I had some really cool things happen to me this past week, and I guess in order to explain them fully we need a little background... so, here we go. :) OK, so... the last few weeks have been... interesting... I guess it's been about a month of interestingness. haha! I mean, we all know that Christmas break didn't go quite as planned. haha don't get me wrong, it was good... just different. I was SO excited to get back to Provo. I was packed pretty much the day BEFORE I left! haha I'm a "pack an hour before I leave" type of girl. I hate packing. But packing this time meant that I was so close to starting what was to be the best semester ever. I got back to Provo, and once again - nothing went as planned. Nothing went even remotely as imagined. But ya know? I tried to keep my head up. I did try. But, I quite failed. So, pretty much this whole semester I've been just getting through. And, it wasn't a "get through today so I can have a better day tomorrow." It was a "get through today so I can get through tomorrow too." And, that's just not good. I mean, I was just getting through the semester and not letting myself enjoy it. We can't just 'get thru' life. We must enjoy life. Every second of it. But, I couldn't. Or, I wasn't allowing myself to. I was calling home almost every day just to keep myself from crying everywhere. I had a four day weekend and I just sat and did nothing all weekend. Shelby dragged me out of the house and took me to Walgreens and a movie. But other than that, I just wallowed. That's not like me at all. But I didn't know how to get out of it. So, that's why this week was so wonderful to me.
Part I: I think it was Tuesday (exactly a month since Christmas break started... just sayin...) I was in my Teachings of the Living Prophets class. I just started using one of my old spiral notebooks cuz I completely used my entire "new" notebook. haha But this notebook was pretty empty except for some old notes from old general conferences. I flipped to the last page and saw at the very top: "WAKE UP and stop being sad!!" I actually laughed out loud. I thought "wow, how appropriate!" and proceeded to read the whole talk. It was a wonderful talk given by President Uchtdorf a few years ago. I laughed again at how applicable that talk was to my life right then. But, I didn't think a whole lot about it, or about applying it in my life. haha oh dear... but anyways...
Part II: I was walking to Ballet. Up ahead I saw the most beautiful puddle ever. My first thought was how wonderful it was that Provo was warm enough at this time of year to have puddles! But then I saw everyone ahead of me as they reacted to this huge puddle. Everyone tried to walk around it, many people succeeding, but some getting a little wet, and then getting angry that the puddle had beat them. I on the other hand walked up and jumped RIGHT into the center of the puddle. The splash was magnificent. I went to Ballet with a smile on my face (and wet tights! haha). But, as I walked there, I got to thinking. I've always loved puddles:
Even in Sunday clothes or Ballet clothes! While most people avoid them, I love them. While most people get angry if they get a little wet from a step into an unavoidable puddle, I jump in with both feet and get it over with. I never let the puddle beat me. In thinking about this, I related it to life. As cliche' as it may sound, puddles are like the hard times in life. Not that I love the hard times in life, but I need to find enjoyment in life, even when I have this unavoidable puddle in front of me. I need to have fun as I'm getting to the other side of the puddle. I realized that I've been stopped, standing in front of this puddle in my life for way too long now. I've been looking in every direction trying to find a way around it, trying to get out of it, trying not to get wet. But, if I want to beat this puddle too, I can't let it get ME wet. I have to jump. I have to beat the puddle before it gets me wet. We all have to get to the other side of the puddle in order to progress in life. We ALL have puddles and these puddles in life are unavoidable. Even with this knowledge, most people will try to avoid the puddles, and will get a little wet in the process. And most people get annoyed if they get wet from an unexpected puddle. But, if we can stop trying to avoid the puddle, if we can stop moseying around it and just jump with both feet and make the best of the puddle by having fun in it, life is so much better!! We have to get through the puddle somehow! So why not jump and have some fun in the process?! We may not see the puddles before hand, in fact, most come completely by surprise. Suddenly, we look down and our foot is soaked! This doesn't mean it's too late to jump. We can still jump in the puddle and make the best of it! We just can't let ourselves be mad at our one wet foot. Even in the midst of a surprise attack from a puddle or a hard time in life, we can choose to make the best of it.
So, I jumped in that puddle, and I jumped hard. Now I've got to stop staring at this puddle in my life. I've got to stop searching for a way around it. There is no way around it. I've got to jump with both feet, beat the puddle and let myself get to the other side of this puddle. If I don't jump in, I'll either just stay on this side of the puddle forever, stopped in progress, sad and lonely. OR, I'll slowly muddle thru and still end up soaked, having had no fun at all. I've got to get to the other side of this puddle, so I'm gonna jump!
Life is meant to be lived! Not endured. I will not endure one more day. I will live, and I will enjoy! I don't know what my future holds, but I know who holds it. So, I know my life will be good, because He is always watching over me. It's time to WAKE UP and stop being sad!! I can do this because I know that He knows what I'm going through and He knows I can get through it all. He knows I'm gonna jump. :) We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so that we might accept the life that is waiting for us. I had a lot of stuff planned for this semester. I was ready to have the best semester ever. Last week I thought that my plans for an amazing semester were over and that I was doomed to endure the worst. But, now I know that I can still have the best semester ever! And, I'm going to!! It's going to be entirely different than I planned, but I don't get to choose the paths that my life takes. He does, because He knows what's best for me. So, I'm going to let go of everything I planned and embrace everything that life brings! Bring it on little puddle!! You ain't got nothin on me! :D
You are incredible :D
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