life

Lessons God Has Taught Me

/ Christine Maynor / Leave a comment

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Backstory:
Sometimes when I am in the midst of a dark time or a particularly difficult trial, it may feel like I can’t get through it. But then in better times, I can see more clearly and I see that I will get through those tough times. I have learned many lessons in my life through my trials. 

Lessons God Has Taught Me

I have many trials and learning experiences day by day,
I struggle with my health more than I can say.
Some days the most I can do is just to pray,
Then I know that even though I struggle, maybe I won’t stray.

I struggle because I am human and I have insecurities,
I try not to complain because I know I have a lot of life’s necessities.
Even though my life is simple it still has its’ complexities,
And even though each one of us is different we all have our similarities.

A friend recently asked me what I have learned lately.
I have learned that I can do many things greatly,
I am stronger than I think I am daily,
Even though I might think I am weak, I can make it through life safely.

I have learned that there is always hope even when I might not feel it,
Even when I am weak I will never quit.
And some days I feel like emotionally I am constantly hit,
Sometimes I feel like all I can do is survive a little bit.

Even when I feel as though I can’t keep going,
My trials and experiences constantly keep me growing.
And even though my weaknesses might be showing,
There is always a God to help me who is all-knowing.

The Takeaway: We go through trials and difficult times in our lives to help us learn lessons. They teach us how strong we are even though they might make us feel weak. Why we have to go through these times is part of our mortal journey. We have a loving Heavenly Father who will always help us through these experiences.

My Legacy in Christ

/ Christine Maynor / Leave a comment

Thank you for subscribing-may these words bring a quiet moment of peace and reflection to your day.

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Backstory:
For years now since 2020 my family has had an online chat most weeks on Sundays. One of my family members tells us a challenge they want us to work on. It can be anything. We have had some good challenges. My Mom told us for her challenge once that she wanted us to start writing our personal autobiography. Her granddaughter had to do that for a school assignment so she thought it would be great for everyone to work on our own. So this made me think, “What would I want to be remembered for by future generations? Who would I want to be remembered for being?” I want to explore this more but I have a few ideas. We all just have this one life to live. Not very many people will know us so we need to make our mark on those we love and know in this life. So, what do I want my mark to be?

My Legacy in Christ

How do I want to be remembered when I am gone from this life?
Will the people I loved when I am gone remember a person who was in constant strife?
Will I be remembered as being a good and loving wife?
Because of my influence on my loved ones, will my death cut their heart like a knife?

We are only given this one life and we need to make the best of it,
So when I am gone, one thing I want to be remembered for is that I tried my best not to quit.
Also, that I had a lot of grit,
And hopefully that when I could do something to make a difference, I didn’t just sit.

I have been blessed with many wonderful people in my life who have made a difference on me,
Especially my loved ones who have passed on, their influence on me I can truly see.
I think we need to realize while we are here together how important we are to each other and this is definitely a key,
For we never know when our last day on this earth will be.

I want to be remembered as a Christ-like woman who wanted to make a worthy difference on people,
That I never looked down on anyone and that I treated everyone as my equal.
I hope that because of my influence the lives of those around me were peaceful,
And that being around me made everyone cheerful.

Let’s all ask ourselves, if you were writing your life down for those who will come after you,
What would you want to be remembered for from your unique view?
Would you want to be remembered as not having a clue?
Or as someone who stuck to those around them like glue?

The Takeaway: The experiences we have in life should teach us lessons. Our mark and legacy we leave on this world should be positive. We should be thinking everyday how we can leave this world a more positive place to live and how we want to be remembered.

A Heart Renewed by God

/ Christine Maynor / Leave a comment

Thank you for subscribing-may these words bring a quiet moment of peace and reflection to your day.

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Backstory:
Since being an adult now for many years, I haven’t enjoyed winter because it’s cold and sometimes dreary, especially where I live in Utah. Sometimes winter can seem really long. I remember enjoying winter when I was living near Denver, Colorado when I was younger. My older sisters and I loved snow days because we were out of school and we could put on our snow pants and other winter gear and play in the snow. Sometime between then and now I lost that feeling of joy in the winter. I was talking with my therapist the other day about how much I look forward to spring every year because I don’t like winter. She asked me a very interesting question, “What does spring look like in your heart?” For me, the physical change of seasons between winter and spring is exciting. I love seeing the beautiful flowers blooming, the buds on the trees coming alive and I especially love the warmer, almost perfect weather. I think besides those things, spring brings me hope that winter won’t last forever and warmer weather will happen.

A Heart Renewed by God

I really like the definition of spring I found that says that it is “a time of growth or development”,
And I feel like winter is sometimes in my growth an impediment.
Sometimes in the winter because of the cold weather I get to feeling blue in my temperament,
I just try to be positive and feel like I have something to look forward to instead of letting the cold inside my heart be a detriment.

So for me, spring definitely brings me hope in the physical sense,
But in my heart, spring feels like opening a closed fence.
As I think about this principle, my mind is turned to something a little more intense,
When I think about hope and spring metaphorically, my mind turns to my Savior as my defense.

Not only in the spring should I have a time of growth or development but any time of the year,
I should focus more on my own growth and not be consumed by what the weather is doing in my sphere.
I should be more focused on feeling my Savior’s presence near,
 He is always there and to Him I am always in His heart very dear.

So in the bleak winter months, I need to have more hope in my heart,
For spring always does come and because of my Savior, there is always a chance to restart.
I must do what I can to better myself and I can trust that He has already done His part,
And with Jesus by my side my life can be like a beautiful piece of art.

