progress more.

3. Let's be honest. I know that I am evolving as a blogger, a person, a missionary, a daughter, a woman. It goes back to reason number one. All of us should have a sign that says "Work in Progress" above our heads.

Now, my goal is to help others on their journeys and share the things I have learned in my short twenty years of life, especially over the last ten months (Oh my goodness... 10 months tomorrow) and the things I learn in the next 8 months and for the rest of my time on my mission.

What inspired this change? This morning in district meeting, we watched a Mormon Message. It was entitled "My New Life". (To watch, and I highly recommend it, click here). It's about a woman who was in a plane crash that should have killed her and her life since then. As we watched her talk about her blog and her life, I began to think how to better use this one to plant the seeds of the gospel in the hearts of other.

Here is my challenge: Let's flood the internet with virtue. All of us. Let's show the world the internet can be used for good. Share uplifting messages, gospel insights, gratitude, happy messages. That's what the purpose behind missionaries being online is. To spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.

You have New Year's Resolutions to make now. Make this one of yours. Let's be as Nephi with his faith and have the courage of Esther to stand up for what we believe and we know to be true.

I know the gospel is true. I know that Christ is my Savior. I know that the Bible and the Book of Mormon are the word of God. I'm grateful for modern day prophets that lead and guide us in this chaotic time. I am grateful for my eternal family and the chance I have to have an eternal family of my own in the future.

I love you all.

Love,
Sister Mackenzie Esmond

Every Little Thing

Sometimes life just stinks. Life will never be perfect because we WILL NEVER BE PERFECT. Not in this life. It's just not possible. We all mess up. We all make mistakes. In this sense, we are all sinners. We are all falling off the path our Father in Heaven has laid out for us.

 This is what I want to talk about today. The problems with Perfectionism, Confidence and the true meaning of repentance.

Perfectionism is something aspired for that quite frankly is not achievable in this life. Only one man ever has, and that is our Savior, Jesus Christ. Stop trying to be perfect. Admit your downfalls, but don't become controlled by your weaknesses. If you are, then Satan is controlling you. True Confidence is true humility. Humility does not mean that you are constantly down on yourself.

YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD!!! Know who you are. Remember this identity. We all have been given weaknesses, it's a fact of life. But what do we do to overcome them? WE GET OFF OUR BUTTS AND WORK ON THEM! We get on our knees and confess our weakness. Before you confess your weaknesses, thank your Father in Heaven for your talents and gifts. Maybe you can sing or draw or write. Maybe you are an incredibly gifted athlete. Maybe you have a gift for making people feel comfortable. What can you do well? Figure those out first. THEN move forward to your weaknesses. Then figure out who you want to become. Take it to the Lord and realize He knows who you have the potential to become.

He knows your PERFECTLY. You may not be perfect, but He knows you and loves you perfectly, warts and all. We are all like the frog in Princess and the Frog. We are all in a sense green, covered in warts and just gross. But our Father in Heaven knows that we can be a Handsome Prince or a Beautiful Princess. He knew we would need someone to show their love for us to be able to truly see what we are worth to Him.

Because of all this, He sent His son, Jesus Christ to the earth to die for us. Something I didn't understand until I was 15, though, is that Christ didn't just suffer for our sins, but for our pains, heartache, sicknesses, everything. In the Book of Mormon, in the Book of Alma Chapter 7 verses 11-12, it says,

 11  And he shall go forth suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and sicknesses of his people.

12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people;

and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy according to the flesh, that he may now according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.

What this is saying is that Christ went through EVERY LITTLE THING we go through in this life. He knows exactly how you feel 24 hours a day 7 days a week 365 days a year. Every moment, He has been there. This means He knows that we are going to mess up. The sacrifice He made makes it possible to repent. 

Repentance is more than just saying sorry and doing it over again. It is a change of heart, a change in yourself to become more like our Savior. It is recognizing we are doing something wrong, forsaking it (giving it up), we confess it, we do all we can to repair and we recognize our Savior in it all. This isn't an every once and awhile process, but every day. 

He can change us and make us better. We have to want to and we must work for it. He did so much for us. How we expect just to say "I accept Christ!" and keep breaking the commandments and be okay. We flat out cannot. We must repent and strive to be like Him. We must follow the commandments. His grace is sufficient, but His mercy is only given to those that ask. 

Okay, back to the beginning. This all seems like a lot. But as we are striving to keep the commandment, He will bless us. Repentance is something we will desire us to do. Our faith in Him leads us to act and repent. 

He has taken on EVERY LITTLE THING! Don't let the atonement go to waste. The best way to show Christ you love Him is to use the Atonement. We are all frogs right now, but because Jesus Christ lives, we can be those Beautiful Princesses and Princes. He is the truest love to ever walk the Earth. Our Father in Heaven loves you. Christ loves you. Never forget it. Your confidence will shine through as you remember this. Your desire to be perfect will become a desire to be like Our Savior. Most of all, you will desire to seek forgiveness of your sins and change to be better. We can all be better than we are. But, we need to start from where we are now. Don't forget that.

I love you all!

