Once upon a time there was a girl. She was a smart girl who loved learning. She had many hopes and dreams, one of which was to graduate from a university. At first, the girl didn't know what she wanted to be when she grew up, but she just knew she wanted a college education.
After she graduated from high school, the girl started school at Brigham Young University. She went to BYU for 2 years, and still didn't know what she wanted to be. Her first major declared was Elementary Education, but after taking a few classes, she decided to change her major to Audiology, Speech and Language Pathology. She really liked that major because while she was attending BYU she was an educational interpreter for the deaf at a middle school. She really loved her job. Yes - she decided that was her calling in life.
Then the girl met a boy. They fell in love and were married in the spring. The boy was serving in the military, and so the girl had to move, because the boy was moving. They moved to a cold, cold place far away in the North. A place called Alaska. The girl decided that she would go back to school in Alaska, only there was no major called Audiology, Speech and Language Pathology. The girl was sad. She decided that she would choose a new major, because she really wanted to graduate from college.
She declared her third major as Linguistics. She decided it was the closest thing to Speech Pathology anyway. She liked her new major. She liked her new school. She still loved learning. During her second semester at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the girl found out she was going to have a baby in July. The girl and the boy were happy. The girl decided that she would continue school until the baby was born.
During the last month of school, the girl lost her baby. The same week the girl's grandpa passed away. The girl was very sad. But she finished her semester, and flew home to her grandpa's funeral.
While the girl was grieving the loss of her baby, she enrolled for another semester of school at UAF. She was excited because she was getting close to graduating. During her second week of school the girl became very sick. She thought it was because of the miscarriage, so she went to see her doctor. Her doctor preformed an ultrasound to make sure all of the baby was gone, and to their surprise there was ANOTHER baby growing inside the girl. This baby was due in September.
During the third week of school the girl was so sick that she couldn't get out of bed. She threw up a lot, and missed all of her classes. The girl had to drop out of school because she was too sick. She was sad about school, but happy because she was going to have a baby. School could wait a few more months.
The girl and the boy had a baby boy in September. They were so happy. They loved their baby. Then the boy was honorably discharged from the Air Force, and the little family moved back home. The boy got a new job. They bought a little house. And the girl started back to school. By this time the girl had over 100 credit hours, and no degree. She decided that she would get an Associates degree first, and then choose a major. The girl was happy to be learning again.
Then the girl was surprised to learn that she was going to have another baby. She was afraid she would have to drop out of school again, but this time she didn't get very sick, so she was able to stay in school. In June, the boy and the girl had a little baby girl. They were very happy.
But she was also sad. Her children cried because they needed their mommy. The girl cried because she wanted to spend more time with her children. She tried to balance housework, caring for the children, being a wife, church callings, and finishing school. The girl was tired. She had a lot of headaches. She cried a lot because she felt herself being stretched too thin. But she was still happy to be going to school. After all, it's was her biggest hope and dream to finish college.
During her last semester before she graduated with her 2 year degree, the girl started feeling that she needed to be a better mom. She prayed. And cried. And prayed some more. She felt like if she could somehow better manage her time that everything would be OK, and that her children wouldn't cry for attention anymore. She knew deep down inside herself that if she dropped out of school that she would have more time to be a mom and a wife, but the girl didn't listen. She applied to her next University. She registered for classes. She declared her major in Dietetics, and this time she was not going to quit.
But the girl continued to feel badly. She continued to cry. She continued to have headaches. Her children continued to cry for her attention. The girl asked to boy what she should do. He said she should do whatever made her happy. The girl said that graduating with a degree would make her happy. She said that watching her children grow up, and teaching them to be good people would make her happy. But she knew deep down that she could not do both of the things that would make her happy.
So the girl prayed. And prayed. And prayed. And she knew the right answer, but she continued to pray anyway, hoping for a different answer each time, until the Lord started answering her prayers with 'You know what you need to do, so stop asking.' The girl was still sad. She didn't think it was fair to have to give up on her hope and dream of graduating from college.
One day the girl was reading scriptures. She read:
"And if ye seek the riches which it is the will of the Father to give unto you, ye shall be the richest of all people, for ye shall have the riches of eternity."
And the girl thought. She thought about her children. Weren't they riches? Didn't having two healthy, beautiful children make her rich? And she thought about what the Lord wanted her to do. What riches did the Father want to give her? She knew it wasn't a college education. At least not right now. She knew that her children were the riches that the Father wanted her to have.
And so the girl dropped out of school for the third time. She cried. Her children didn't cry because they didn't have to compete with mommy's homework for attention. They were happy. And that made the girl happy, too.
