A Rainy Predicament

Be careful what you wish for.

This morning while driving to Salt Lake I saw the greyish clouds and wished out loud that it would rain.

I was meeting with a client to discuss details of an event I am playing at in a few weeks at a small college campus. I parked in a residential area and then walked to the building where I was meeting them. After we finished, the client turned to me and said, "You can find your way back, right?"

Of course I could. How could anyone get lost on a small college campus?

It had been sprinkling a little as I walked to the building, but when I stepped out and began walking the rain quickly became a downpour.

A downpour.

I started walking a little faster and went to the place I had parked. Except it wasn't there. I had gone down the wrong residential road, because I certainly wasn't parked on this one. I started running, hoping to find the street I parked on if I went a little further.

At this point the rain came down in sheets, and just when I thought it would lighten up pieces of hail struck my arms with icy stings.

So here I was--no coat, no jacket, no umbrella--trying to find out where I parked. In the drenching rain. With a short-sleeved, airy shirt on. My hair was dripping, soaking, stringy and wet. I can imagine someone looking out of their window seeing me walk up and down the same street thinking, "What in the world is that doing out there?!" I looked like Anne of Green Gables when she pretended to be Lady Elaine from the Lady of Shalott and almost drowned. I was completely drenched.

At this point I was hoping that Gilbert Blythe would come out of one of the houses and offer me an umbrella.

I walked hurriedly up and down another street, still to no avail. How could I have done this? It isn't hard, I told myself. You can find it. As the street curved into a different direction I realized I was seriously lost and confused. Somehow the combination of one wrong turn with the pouring rain, the darkened sky, and the winding road had left me in this predicament.

How do I get myself into these things?!

On the third street I went up and down, I finally realized that I needed to go much further north. So in the freezing, icy sheets of rain I walked until I had found the street (I didn't even know its name...and I still don't. It should be called Evasive Avenue or Disappearing Drive.) and walked up to my car. I put the key in the door, but my hands were so cold and numb I couldn't turn it. I finally was able to get in the car and turn on the heat where I promptly turned into a puddle in the front seat.

I have to agree with Anne when she said, "...have you ever noticed one encouraging thing about me? I never make the same mistake twice...There must be a limit to the mistakes a person can make, and when I get to the end of them, then I'll be through with them. That's a very comforting thought." I will never get lost in that same place again--I've memorized all the roads from walking up and down them.

I wished for the rain, too.

Sigh...I had that one coming.

I still love rainy days though.

And just for the record, I still believe in Gilberts with umbrellas.

Tomorrow is fresh with no mistakes! And hopefully no more rainy adventures either...

My Most Magical Birthday

Yesterday I had a most magical birthday.

I woke up and as I opened my door streamers and ribbons rippled and a most beautiful sign (made by my very own sister) heralded my birthday.
And then, as I was eating my breakfast...my sister brought my a magical lamp (in the form of a water pitcher) and told me to rub it.

Well, I rubbed it and out popped a magical genie (who looked suspiciously like my sister) and told me I had three wishes for the day!

Can anything get more magical than that?

Then I went to visit the castle (also known as the Jordan River Temple) and my day was complete!

I also got a royal fitting for a dress and the royal seamstress said that she would have it quickly sewn just to my request. The royal cook traveled all the way to Italy to find the finest manicotti for my birthday feast and the royal baker made a delicious strawberry cheesecake trifle with fresh handpicked strawberries for my royal cake.

My littlest sister even painted me a beautiful painting with the finest and brightest colors the world of art can offer.
My birthday was simply magical!

Why I Love Persuasion

I recently finished Persuasion by Jane Austen.

I loved it. Because...I believe good things come to those who wait.

But even more than that, I believe that good things come to the good. As you watch Anne Elliot she differs greatly from those that surround her. She is not bent on connections and class like her family. She is not flighty and shallow like the Musgroves. She is often stuck doing the things that nobody else wants to do. She does not complain or pity herself. And she loses her chance for love because she is obedient...and spends eight lonely years without any hope of any reacquaintance. And yet, she hangs in there. After waiting. And waiting.

Sometimes we have to wait too. We may be good like Anne Elliot, but things may not work out. The present is often a bleak reality for us sometimes. In my life, the blessings I expected to come often did not come when come when I wanted them most.

Sometimes don't we find ourselves crying in the middle of the storm because we cannot see the lighthouse?
Sometimes don't we wander in the desert, desperately hoping that we will reach a saving oasis?
Sometimes don't we reach a peak on the mountain, hoping for a respite, only to find that our path leads to an even more challenging climb?

Jeffrey R. Holland said, "Every one of us has times when we need to know things will get better...For emotional health and spiritual stamina, everyone needs to be able to look forward to some respite, to something pleasant and renewing and hopeful, whether that blessing be near at hand or still some distance ahead. It is enough just to know we can get there, that however measured or far away, there is the promise of 'good things to come.'"

Perhaps you are at a time in your life right now when you need to know that things will get better. Maybe you need the hope of a better future than the present. To this Jeffrey R. Holland says, "Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don't come until heaven; but for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come."

As my hope increases in Christ, I realize more and more that without a doubt there are good things to come. There were good things that came to Anne Elliot. There are good things to come in my life. There are good things to come in your life.

So hang in there. Good things come.

Kings Who Eat Their Good Grains

Tonight my little sister asked me, "So you know Shavashti?"

"Who?" I asked.

"Shavasti."

Thinking maybe she was talking about a certain crab on The Little Mermaid, I said, "Oh, Sebastian."

"No, Shavashti...you know, the queen...and the one that saved her people?"

It took me a minute, and then I realized she was talking about Vashti in the book of Esther.

She then energetically told me all about how Esther saved her people and then stopped in mid story and said, "You know Daniel? Well, he wouldn't eat the kings food 'cause it wasn't healthy" and then she told me the story of Daniel.

I had my scriptures nearby so I started reading her the story of Esther in the Bible. As I was reading the part where Queen Vashti disobeyed the king she stopped me and said confidently...

"Well, I wouldn't obey a king who didn't eat his good grains."

I erupted with laughter. She turned to me and said quizzically, "Why's that so funny?"

Somehow she had combined Bible stories with the king in Daniel and the king in Esther.

Maybe Vashti was just sticking to her "good grains" when she got kicked out of the palace.
Who knows?!