Love,

Sister Mackenzie Esmond

Learning Our Role and Making Our Cues

I would like to talk about one of the greatest loves of my life: Theater. 

Production of Once Upon A Mattress
Newberg High School 2011

In theater, you are given a script to learn. Within the studying of said script, you memorize lines, learn stage directions, and figure out your cues. Lines are memorized word for word, stage directions are somewhat of guidelines, but cues are set in stone. Cues are the moments when your character enters or exits the stage. They are absolutely key to the moving forward of the play. 

The Stage of your Life. Make into what You want

In this way, life is like a theatrical production. There are certain cues that make our lives move forward. I want you to picture yourself standing in the middle of a stage. Just you. It's dark, and you have spotlight hitting you. That's it. Just as you are. As the lights go up, you see people all around entering and exiting according to their cues. But there are some that stay onstage with you. These are your friends, family, and anyone who wants a role in your show. Their timing of when they enter and exit and stay and the stage directions they follow helps develop the production of your life. Some people are there to help support you, others are there and determined to bring you down. You have the good guys and bad guys. You have the side kicks, the romantic interests (and no one tell me you don't because you know it's true). You have been all these roles as the production of your life has intertwined with others. Yes, you. You have changed the life stories of other people

My MTC District with our awesome teacher Brother Martin

Okay, now, what is the point I am trying to make? YOU HAVE THE POWER TO CHANGE LIVES WITH YOUR TIMING! We all have had instances where we are in the right place at the right time to meet the right person. That's how I feel about coming on my mission. I feel like it happened in the time that it needed to and I think about all the people I've met since the day I entered the Missionary Training Center (MTC). Even in the short twelve days I was there, I developed some of the best friendships I ever have in my life and I still have them. I entered the MTC at the right time with the right people. This is all because it wasn't in my time, but in my Father in Heaven's time. I have such a testimony of this. My mission has taught me this.I know that these amazing people I met have changed my life and taught me so many lessons and helped me to understand myself and the gospel more. I am so grateful for their influence and the things I have learned. I also know that the wonderful people I have served and served with here in the Arizona Mesa Mission have taught me so much and for that I am grateful as well.

Our Father in Heaven in the director of our play. He is the producer, the playwright. He creates our script with every movement we make, with the lines we say and the moves we make on the stage. He tells people when to enter and helps the ones that are meant to exit to exit. This is the truth of the matter. We need to live and walk in this life by faith, knowing that our Heavenly Father knows what needs to happen next to help us to return to live with Him. 

Now, where is our power in the productions of other shows? We all have felt the need to go and see someone. To smile at someone or to just say hi. We have made new friends and helped them. The main point I want to make is that you can choose how your life story will develop and help others to reach their goals. You can make a difference. This time of year it is especially easy to. Just take someone cookies! Go Christmas Caroling! Do something to help others be happy!!

Here's the deal: If you are miserable, fix it. Figure out how to be happy again. Usually, that involves being more outward than inward.

Okay, I am getting off my soapbox now. Well, I hope I could have enlightened you on how important YOU are. You are a child of God. You are the star of your own show. You are a supporting role in the shows of others. You make a difference everyday. Love being you.

I love you all!
Love,

Sister Mackenzie Esmond

That's What Makes You Beautiful

Many women, and men, desire to know how to be beautiful. What does it take? Is it make up or hair product? Does it come from a can of hairspray and a straightener? What makes you beautiful? There is many a song that answers this question, but I want to propose an answer to this question. This was said by one of the most beautiful women to ever live, Audrey Hepburn. What was her formula for true beauty?

"For attractive lips, speak words of kindness. 

For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.

For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.

For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone."

Okay, take what she said, and let's apply it piece by peace.


"For attractive lips, speak words of kindness."

The ninth commandment is "Thou shalt not bear false witness." The second greatest commandment is to "love thy neighbor as thyself." These two commandments go hand in hand. As we speak kindly and with love about those around us, it makes people want to be around us. It makes us trustworthy. It makes us someone that people desire to be around because we are uplifting. Kindness emanates a beauty because it emanates love. Love is beautiful. When we speak words of kindness, others feel loved.

"For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people."

This goes along with the last one, when we seek out the good in others, we desire to speak kindly of them. When for more positives than negatives about another human being, we can see that they are children of God, our brothers and sisters, and we are here to help each other through this journey we call life.

"For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry."

I like this part of the quote because it just reminds me of doing service.As we serve those around us, we are always on the god in the service of the Lord. In Mosiah 2:17 (The Book of Mormon), it says: "And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God." As we do serve and help feed those around us, both temporally and spiritually, we are being instruments in the hands of God.

"For poise, walk with the knowledge you never walk alone." 

Stand up straight. Head held high, because you are NEVER alone. You always have your Savior to carry you through it all. Good and bad. Just learn to rely on Him. Turn to Him. Walk with Him. When we walk with Christ, we will never be alone. HE is there to comfort you when you are down. Christ knows you, lean on Him and you will walk with the confidence you need.

And that, my friends, is what makes you beautiful. No make up, no hair product, no certain clothing line. But being an example of our Savior.

I love you all! Be your beautiful selves!

Love,

Sister Mackenzie Esmond