"Don’t limit yourself and don’t let others convince you that you are limited in what you can do. Believe in yourself and then live so as to reach your possibilities."

-Thomas S. Monson

I find it interesting that it can be so difficult to maintain a positive attitude. It is easy to choose to be positive, to be excited, to get pumped up and energized about something, but when life becomes challenging or goals seem unreachable, it takes real, determined effort to stick with it, to stay optimistic. I remember how difficult it was for me to make a serious life-style change in order to put me on the path to physical healing. There were so many challenges, not the least of which was money. My husband and I were living in a small apartment in San Francisco on a students budget. We had two small children and I was too sick to contribute to the family finances. We lived on student loans and the generosity of our parents, but still every month was a struggle to pay all the bills and have a little money left over for food.  I read a book, Original Fast Foods, and knew that this was the change that I needed to make. I felt overwhelmed. How could I possibly do this? I don't have the money. I don't have the energy. I don't have the know how. So, I knelt and prayed to Heavenly Father. I told him that I wanted to follow this plan, but that I didn't know how I could possibly do it. When I finished my prayer, I felt impressed to open my scriptures. I did so, and read one single line. It stood out
like it had been written in 20 pt. bold face font. The words read "All these things can ye do, if ye will." Something changed in me. At that moment, I knew that God was aware of me and that he would make it possible for me to accomplish the things that He wanted me to accomplish. I determined right then that I would do whatever it took to succeed in my goal to become healthy. I knew that God would be with me, helping along the path. I was also fortunate that my husband was with me, helping and supporting me. I went grocery shopping and bought more produce than I had ever purchased in my life. I came home and threw away or gave away all of the food that I would no longer be eating as prescribed by this new lifestyle (we had just gone to Costco the week before, so it was a lot of food and a lot of money) and I learned to cook (or not cook) in a different way. It was hard. It was tiring. It was expensive at first, but then we found a little produce market where we could buy inexpensive, quality produce, and that made money much easier to manage. I didn't have any of the proper tools, but we made do for a little while. We had only been at it for a few weeks when Thanksgiving came around. We spent it with the family, but I stuck with my diet. Then Christmas came and I stuck with it, still. For Christmas my mother-n-law surprised me with a Vitamix. She said that she saw a demo and got a distinct impression that she should buy one for me. I felt very blessed and grateful that she was so generous and that the Lord was mindful of me. I felt that He had made things easier for me because I had shown Him that I was determined to do what I knew was right, according to the things that He had shown me. As I continued to learn about health and healing, an automatic sprouter entered our kitchen, as well as a Norwalk Juicer. I still look back and think that it was like the the miracle of the bread and fishes that fed the five thousand. I don't know how we ever managed, but we did. After that there was more to learn and to do. A lot more, but I never would have gotten anywhere if I hadn't taken the initial plunge, putting all my trust in God, and then kept swimming until He reached out His hand to help me out. Looking back, I feel so grateful for where I have been, what I have learned and how far I have come. There was a time when I prayed that God would heal me and let it be done. The answer that I received was this: "I can heal you, and I will if you want, but you will regret the blessings lost." He was right. The journey, with all of its difficulties, has made the woman. I am so grateful that I had sense enough to choose the harder way. The blessings far outweigh the difficulties and the suffering. I am so grateful to a loving Father in Heaven who has sense enough to let us struggle to obtain, and compassion enough to smooth the way when it becomes too difficult. I know that He will help those who ask for his help, and then put all their heart and effort into obtaining their worthy goals.

I write a personal blog title Overcoming Illness. This and other posts on the topic can be found there.