Easy Like Sunday Morning.....NOT!

Yesterday I groggily opened my eyes to check out the clock and got a real wake up call when I saw the display read 8:35.

1. My church services start at 9:00.

2. I conduct the hymns for our congregation (meaning, I need to be there early or at least on time for the first hymn!)

3. It takes a minimum of 10 minutes to drive from my house to the chapel.

The math stars in the audience will have figured out by now that I had 15 minutes to make myself presentable and hit the road.

The blessings in this situation?

1. I DID (somehow, blessedly) manage to get ready in 15 minutes. Hair, makeup, clothes - I was good to go.

2. When I got to the first light and it was red I pretty much threw away every hope of arriving on time. Usually in this situation I would be frustrated and raging at the traffic light. This time, however, I knew I had done my absolute best to make it to church on time. So I told Heavenly Father that, and sat back for a nice, relaxed drive.

3. Whaddaya know? Every single light after that was green! And yes, I made it to church in the nick of time.

Moral of the story: Sometimes you have to hit a red light so all the other lights further on have a chance to turn green.

Gratitude

A great message for Thanksgiving:

"Gratitude" by Nichole Nordeman

Send some rain, would You send some rain?
'Cause the earth is dry and needs to drink again
And the sun is high and we are sinking in the shade

Would You send a cloud, thunder long and loud?
Let the sky grow black and send some mercy down
Surely You can see that we are thirsty and afraid

But maybe not, not today
Maybe You'll provide in other ways
And if that's the case . . .
We'll give thanks to You
With gratitude
For lessons learned in how to thirst for You
How to bless the very sun that warms our face
If You never send us rain

Daily bread, give us daily bread
Bless our bodies, keep our children fed
Fill our cups, then fill them up again tonight
Wrap us up and warm us through
Tucked away beneath our sturdy roofs
Let us slumber safe from danger's view this time

Or maybe not, not today
Maybe You'll provide in other ways
And if that's the case . . .
We'll give thanks to You
With gratitude
A lesson learned to hunger after You
That a starry sky offers a better view if no roof is overhead
And if we never taste that bread

Oh, the differences that often are between
What we want and what we really need
So grant us peace, Jesus, grant us peace
Move our hearts to hear a single beat
Between alibis and enemies tonight

Or maybe not, not today
Peace might be another world away
And if that's the case . . .
We'll give thanks to You
With gratitude
For lessons learned in how to trust in You
That we are blessed beyond what we could ever dream
In abundance or in need
And if You never grant us peace
But Jesus, would You please . . .

Car Wreck

A sleepy driver crashed into my parked car and destroyed it on Thursday morning. What is there to be grateful about here? First, I was nowhere near my car when it happened. Second, the other driver has insurance (a BIG BLESSING, indeed!) Third, the other driver's car is gone, but he's okay, too. Fourth, although I wasn't particularly wanting to escape my lease, I'm now free of it and can do whatever I want (and/or can afford) regarding a car.

Basically, even though there are a lot of negative aspects to this event, if you look for them, the positive ones are there, too.

Princesses

Yesterday as I was walking home from work I saw two little girls in glittery Disney princess dresses playing in their front yard. Their dad was there with them, and one of the girls told him it was time to dance. He obliged by not only twirling around the yard with her, but also sang the Sleeping Beauty waltz song, as well. It was one of those perfect, out-of-time moments and it made me smile.

I am grateful for my wonderful family and especially for my own Prince Charming father. I am greatly blessed.

Trivial and Important

Yesterday my co-worker asked me what an antonym for important might be. I came up with trivial. The funny thing is, it's a perfect title for this post.

First, the "trivial" (if any sort of blessing could be so described). On my way to Tiffany's, every single one of the nine stop lights in my route turned green right before I got to each intersection. It's the only time I can ever remember driving straight there without having to stop at all. And yes, this made me happy.

Second, the important. Yesterday was a very stressful day and I pretty much had a breakdown near the end of it. Today started out depressingly similar, and by recess I decided I couldn't take it any more. Consequently, I sent my students out to play, closed the curtains over my doors, turned off the lights, and knelt down to pray.

It was more of a "I don't know what's wrong with me but please help me, please help me, pleasehelpmepleasehelpme pleasehelpme" kind of a prayer than anything else, but guess what? Even when we're at our wits' end and feel like we don't have it in us to move onward - let alone be nice to the people around us - we can. If we ask for help, Heavenly Father will wrap us in His love and give us the strength (or patience and love) to get through whatever it is we need to get through.

It was, on the whole, a most extraordinary few minutes that had a huge impact on my day (and on my students, as well!) Truly awesome, and I am grateful.

Introduction

My friend Tiffany and I go walking on a local trail at least once a week. We talk about all sorts of things, but since we're both LDS and she happens to be my Visiting Teacher, at least part of our conversation tends to deal with religious topics. Tiffany told me I should blog about some (or maybe all) of the things we discuss, and it reminded me of President Eyring's talk "O Remember, Remember", from the October 2007 General Conference. I reread the talk and decided that Tiffany may be on to something. At the very least, recording my experiences will hopefully help me recognize and remember God's kindness, and maybe my daily reflections might help you see the Lord's hand in your day. Or something. So here we go...