Thank goodness

When Ben and I were first married, I went through a time of depression, perhaps the first real time of depression in my life. Getting married is an adjustment for everybody, but my depression didn't so much have to do with my husband or my marriage, it more had to do with loneliness.

You see, we got married at the beginning of the summer, which meant that I had no job and no one was hiring until school started back up in the fall. This also meant that all of my friends had moved away for the summer break. These things combined with the fact that Ben was working 10 hour days, meant that I was home alone and friendless for many hours and it caused me to slip into a deep depression. I cried myself to sleep every night and it had nothing to do with my husband, I just longed for friends of my own and something to occupy my time. I think it was a very sad way to start my marriage because it put a bad taste in my mouth and my personality really changed during that time. However, once school started up, I got a job, made friends in my classes, and things slowly began to get better.

As we prepared to move to Houston, I grew increasingly worried about the fact that I didnt have a job lined up. To me, no job=loneliness and depression. I became nervous that I would slip into that same depression from a few years back and I began to pray that I would be able to find friends and/or a job here quickly so that wouldn't happen.

Then we moved here. And everyone in the ward was so welcoming that I immediately felt at home. I have been invited to dinners and lunches and exercise classes and I feel like I already have friends. One woman came up to me today and said "I heard that tomorrow is your husband's first day of work and I know you don't have a job yet, so I wanted to give you my number so you can come over to my house and hang out. I'm a stay at home mom so you can come hang out any time." I was floored. How did she know exactly what was weighing on my mind that day? I wanted fall to her feet and start sobbing (don't worry I didnt). Thank goodness for women who follow the promptings of the spirit, I wonder if they know they are the answer to my prayers. I only hope I can be more like them.

Today after church, I came across this scripture 2 Nephi 4:35 "Yea I know that God will give liberally to him that asketh..." and I just thought how true that is, and how great God is, and how he knows us personally and cares about our problems, big and small. I knew that I had asked him to find me friends here, but I still never expected him to give as liberally as he has. I am so very thankful for that and I feel like it just reaffirms to me that this is where we need to be right now.

I think I am really going to like it here. :-)