All the Things We Did – or Didn’t – Do
By Ami Reece

The end of the year is in about two months. In less than sixty days, we have Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Hannukah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, Boxing Day, and New Years Eve. We also have the bulk of holiday break, a few snowfalls, and social gathering and engagements we're expected to attend.

It's also the time of year when many of us look back and think about all the things we did—or didn't—accomplish. One of my big goals this year was to read a book a week…and it was going smoothly until I picked up an eight-hundred-page slog that I still haven't finished. That was back in May. Someday, maybe, but for now, it's just sitting and waiting. I felt so derailed and upset that I was thrown off from a goal that should be easy for me to accomplish that I just gave up.

Then I had all of these excuses. My toddler wouldn't let me read. I couldn't read at night because I didn't have a table lamp, or even a table to put it on. I was too tired. I misplaced my book. I was struggling to get into the story. Someone else needed me more.

A couple of weeks ago, I picked up a book for book club and cracked the spine and started reading. I moved the nightstand back over to my side of the bed (much to my husband's chagrin because our daughter is a prolific climber and frequent ER visitor). I lit candles at night to read by, which was super cozy and I loved it. I finished the book in just a couple of days. Then I picked up another, and I'm almost done with that one too.

We were not sent here to earth to find excuses. We aren’t meant to sit around and wait for things to happen for us. We all want things in life, whether it's a specific job or a specific lifestyle or a specific talent. We want to do things—we look at other people doing the things we want to do, and we think, “Yeah, I want that.”

We can't just get there by wanting something, we get there by making goals and working towards them. We have been told to "get up and stand on [our] feet" to "go and do" (Acts 26:16; 1 Nephi 3:7). We cannot have the things that we want without action.

There are times in our lives when we have a plan, and we feel like we're taking action steps, but we just aren't getting there. Like getting stuck on an eight-hundred-page tome, you just can't overcome it alone. It's funny that we feel like we must do everything alone, isn't it? The world is full of people who will gladly help us, whether it is because they love us or because they want to help or because they’ll be paid, but we still feel like we have to buckle down without any help.

I don't think that we look to Heavenly Father enough for guidance and support.

One of my favorite scriptures to remind me that I'm not alone in anything is James 1:5: "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it will be given you."

If you need help, or you don't know what to do, or you feel lack in any way with your personal goals: ask God. He's there to help you get there. Even if what you are struggling with, be it writing a novel, learning to paint, or trying to lose weight, doesn’t feel like a “Godly” problem, I can assure you, if it's a big deal to you, He will be there to help. I'm sure you’ve heard not to sweat the small stuff, but nothing is too small for Him.

President Thomas S. Monson said, "Although we are left to find and follow the path which will lead us back to our Father in heaven, He did not send us here without direction and guidance... He will assist us as we seek His help and strive to do all in our power to endure to the end and gain eternal life."

So, no matter what your excuse is, be it the lack or a table lamp or the struggle to find time, God will help you find a way to overcome the hurdle. He's there to bolster you and support you no matter where your personal goals take you.

And remember, it's okay if you don't make it, I did many amazing things this year outside of reading a small library…and there's always next year to read a book a week.

Ami Reece is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She is a mother, the blogger behind Momisms, and an aspiring author. When she isn’t putting pen to paper, she’s experimenting in the kitchen as an amateur baker.