"Nothing is as Constant as Change."

I had it all figured out, down to the very last year of my life.

It was simple, really, and I was quite proud of it. I was going to go to college for two years; intern at a hospital in a third world country; come back and study for another year; go on a mission; fall in love with a Gilbert Blithe; get married (not like I would be able to choose when I get married anyway, but I planned it, nonetheless); finish college; find a job; have six children; name one of them Léna (a very French name); and become a chubby grandma who makes cookies all day long. 

And I was happy with that. No one knew that that's what I amounted to be - a grandma who cooks cookies all day long, but everyone has their secret ambitions in life :) 

Despite this wonderful plan of mine, I was pretty sure that it would change. I knew Heavenly Father probably had something else in store for me. Something better.

But for right then, it was a plan, and I was going to follow it.

So I did.

Well, I got as far as the first step. Here I am at college in my first semester.

And yet, here I am, ready to change my plans.

In fact, they've already changed. One of the most exciting moments of my life happened in the past week :) And it's probably  the biggest change of my life. You see, it's like this:

Dear Sister Murdoch,

You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. You have been assigned to labor in the Canada, Montréal Mission.

!!!!!

Yes, I am ready to serve the Lord. Someone in Montréal is waiting to hear of hope. of happiness. of a Saviour who makes it possible for them to repent.

As I was reading my mission packet that tells all about the rules and standards for missionaries, as well as what to bring and what not to bring, I was overwhelmed with a feeling that's kind of hard to describe.

I have to give up everything.

Music. Jeans. Internet. Time. Money. Family. Friends. Cell Phone.
Everything.

Am I bitter? Not in the slightest.

I am ready.

I've come to the conclusion that if there is anything I'm not willing to give up for the Lord, then I must not love Him enough.

But I do. I love the Lord so much. I will willingly give up everything I have, including my time and my money, to serve Him. Thing is, how can I even begin to repay Him for what He has given me?

It's not just called sacrifice - it's a labor of love. Love of God more than love for what I want in life. And I know that if I put Him first, everything will fall into place.

A leap of faith? Yes.
But thankfully not in the dark. Heavenly Father has said: "Consider the lilies of the field how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin; And yet, I say unto you, that even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, even so will he clothe you, if ye are not of little faith.Therefore, take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, what shall we drink? or wherewithal shall we be clothed?
"For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you."

I woulndn't replace that moment when I read my name, "Dear Sister Murdoch," with any other moment in the whole world. I wouldn't replace the feeling when I looked around at my family and friends singing, "We'll Bring the World His Truth," with any feeling in the whole world.

And I wouldn't give up this opportunity for all the scholarships or job oppenings allotted to me.

I am ready to serve the Lord and the people in Montreal.

This is one change that will change the me for the rest of my life.