Day 7: Picture of someone/something who has had the biggest impact on you.

Well, I have three individuals who have all had a huge impact on me. The first one is the most important.

Where do you start when talking about the most important person who has ever walked the earth? I know that without the Gospel of Jesus Christ in my life and the testimony that I have of his life and ministry I would be a lost soul living my life here on this earth. I wouldn't have a true purpose or any knowledge of who I was, where I came from or where I am going after I die.

Twice in my life I have really felt like a fallen individual. I had absolutely no hope for my life or my situation because of choices I had made or choices others had made that affected me. The ONLY way that I was able to get through them was through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

I remember reading a lot of talks on LDS.org about the refining process and coming to know yourself and the Savior through your most trying times. I found a great quote from President James E. Faust that expresses exactly how I felt during those times of need.

"...some of our greatest tribulations are the results of our own foolishness and weakness and occur because of our own carelessness or transgression. Central to solving these problems is the great need to get back on the right track and, if necessary, engage in each of the steps for full and complete repentance. Through this great principle, many things can be made fully right and all things better. We can go to others for help. To whom can we go?......... To whom do we look, in days of grief and disaster, for help and consolation?... They are men and women who have suffered, and out of their experience in suffering they bring forth the riches of their sympathy and condolences as a blessing to those now in need. Could they do this had they not suffered themselves?" President James E. Faust. The Refiners Fire. April 1979 session

Who can we go to for help? Who has suffered those same trials and who is able to have sympathy and comfort us?
The Savior.

The Atonement is such an amazing blessing that we have in our lives. One of the things that I love the most about it is, it is for everyone! It is not only for those who have sinned, but it is for those who have been hurt and want to forgive those who have hurt them.

I can honestly say that I had the BEST singles ward bishop ever! Bishop Shaffer (on the right) became a second father to me when I needed it the most. I felt kind of spoiled when I was in the 25th ward because I had a calling that allowed me to have a personal relationship with him outside of church. He was more than a bishop, he was and is one of my dearest friends.

Bishop Shaffer helped me with dating, my calling, my mission papers (for those two weeks I was filling them out before Dave danced into the picture), learning to seek validation from the correct source, the scriptures, family, knowing that I am a Daughter of God, learning to look past people's problems and love them for what is on the inside, patience, marriage, communication, the Atonement... the list goes on...

I owe a lot of who I am today as a daughter, wife and soon to be mother to Bishop Shaffer.

How can I have a blog about the individuals who have had the biggest impact on my life without mentioning David. He is my sweetheart, my best friend, my priesthood holder, the father of my soon to be and future children, my eternal companion, my example, my comedian, my tissue, my temple buddy, my scripture buddy, my dishwasher, my laundry man, my work out buddy, my giver of piggy-backs, my foot massager, my back-rubber and the first thing I see in the morning and the last thing I see at night.