Forget Yourself and Go to Work

Today I was having one of those no-good-rotten bad days I have spoken of before. The details don't matter, but generally I was feeling pretty sorry for myself. I was starting my pity party and feeling overwhelmed, and broke down in a CVS parking lot and just cried. You know those days where you just feel pitiful and just want to cry "Woe is me!"? Well you may not have those days, but I do sometimes. And I am not proud of it.

In the midst of this mini meltdown,  I needed to find my way to a sister's house to pick up and deliver a meal to someone who just had a baby (this sister does not have a car). After many wrong turns, and a prayer for my phone/gps battery to last, I made it to the sister's house. Once I arrived, she came out with 4 HUGE trays of food. I piled the food in my car, and just sat dumbstruck.

I remembered learning that this sister had been out of work for a while and just barely started a new job. I remember how my husband told me of the humble living space she had, and how she had told him it felt inadequate next to our nice home. I was so overwhelmed and humbled by how generous she was. Even with the little that she had she gave so much. I know she spent a lot of time and what limited money she had cooking this feast.

So life isn't perfect all the time. The perfect-ness is not what matters.What matters is loving the lord, and serving others. Forget yourself and Go to Work.  This is where true happiness is, and this is how we can leave our daily, and sometimes even petty cares.

Although I often forget, this is the best cure to a pity party. May we all be more humble, lose ourselves in service, and follow the example of this generous sister.

Couch Breaking and other East Coast Adjustments

Moving to Boston has been such an adventure. Slowly I am beginning to fall in love with this city and all of its strange oddities.

 The first two months we lived in Corporate Housing downtown -- which was a real treat and gave us time to find something more permanent while exploring the city. While we were there, it still sort of felt like a vacation, it had definitely not sunk in that this was a "move". I walked around this historic town with the song "Boston" in my head in the cool rainy spring, almost summer weather. I often laughed, because  the lyrics almost held true... "where no one knows my name...."

 We rode our bikes to Bunker Hill, went on evening walks near Paul Revere's house, got our hair cut right next to the Boston Massacre site (odd, but true!) It has been fun to be in an area with such rich history.

Finding housing was a fairly frustrating process. If you are looking for small/old/out of date housing for triple the cost of your last place, move to Boston! It was really hard to stomach. We probably looked at 25 places before making a quick decision to go with our current place. We still feel a little bit of buyers remorse at the cost -- but we are overall very satisfied with where we live and now our getting all settled in.

Once we finally moved in we realized, even with the fairly spacious place we have for Boston, none of our furniture fit! As in --  the only room we could  get our couch was our bedroom (just painted purple...only room with a closet that fits hangers...). This would mean the only room we could have as our bedroom was our living room (no closet, no door to the room....eek!)

I posted something on facebook about this and got the suggestion from a friend to look into couch breaking. And since we are adventurous (and cheap), we decided to do it ourselves. So here is our brand new couch in pieces as we got it down our narrow hallway!

Do you know the only thing holding your couch together is staples?

Arm of the couch we took off.

Even with the arm off, it barely fit in our doorway.

SUCCESS!

There was a point in the process where John and I were stuck between the couch in our narrow hallway and it seemed like there was no way it was going through. We tried numerous options for about 30 min, were sweating profusely and about to give up. Then, we decided to say a prayer. We knelt across from each other with our massive, hallway consuming coach between us and pleaded for Heavenly Father's aid. And what happened next? It was like our couch shrunk 4 inches. It went through the hall immediately without any issue.

It always amazes me how Heavenly Father is involved in the details of our lives. I have such a testimony that he hears our prayers, and is always with us. We just need to humble ourselves and ask.

Our couch is now in one piece, and already has been enjoyed by many visitors. We will have to pull apart when we move, but I think it was worth it if only for the spiritual lesson learned.

Some thoughts on life (and death)

This past weekend we travelled down to Little Rock, Arkansas for the funeral of John's grandmother. It was a somber but also joyous occasion where we spent time with a lot of family and celebrated her life.

I didn't know his grandmother really well. However, a few things this weekend made a big impression on me. The biggest by far was seeing the impact this had on John's grandfather, who after 65 years of marriage, is now without his sweetheart.

I spent much of the weekend observing him at special moments, watching him as he interacted with family members. Listening to him say the family prayer before the funeral started. Listening attentively as he shared stories of their life together. I even was one of the few in the family who saw her as he kissed her and said a final mortal goodbye right before they closed the casket.

One of the things that struck me most deeply was the incredible love they have for one another.  Even after her death he referred to her as his bride. They courted their whole marriage. Every day they said they loved each other, even when she was losing her mental capacity she still told him often of her love. They never went to bed angry. They have 91 (and counting) descendants which are a testament to their true and honest love.

The other thing that struck me so deeply was the enormous faith of John's grandparents. As John's grandpa said the family prayer before the funeral, he thanked God for receiving his love and taking her into his arms. He said he would see her soon. He was so confident he would be with her again. He was sad and I am sure now is so lonely, but he knows that  they have an eternal family and that their love continues.

I hope that in my life I can leave even a portion of the legacy of love and faith by John's grandparents. I know that they will be together again. As I saw her frail body, she looked beautiful. And she looked ready to meet God. I know that one day I will be with them too, and I can get to know this fine lady a bit better. And above all, I know that it is through the atonement of Jesus Christ that we can one day live in the presence of God and be united with our families for eternity.

I am grateful for this knowledge and the peace and comfort it gives me.

Merry Christmas

This Christmas, I am extremely grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ. I know he lived a perfect life, and that he was born over 2 millenia ago in a manger in Bethlehem.

I know he is my personal Savior. That he atoned for my sins and that he will plead with God the Father on my behalf for all of the pain, grief, sin and inadequacies that have ever been a part of my life.

I know he lives. I know that we can all come to know him. I have felt a special spirit this Christmas season as I have focused on drawing to him, and I am so grateful for the peace and joy I feel when I follow his example.

Merry Christmas, and may you find the peace, joy and comfort of our Savior this Christmas and through the new year.