The Choice to be HAPPY

at group on Wednesday this week, Sharon brought a conference talk by Elder Christofferson (here) on Moral Discipline. It really came in a time of need for me. this past Sunday I found out my little angel and her family will be moving to Boston for her Daddy to go to school. he will be going to Harvard for school leadership, here is the program here I took this pretty hard. Don’t get me wrong I am very happy for them and my angel. this will be a great experience and has motivated me to finish my degree as well. it was hard for me because I am used to having them only 20 mins away now they will be 2200 miles away from me. they move the first week of August. As a planner I am not sure what the future visits will be like, but I know that we have good communication and it will all work itself out. I am very happy with where my adoption is at right now and how things are. I know the move right now isn’t permanent , it’s for 9 months. I found this talk very uplifting because it reminded me that I have free agency and to me that means I can choose to be happy about this or sit and mope and not be happy, that I can choose to make this hard and emotional or I can choose to be happy for them. One thing I learned quickly after placing my daughter was that I had choices and even though this was a hard choice, the hardest I will ever make in life, I choose to be happy and not sit around and be miserable. Yes I did cry and still do cry at times when I am missing her or I see a little baby. I miss my angel, but I always have to remind myself why I placed her, to give her everything I couldn’t offer. Here are some points that really stood out to me. Thank you Sharon for sharing this with us at group, it really did come in time of need.


“Moral discipline is the consistent exercise of agency to choose the right because it is right, even when it is hard.”

“By “moral discipline,” I mean self-discipline based on moral standards. Moral discipline is the consistent exercise of agency to choose the right because it is right, even when it is hard. It rejects the self-absorbed life in favor of developing character worthy of respect and true greatness through Christlike service (see Mark 10:42–45). The root of the word discipline is shared by the word disciple, suggesting to the mind the fact that conformity to the example and teachings of Jesus Christ is the ideal discipline that, coupled with His grace, forms a virtuous and morally excellent person.”


I told myself after I placed My Angel that I needed to make a choice, I was either going to sit in my room all day every hour and sulk in my sorrow, or I was going to be HAPPY, because I wanted My Angel to be proud of me, to see that I acomplished all my goals in life that I was happy and at peace with my decision., Yes I had and still have my hard days where I miss Evie and just want her to be here with me, but I made a choice to give her a better life and when I see how HAPPY she is my sad day turns around into a HAPPY day because she has everything and more that I could ever give her.