AS HAPPY AS I CHOSE TO BE

A beautiful letter from MaRee, who finds happiness despite some serious trials...a lesson in perspective for all of us.

I am from...a little wisp of a town in the southern part of Utah. I guess the way I am making room for the Savior in my life is simply being happy and trying to pass it on. The last four years have been a bit of a trial for me. In 2005 I lost my dad to kidney disease. In 2006 my mom was diagnosed with vascular dementia and suffers with TIA's (mini strokes). I'm the only daughter and the only one living here in town out of my family, so I am responsible for taking care of her immediate needs. In 2007 I was in an auto accident that totaled my car, compound fractured my ankle, and while I was down, I lost the job I had had for eight years. In 2008 I was diagnosed with cancer.


I found that I could be as happy or as miserable as I CHOSE to be. The one constant in my life has been my belief that the Lord loves me and that he indeed carries me through the rough spots. Why complain? It doesn't make things better or go away. Why cry? It just makes your eyes red and your make- up run. Why become bitter? Nobody wants to be around you when you act like that and you NEED people around you during times like these.

How do I make room for the Savior......I simply open the door, push everything to the side (and believe me things can get pretty deep at times), and invite him to sit down with me for a while. After a good heart to heart with him, I go out and look for those who might be having a bit of a struggle themselves. It makes me forget my troubles and I realize that there are definitely other people who have struggles and when it comes right down to it....I'll keep mine when I look at theirs.