Thankful Thoughts...

What moved me this week?

For the last few years I've been on a quest to develop more inner peace. I think that's something we all crave, but often, especially when we are facing real-life challenges, it's not easily found. I've had enough experiences in my life to know that true inner peace can only be found through Jesus Christ and his teachings, but for me, knowing that and applying His principles -- especially when life gets painful -- can be two separate things. This week I had a break-through in this quest when I realized that inner peace and faith are inseparably connected. As I read specific scriptures about faith, I realized that God has given us the capacity to exercise faith, and by doing so we can replace our fears and concerns with inner calm, comfort and hope born of the Spirit. When we have faith that the Savior is all-powerful and that He knows and loves us and is aware of our thoughts, concerns, failures and pain, we can be assured that He will provide help and support when we need it most, no matter how challenging the circumstance. By exercising more faith in Jesus Christ and inviting Him to shoulder our burdens and heal our hearts, He helps create for us a new path to inner peace. Now that I've discovered how to develop more inner peace, my next journey is to grow my faith and trust in the Lord. I'm confident that inner peace will be a natural consequence of that quest.