That was yesterday afternoon.

Below is how how I felt not even 24 hours before.

This is reality for a lot of us. Feeling incredibly “blessed” like my shirt says one moment and discouraged and depleted the next, sometimes for days at a time. This is what it’s like when there are heavy, ongoing challenges in life but also overwhelming goodness around us and on the horizon.

I just want to say if you find yourself riding an emotional roller coaster at times, you aren’t alone. You are real! You are human! And you are wonderful! Life has ups and downs and so you feel that.♥️ Just don’t stay down forever. Look up. Lift yourself up. Lift others with your love, experience, and courage.

I told my kids yesterday that the reason I write and that my website is called Rise Up and Smile ☺️ is because EVERYDAY things will bring us down. But we CAN rise. We CAN try again. We CAN pray. We can reach out to heaven above and heaven on Earth, our friends, family, and other sources of joy, peace, and refuge. And when we’re ready, we can share our light and brighten up some of this world’s darkness. As Elder Holland says, “Bad days come to an end.” So, “Don’t you quit. Heaven is cheering you on today, tomorrow, and forever.” And so am I.