Why it's NOT the end of the World and Also my Wedding Dress

On my last day working with on campus food service before everything started shutting down, I greeted everyone with a smile and jokingly asked them how the end of the world was treating them. (It took all of my self-control to not be like, "Good morning, welcome to the end of the world, how may I help you? Would you like a breakfast panini?") Since at the time I was working in the engineering building, most of the students responded to me with, "It's going good. Still got to finish my group project". I guess even a worldwide pandemic does not stop engineers from getting their homework done!

In all seriousness, though, it's been a crazy couple weeks for pretty much everyone. This week, I've been receiving emails basically every couple hours that have drastically changed what my life will look like for the next couple weeks. I've been slightly obsessively checking my email for class and school updates, work updates, and church updates. It's been a real adventure.

Despite all the craziness, though, lots of good stuff has been happening. I love this video by President Nelson that really explains to us why we can still have hope:

What I love most about this video is President Nelson saying "We're living in a remarkable age where we constantly see the hand of the Lord in the lives of His children." What a beautiful statement! When times get rough, it's hard to see the good in anything. Irrational fear encroaches on every other feeling. It can be really, really hard. But God has been blessing us individually, as a Church, and as a world in so many ways.

I've got to share one super cool way I've seen God's hand in my life. Friday was a designated girl's night. My roommate Paige and I were basically like, alright, we're bored and done being cooped up in the house. Let's go to DI (our favorite local thrift shop). I decided to try on wedding dresses just for fun. I didn't actually plan on getting one, but thought it would be a super fun, stress-releasing experience.

Pro tip: for anyone getting married, GO DRESS SHOPPING AT DI FIRST!! There were so many pretty dresses there and like three dresses I could have potentially bought for my wedding. The first one I tried on was super cute, the second one too, but the third one was what really took my breath away. I literally cried when I put it on, it was so pretty. I felt like a princess. I bought it right then and there. It was so cute because all the ladies who were working at DI got in on the action. They were making comments on the different wedding dresses and giving tips as to how I could alter them. One lady came up to us and asked if the dress was for a temple wedding. When I said yes, she gave me a Lifesaver. I seriously love DI!


Photo by Cherisse Kenion on Unsplash 

Anyways, me and Paige finished off our girl's night listening to Ben Rector and Ed Sheeran songs and watching part of the first episode of Disney Fair Tale Wedding. About as perfect of a girl's night as it can get.

So yeah, maybe it feels like the world's ending. I'm unemployed. Wedding plans are a mess. The economy's a mess. Our honeymoon plans are a mess. My room is a mess (although that's not a novel thing, it's always a mess). Through it all, though, I can have hope. I can be grateful for beautiful tender mercies like finding my dream wedding dress at a thrift shop or having super cute Ben Rector music to listen to. And I can thank God for my wonderful family, wonderful friends, and the wonderful man with whom I will someday soon share eternity with.

The future is going to be ridiculously amazing!