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"Little But Real Experiences": A Testimony by Rachel Armstrong

My testimony of Christ is built on lots of little but real experiences I have had. Sometimes I forget all of those experiences, but when I look at my testimony of Christ, it is this lovely chunk of lots of little moments. Sometimes it is easy for me to believe in Christ and the Church; it just feels natural and simple. But other times my brain gets in the way and I have a hard time emotionally until I opt back in to believing Christ, choosing to believe Christ. When I do that, I feel a beautiful, loving feeling and an openness toward the world and other people, which I believe is me feeling the fruits of the Spirit.

One of those building blocks of my testimony of Christ happened a couple weeks ago. Matt went on a trip with his brother to California and Disneyland as my Christmas present to him. He had an incredibly stressful fall semester, with a new baby and supporting me and trying to work on his thesis, so I wanted to make sure that he got a real break, some real sleep, and some time with his brother, who he loves.

But the week before he went on the trip, we had family in town for my sister-in-law's wedding, my kids weren’t getting naps and got sick, we were driving a lot, and I was having some pretty dark times. The time with family was lovely, and I had some good conversations with my brothers- and sisters-in-law and went to the temple with Matt, but I was in a bad place. I went to the doctor recently and have started taking depression medication, so we’ll see how that goes.

Matt was worried about leaving me the following week, but I wanted him to go and have a break. Mom and Dad volunteered to help with my baby during the night and help with watching my kids during the day. I felt a lot of clarity, peace, and patience while Matt was gone. Matt said he was praying a lot for me, and I felt it. Baby Jeff still woke up a lot during the night, but I was able to be patient with him instead of irritated at this little baby who was keeping me up. It felt so clear to me that God was accepting my offering and that Jesus was giving me the grace to give Matt this gift. 

It was lovely and real to me, and it added to my chunk of testimony that Jesus Christ exists, that He loves us, and that He is integral to our happiness now and eternally. I say this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Rachel Armstrong
Sunset Heights 7th Ward
Orem, Utah
February 3, 2019
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