Which one?

"No one is free who is not a master of himself" 

                                                           -William Shakespeare

It seems as though life as a typical high school student consists of several things that we consider to be quite important including, our social Life, our work life, our academic life, and our personal life. Students prioritize different aspects of their High School life differently, but one thing that seems to be prevalent among the majority of high school students is their crave for "green". :) In other words, Money, Money, Money! We strive to find the best job that fattens up our wallet in the quickest time in order to purchase the things that we may have even wanted since we were young. As for myself, I ended up procuring several jobs, but one job in particular has engraved many good and "so stressful that I wanted to cry" moments into my memory that I will probably never forget my experience there - My life as a worker at Rocky Mountain Drive Inn. 

Rocky Mountain Drive Inn seems to be pretty well-known among the happy, simple citizens of Provo, Utah for the quality of their food, especially for their deliciously, mouth-watering shakes and scones. When I worked there, it was quite interesting to see people struggle and seriously ponder on the flavor of their shake. As a worker, I got shakes for free, so it wasn't a very arduous task to come to a conclusion on what flavor I would ultimately end up choosing; however, I do understand their situation. When there seems to be a plethora of possible choices, truly deciding upon what we even want becomes a difficult and potentially long process.

Life at times can be the same way. There seems to be so many different options and pathways we can potentially choose from - Just like the variety of flavors of shakes shown on the left :). A lot of the time, we are stretched between several options and sometimes it seems as though we cannot adequately determine the finest alternative. But, there is a way!

Sometimes, as the cashier, I feel compelled to just help the poor and indecisive customer by simply asking questions or making suggestions such as "Are you feeling  fruity or chocolaty today?" or "You know, a lot of people like the Banana Cream Pie shake. I'd recommend that one. What do you think?" or "What do you normally get? Try this one. It tastes just as good.". I'm merely just helping these people make a decision that they hopefully won't regret.

Of course and occasionally, there are those that ask for, or even demand, a refund because my suggestion for some reason isn't what they wanted. Sadly, against policy - unless there is like a hair or something - we cannot refund something simply just because they aren't satisfied with their purchase. But on the other hand, there are those that absolutely loved the suggestion and come back sooner or later and actually end up ordering the same shake.

Even though I had credible work experience at the burger joint, because I am human, I could not flawlessly guide customers to a decision simply because I do not know the customer well enough. Of course, as a guide, I made some mistakes, but there is a guide who does not. The one and only Guide who knows exactly where to lead us. The one that knows exactly what we want, what we don't want, what we don't need, and even what we need - Heavenly Father.

I'm pretty sure Heavenly Father can create the most deliciously, flawless ice cream shake for you by mixing perfect proportions of each ingredient, tailored for your taste buds. But the guidance that I want to emphasize is not just what shake we may want or need, but guidance on a whole new level.

I want to refer back to my previous paragraph when I talked about indecision between seemingly equal alternatives. If there is something I know, it would be that God guides us. Sometimes when we are placed in a specific situation that needs specific guidance, it's fair enough to say that we can ask God specific questions. The interesting thing about asking specific questions is that the answer, in most cases, will also be specific. When we are asking God specific questions, in return, he will give us specific answers. Of course I do not know God's initial intentions, but one thing that is a fact is that he does hear and answer our prayers. The key is to listen.

Sometimes that answer to our prayers doesn't necessarily come as a "Do this" or "Do that" but sometimes prayers may seem unanswered. According to what I have learned, the reason why God seems give us answers that seem unanswered is simply because he trusts us to make the correct decision. It may also be that God thinks both alternatives are equally so he simply answers our prayer by implying something along the lines of...

"I think they're all good options. Choose whichever one you think is the best"

And other times, God will leave us to make a decision and after we go through the experience, we will know whether it is the correct or wrong decision. God's reasoning behind this? I'm not sure, but one thing that I am sure of is that God has a purpose for us, therefore, he has a plan for us. That means, and like I said before, he knows what we need to learn and do; therefore, trust God. Sometimes it may seem irrational or irrelevant, but it's important for us to remember that God knows what we don't know.

"But Behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things.

-2nd Nephi 2:24