Investing

So we have been living in our house for a little over 2 months now, and I just have to say that I absolutely love it.  Pretty much everything about it. And it's not just about my house, but it's more than that. I love my neighborhood, and especially the new neighbors I have been blessed with.  None of my neighbors are LDS like I am, but they are all very Christian and very active in their own churches.  And I have been nothing short of uplifted every time I interact with them.  I have already become close with two of them since they live right across the street from me and right next to me and we all have kids the same ages. (Hallelujah!) There are so many benefits to my new situation, one of them being the ease of God being a part of our every day conversations.  It is amazing to me how easily we all talk about our relationships with God and how God has blessed our lives.  And it has just been a huge testimony to me that God, once again, knew what he was doing with waiting for us to match for two years.  

I always thought that this whole plan of us being in Danville revolved around Ben (meaning originally).  But the more I invest myself in my ward (congregation), my community, and now my new neighborhood, I realize how much of this plan is for me too.  God had me in mind.  He knew all along that the very best place for me to be was in this house with these neighbors, etc.  I am truly blessed.  

But I want to dive even deeper into why I am blessed.  And it has to do with this idea of investing.  Investing myself.  We all have our own God given talents that we can use for good and we can use to plug into a community.  But how many times do we not do so? It goes along with my idea of embracing that I have discussed before.  But when you truly invest yourself, your time, your talents into your surroundings, that's when you will experience the most happiness and the deep relationships that we as humans crave.  

As I've been pondering this, I've realized that there are really no drawbacks in investing yourself into your surroundings.  And I truly think this applies to everything.  Invest yourself in your family.  Invest yourself into your spouse's family. Invest yourself into your congregation, neighborhood, community, your coworkers, or basically anyone that is around you.  And in my experience, you will only be blessed by it.  And people often say to me, "Oh well that is so great that you have that ability to relate to others and reach out to them!" In a way of "Oh I could never do that."  But let me let you in on a little secret.  It scares me every time to reach out to people I don't know.  To put myself out there.  To sum it up in one word, to be vulnerable.  But I still do it because I believe so much in this concept of investing myself to the fullest of my ability.  And it's always a huge pay off.  Which is what the goal of an investment is, right?

Putting yourself out there pays off.  Even if it's awkward.  Even if it's scary.  And I'll say it.  Even if the relationship ends poorly.  Because you won't live with regrets.  I don't mean to sound preachy.  But I've just come so far in my 30 years of battling extreme shyness (social anxiety?).  And I feel like I have learned so much with how to cope with those feelings of fear and doubt and awkwardness.  And I just like to share them because I know that so many people feel those same feelings that I feel and I want to empower people (even if it's just one person) with the motivation to know that battling shyness and fear is something that is worth doing.  It's an investment you don't want to miss out on.  Because we all have so much to offer each other.  I have learned that in the short time I have talked with my new neighbors.  They have already offered so much to me and I hope I to them.  And I have learned so much from all of the people in my ward and with the friendships I have made these last two years.  Giving of yourself is the best gift you can give because all involved are blessed by it.

So I guess I can sum up my thoughts in one word- Invest!!