I have days as I’m sure we all do when my attitude about my life isn’t the best,
I am here on this earth to see if I can pass the test.
If I do my best then after this life I can find an Eternal Rest,
Hopefully I can be with my Heavenly Father and Jesus again and feel truly blessed.

The Takeaway: We can feel down and depressed in the wintertime. We should liken the change of seasons from winter to spring with having hope because of our Savior. We can always feel hope because He is always there for us and that He is the Hope of the World.

A Friend Like Christ

/ Christine Maynor / Leave a comment

Thank you for subscribing-may these words bring a quiet moment of peace and reflection to your day.

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Backstory:
In my growing up years, my family moved around a lot. In the years that I have been married, my husband and I have also moved around quite a bit. I look back on my life, living different places and making friends with different people. I feel like those experiences were hard, especially when I was growing up because I just wanted to fit in somewhere and moving around so much made it hard to feel like I fit in. But I also think that those experiences taught me to seek out good friends. I am an introvert naturally and so just going up to people, sitting down next to them and talking with them was hard for me when I was growing up. But I quickly learned, especially in school, that was the only way I could make friends sometimes so it became a little easier with each move. Now it’s not as hard for me to sit down next to someone I don’t know and strike up a conversation. One of my favorite book series is Anne of Green Gables. I think we can learn a lot about friendship from those books. One of my favorite quotes from those books is, “True friends are always together in spirit.”  I think that is definitely true. I have made many friends in my life who have made an impact on me and been great examples to me. No matter how long it has been since we have seen each other, when we do see each other again, it feels like no time has passed.

A Friend Like Christ

According to google, a friend is “a person whom one knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual affection,
I believe that we are not meant to go through this life alone and we are meant to have some attention.
So looking back on my life I have many people to whom I have a strong connection,
Thinking about this has caused me to have a deep inward reflection.

I have made many friends in my life and those people have made a great impact on who I am today,
They have helped me through my trials and struggles along the way.
There are those people who I know will always be there for me even when we are far away,
Their friendship and love for me is so amazing that it is more than I can say.

Those who have made an impact on my life have also taught me some important lessons,
They have been there for me when I can’t figure things out and have been there to help answer my questions.
I feel like they have been there to help me navigate my journey and I could have used them against an enemy like weapons,
Those people I feel like came straight to me from the heavens.

We can all learn a lot from the example of our Savior but especially about friendship,
He was always kind to everyone no matter their hardship.
He didn’t care where they lived or in what township,
He didn’t care about their background, He would just take them with Him on his trip.

I have made many friends in different places I have lived who remind me of my Savior,
They are great examples to me of what true friends should be and I didn’t even have to do them a favor.
They put up with me even when I have felt like a failure,
I will always be grateful for those people who have helped me change my behavior.

The Takeaway: We have friends and relationships for a reason. We aren’t meant to be alone. True friends can teach us and help us along our journey. If we need an example of a true friend, we just need to look at our Savior's example. He loved everyone no matter what. We should try to be that kind of friend to others.

Scars That Tell His Story

/ Christine Maynor / Leave a comment

Thank you for subscribing-may these words bring a quiet moment of peace and reflection to your day.

Image of my happy dog, Coco taken by me

Backstory:
I have been thinking lately about scars. Since my dog was attacked and hurt a couple weeks ago, I thought about her scars. She is young and healthy so her physical scars have healed nicely from that attack. But I wish I could ask her about her emotional scars from that experience. I wasn’t hurt physically from that experience like she was, but I have had my emotional scars I have had to get past. I am doing much better emotionally from it than I was a couple weeks ago or even a week ago. I also have physical scars from different experiences in my life as well as many emotional scars. I’m sure we all have many emotional scars because we all have trials we have to get through in this life. Sometimes emotional scars never fully heal and will always be with us. But with the help of our Savior, Jesus Christ we can heal from all of our scars. Some scars might not fully heal until after this life. But we can know that because of Him, they will eventually heal.

Scars That Tell His Story

We all have trials and struggles that we have to go through in this life,
We have a choice how we let those things impact us and how we want to live our life.
We can let them totally depress us and be constantly in emotional strife,
Yes, many trials are so hard that it feels like our heart is being cut in two with a knife.

As we go through these tough times, sometimes they leave us with an emotional scar or two,
We have to decide how we navigate those scars with our limited mortal view.
Physical scars fade over time but emotional scars seem more long lasting and they are harder to get through,
One thing I know for sure is that we are not meant to be alone and this is definitely true.

There is one named Jesus who has felt everything we have and who can help us heal,
He suffered and died for us so that He can know how we feel.
He has his own scars as a reminder to us that He is the real deal,
And to feel His loving arms around us all we need to do is kneel.

I have wondered for a while, “ why after Jesus was resurrected, did He still have physical scars on Him?”
I think so that we would know and remember what He did for us and so our lives wouldn’t seem so grim.
When we feel like our emotional scars are too much to bear and our light seems dim,
His scars are marks of His love for us and that there is always hope in Him.

Our emotional scars can also teach us lessons,
They can help us be more empathetic for others and help them answer their questions.
Our scars probably won’t feel comfortable at times and they might increase our tensions,
But overcoming those things can help us be strong so we can have on our spiritual weapons.

The Takeaway: We all have trials in this life. With Jesus we can heal from our emotional scars. He suffered for us, so that He would know how to help us heal. We need only call upon Him to feel better. With Jesus by our side, we can recover from any scars.