"I wish I could just finish high school."
"If I could just be married I would be more happy."
"If can just go on my mission I'll be happy."
"I just want a boy friend, then I'd be happy."
"Can I just graduate college already!?"
"Once I have a baby, things will be better."
"When I move to that state my life will be happier."
We have all been guilty of these "If I could just....I would be happy" statements. It is natural for us humans to feel like the grass is always greener on the other side. We feel like life will improve based on our next big life transition. But we discover that the next step contains joys as well as it's own struggles. If we can't find happiness in the phase of life we are in NOW, we will never feel content!
I am now done with my bachelors degree at BYU-Idaho. That phase of life is DONE for me. I now have a diploma, more knowledge about the world, a stronger testimony, and many joyous memories. I am still single and enjoying this time I am in because it is fleeting. Looking back on my college years I have no regrets. I can honestly say I made the best of every moment I had.
Many people during my years in Rexburg Idaho would complain about how they couldn't wait to get out of "ice burg", hated on the cold, and just dragged themselves through college always looking forward to the day they were done. Once they graduate and cross to the "greener" side, they see that they have to find a job, support themselves and that graduated life is much harder than college at times.
There will always be haters that are never content with the time they have as a single YSA, a newly wed, a parent of a new baby, a parent of teens, an empty-nester, a grandparent...
You look at your friends around you moving on to other phases of life, appearing happy and begin to compare your life to theirs. We need to make the logical decision that we will find happiness in the now and stop yearning for the next phase of life that will come in it's own timing. Through faith that things will occur at the right time, we can build trust that God knows what is best for us.
No matter what, we can always find hardship and joy based on where we are at in life. I remember our Prophet Russell M Nelson who stated that "comparison is the thief of joy" and that "The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives." If we can focus on the daily tender mercies and blessings happening now, we can stop looking towards the future for happiness but rather find joy in the present.
Challenge: This week any time you are tempted to complain about where you are at in life, consider why the phase of life you are in makes you happy!
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