For every resolution, He is the solution.

Today, we feel the biting cold and the warming sun simultaneously – reflecting the opposition present upon entering this New Year,

I’m carrying both hope and heartache ….

feeling simultaneously happy and heavy …

And though a fresh year comes with a clean slate and bright optimism, I also anticipate a good deal of mess and stress ahead.
There will be ups and downs … resolve and problems to be solved.

Yet I am continuously reminded that for every resolution, He is the solution.

He has experienced all of our feelings and troubles. He can relate perfectly; and He offers perfect peace as well as a perfect example. He overcame all the sadness, stress and sins in order to offer us eternal refuge, love and happiness.

Yes, there is a biting cold and a warming sun simultaneously – and because of the Eternal Son, both hold potential and glory. As our family has faced health challenges, we have found profound Truth and understanding in this quote:

“One’s life … cannot be both faith-filled and stress-free … Therefore, how can you and I really expect to glide naively through life, as if to say, ‘Lord, give me experience, but not grief, not sorrow, not pain, not opposition, not betrayal, and certainly not to be forsaken. Keep from me, Lord, all those experiences which made Thee what Thou art! Then let me come and dwell with Thee and fully share Thy joy!’”  – Elder Neal A. Maxwell, Ensign, May 1991 p. 88, 90.

Our developmental process on earth is meant to be one of joy … it is also meant to be one of trials and training. We can have both simultaneously.

It is sunny and cold over here … and we’re thankful for it … because we’re thankful for Him.

That’s why we’re bundling up, cuddling up, and aiming Up!

May your hearts be warm on the inside, even when the air is cold on the outside.

Happy New Year!