Life is short; make the best of it.

I apologize to my readers for my selfishness :)
I haven't updated the blog in a while, and I'm sure that most of you are just DYING to know(exaggeration, completely..) how my skype date with Elder Hyde went.

Well, first off..let me just tell you that he is as handsome as ever. Even on a blurry skype camera wearing ghetto '90's style headphones, J still managed to give me butterflies. He's a little skinnier, and a little bit more tan..but other than that, he's the same Jaje :)

I was so lucky to be able to spend time with his family, and see some of his siblings and nieces and nephews. His sister, Andrea, and her kids were there, as well as his brother Justin, his wife Becca and their kids. They are all so kind to me, and it pleases me that the man that I love comes from such a fantastic family.

In our last two minutes together, he told me "to keep holding on just a little bit longer" and that he loves me so much. This left me comforted, and then when I returned to Rexburg, I had a letter from him. He is the sweetest, and I love getting his letters. Have I mentioned how happy he makes me?


Last night, I decided to keep my roommate/best friend company at her work..Kait works the graveyard shift as a CNA at an assisted living home. I had no idea what I was getting myself into..:) but so glad that I went.

All night, we cooked and cooked and cooked. Kait makes all the meals for the next day on her graveyard shifts, and usually is cooking from the time she arrives at 9 pm. to 5 am. She cooks for sixteen residents. I don't think I have ever peeled that many potatoes. Together, we made roast, four salads, lemon bars, mashed potatoes, and soup. She is blessed with the ability to be a wonderful CNA. It almost brought tears to my eyes to see her patience and love towards each elderly person residing at the assisted living home. I made the rounds with her, and we had a few good laughs--but, I learned a lot from this experience. Isnt it amazing how the Lord provides us with such amazing opportunities that allow us to grow and progress spiritually?

I really came to realize how valuable and precious time truly is. There is a couple that lives at the home; the man is non-verbal and can't do anything on his own, he relies on those working at the home to help him with tasks that come so easy to us. This is where the story touched my heart. His wife, who is almost completely independent, lives at the home to be with him. The couple met when the woman was only seventeen. They met at a church dance, and after the dance was over--the man asked her if he could give her a ride home. She accepted, and after arriving home, her smile never left her face. Her dad asked, "What are you smiling about?" She replied, "Daddy, I just met my husband."

I heard this story and thought about what it would be like to live in that era; or even have to send my husband out to war like my grandparents experienced. Here I am, just trying to not be sad about parting from my boyfriend for two short years...when, these army wives had much more SEVERE worries; when will I see my husband again? Will he come home alive? Why haven't I received word from him in MONTHS? Their husbands or boyfriends were out fighting for their lives and for our country, at least I know that my boyfriend is safe and in the hands of the Lord--being taken care of in Peru.

Isn't it amazing the things that you can learn by truly looking at the whole picture? Time goes by faster than you  realize--well, for me anyway. I'm so thankful for the experience I had, and although I did not get an ounce of sleep, I was so happy that the Spirit prompted me to join my friend for the night..at first, I was a little discouraged that I would be cooking all night instead of doing something fun in Rexburg--but as the night went on, and my hands continued a workin' the more I enjoyed it. Kait and I talked about the gospel, our missionaries, and our goals--we laughed and laughed, all while serving others; when you serve, you are blessed--and I truly feel blessed by the realization that I felt last night; live life to the fullest, because time moves quickly.

We arrived back in Rexburg around 7:00 am and although, it was so difficult to get out of bed two hours later for church, I was glad that I did because I really felt the Spirit stronger than I had in a while. While at work last night, I helped Kait prepare her lesson for Sunday school; she found the conference talk, and I wrote up the talk while she finished up cooking. The talk was by Elder Cook, titled, "It is Better to Look Up"...if you haven't already read the talk, I prompt you to read it. (or watch it, here is the link!)

Elder Cook starts his talk by relaying an experience he had. He had just been called as General Authority, and contemplated the new stress he was experiencing in this calling. He got on the elevator after a long day, and found himself staring at the floor; thinking about his responsibilities. The elevator door opened, and he didn't glance up, when all of a sudden he heard a familiar voice, "What are you looking at down there?" Embarrassed, he raised his head, to meet the eyes of our Prophet, "Oh nothing.." He said, timidly. President Monson responded with, "It is better to look up." A small statement with such meaning.

A story from the scriptures was mentioned in the talk; after the Israelites had defeated the caananites, a plague broke out--MANY poisonous serpeants began to attack the children of Israel. Moses was then commanded to raise a brass serpeant (which represented Christ), he told the people to look up to the Serpeant and they would be healed; many did not follow this commandment. Alma believed that this was because the people did not believe that such a simple act would free them. This can be connected to our modern day--how often do we turn away from the "simple things" in our lives that draw us closer to Christs, such as; scripture study, prayer, paying our tithing, etc.

I find myself guilty of turning away or not looking up at times when I feel that my life is "too busy"--but, like I learned at the assisted living home, time is precious, and some of those distractions that I "busy" myself with, are of no eternal significance. How can I judge those Israelites if I find myself in the same situation as they? Those poisonous serpeants in my life are worldly distractions that really take away the true value that is deep inside of me. Elder Cook shared scriptures that talked about being STRENGTHENED. We wrote down our burdens/trials on a piece of paper, crumpled them up, and "let them go" in a trash bin. Simple, right? As easy at that sounds, its hard to let go of our burdens sometime...but like President Monson said, "It is better to look up!!"

Christ is always there for us. This really tied into my relief society lesson that talked about delving into our scriptures. Something that really struck me was the usage of SEARCH in many of the quotes read in class. This caused me to reflect on the word SEARCH. When I think of searching, I think of my sheer panic that I feel when I have lost something. We SEARCH high and low, we tear things apart to find this one possession (at least I do!)..why is that? Well, its because this "thing" is of great value and significance to us, correct? That is exactly what it means to search our scriptures; the word of God is of GREAT value to us; a precious mine full of gems and diamonds just awaiting to touch us deeply--caused by the Spirit. I know that by SEARCHING, we will find the courage to "look up" when times are difficult.

Time is precious. I was greatly impacted by that thought; I want to make this time in my life as valuable as possible by looking up when I feel more like looking down. Time is constant, Christ is always with us, and we are given POWERFUL tools to get us through this earthly life.

This post is lengthy, but I hope it touched you as it did me. Thanks for tuning in :)