it's been forever since i've posted.
planning a wedding is insane.
everyone says that to you...
but nothing prepares you for the reality of it.
i am about to rant. just a warning. quit reading now if you're not ready.
the other day at work "B", a co-worker of mine asked me if i really believe that people can change.
granted she was talking about addictions to pornography (yes, i agree with her that it will always be a struggle for those that are addicted, but that applies TO ANY ADDICTION) saying that she didn't think it was something that could ever be changed. she said, "tiffany, people don't change. you can't change them and they can't change just because they want to."
here's where i completely disagree:
if people couldn't change, i would still be in a very dark place in my life. i never had an addiction but i did have some serious problems. i was once very numb and hurt. i wanted to change but had a feeling i was already headed down a dark path and that's who i had become. i wasn't sure if i could be labelled anything but "bad" for the rest of my life.
someone amazing had come into my life just in time... telling me that just because my past wasn't the best didn't mean i WAS my past. people CAN change if their hearts really desire it.
he gave me a parable: you're traveling down the road of life... you stop at texas... you visit all the sites, you stay there for a month or so, you decide that texas isn't all that great and you head back home.
just because you were in texas does NOT make you a texan. you are still a utahan (in my case) who had the experience of texas.
never regret your texas experience...
regret does nothing for the learning process. take that experience as it comes and decide what you want to do with it.
am i a texan or am i a utahan?
i had a texan experience and just decided it wasn't what i wanted out of life. i learned so much from my "texas trip" but i am not a texan and i will never be a texan. texas is not where i want to be. but texas was a learning experience. i now know that i never want to be a texan.
change is possible. B is not religious in any way... and that's okay. but i cannot tell you how hopeless i would feel if i didn't have the knowledge of the atonement. in fact, we are here just so we can learn to use the atonement: to change, to progress, and to become someone we can be proud of.
like i said... it was a rant. but i feel like it really needed to be said.
P.S. i've really never been to texas and this wasn't a story about my texas trip. i'm sure the real texas is great! i actually DO want to go to texas one day.... i was just using it as an example. :)
