Control your thoughts because they become the words you use. Control your words because they become the actions you perform.

This quote from Robert E. Wells has a second part. Here is the full quote:


"Control your thoughts because they become the words you use.
Control your words because they become the actions you perform.
Control your actions because they become the character you reflect.
Control your character because your character becomes your destiny.
Control your destiny by becoming what your Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ want you to be." -Robert E. Wells

Having been dealing with a lot of stress, concern, confusion and over-all uncertainty in the last week, I've become increasingly aware of what I want in life. More than ever before, I'm thinking more about long term effects of the choices I make. How each step I take and each word I say could, in theory, effect something much larger down the road. I don't understand why we have to pass through moments like we do when we have an all-knowing, all caring God that watches out for us and knows exactly what will happen in the end, but I do know that it helps us grow.

I overheard a conversation yesterday wherein a couple of beautiful women were talking indirectly about some problems and how their mothers had told them that God knows how much you can handle and won't give you more than that. Their reponse was, if He already knows what I can handle, He doesn't need to give me all of these trials. It's enough that I'm able to handle it without actually going through it.

This initially had me thinking how proud and faithless these women were, but after contemplating their response carefully, I realized that in the moment of pain, do we ever think clearly? Are we ever happily skipping along thinking how fantastic trials are? No, we aren't. We are clinging on the the very hope that someday it will all be over. We feel low, desperate and wondering if He even cares.

My mom, whom I love very much and have been immensly blessed to have a very close relationstip with, sent me a story yesterday. This story I had read many times, but today it just seemed to fit a little better with my needs and current situtation. The story is called "The Refiner's Fire: A Lesson on Life's Trials." Here is the link to where you can read it. http://lds.about.com/library/weekly/aa100702a.htm

Essentially, some women were doing a bible study and wanted to know more about how the process of refining silver (Malachi3:3). One women went to speak to a refiner of silver and found out these important aspects of the job:

1. The fire must be EXTREMELY hot.


2. The refiner cannont take his eyes off the silver for even a moment or it will burn and be ruined


3. The process is complete when the refiner can see his image in the silver.

I am the silver and Heavenly Father is the refiner. He puts me in the hottest circumstances, never takes His eyes off me for a second and makes me into something so pure and so precious, He can actually see His perfect reflection in me.

"Control your thoughts because they become the words you use.

Control your words because they become the actions you perform.

Control your actions because they become the character you reflect.

Control your character because your character becomes your destiny.

Control your destiny by becoming who your Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ want you to be"

-Robert E. Wells.