My Plea. To You, From Me.

Doctrine and Covenants 18:10 "Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God." I am going to apologize in advance, this is kind of a deep post but it is something that I know I need to get out of my head or it will drive me crazy. I hope that this won't offend or hurt someone's feelings because I know that this is a subject that is close to the hearts of some of my friends that have had personal experience with a loved one, but my reason for sharing this is because I realize how hard that must be.

After hearing about a teenager in my mom's class that recently committed suicide, my heart and mind have been very burdened today. Someone once told me that if you say that you've never thought that suicide would be easier than living then you're lying but the fact of the matter is that it is not your place to decide when your life should end. Only Heavenly Father should have that power and we should not take that decision into our hands. Wow, huh. I hadn't ever thought about how close this was to people's minds. Maybe it's not to everyone. I sure hope not because I have decided that there are so many things that I am looking forward to in my life that I don't even think that the "easy" way out is going to solve a temporary problem. It won't solve any problems, in fact.

The reason for my post today is to propose something to each of you. When I was little, there was a kid that I grew up near that was always picked on. Even my friends were contributors to the mean words that were said to him and it was heart breaking. But I refused to participate. If someone said something mean to him, I would tell them to stop. If he was sitting alone, I would sit by him. If he walked past me, I said hi and smiled. Not a fake, "I feel bad for you" smile, but a real smile. The kind that told him that I wished everyone else would take the time to get to know him and love him. I really wished they would. I remember lying on a blanket in my backyard talking to my dad one day and he asked me, (i'll change the kid's name for my personal reasons) but my dad asked, "What kind of a kid is Pete?" I thought about it and told him about the kids that made fun of him and how they would torment him just to make him lash out on them and try to hit them. I told him that I wasn't mean, though. My dad looked at me and said, "Pete's dad was talking to me today and thanked me for raising you right. He told me that Pete said that you were the only friend he had."

I'm not saying that Pete was suicidal. I don't know if that is how he felt. I do know that I wasn't going to let anyone be mean to him. I wanted to make him feel loved and now I look back and realize that I made a difference in his life, even if it wasn't a big difference.

I would like to ask each of you to love someone deeply and truly. Smile at a stranger. Say hi to a person that walks by with their head down. Help someone that is carrying a table and chairs by themselves. Sit next to someone that is alone and learn something about them, maybe ask them about something they love. Don't say or think mean things about someone that is different, learn about why they are different and you might be surprised by how much you really have in common. Step out of your comfort zone and do something that you normally wouldn't. I beg you, make a difference in someone's life because that change may touch them more deeply than you realize. I love you all and I know that Heavenly Father loves each of you unconditionally. Now go and share that love with someone else.

Take a Little Time to Love

Last week, I was driving through my little hometown in Northern Utah. I was on my way to pick up my good friend Robyn and decided to take a back way to her house. I was driving behind our local high school on the street that my mom grew up on when I saw a little girl riding her scooter on the sidewalk. Now don't get all nervous that the little girl is going to get kidnapped or hit by a car or something, SHE DOESN'T!!! (when I was telling Robyn this story she got this terrified look on her face because she was afraid something bad was going to happen to the little girl)

Anywhoo, I was driving my car and there was a minivan driving in front of me. The little girl on the scooter took two pushes on her scooter and stopped as the minivan drove by her. I assumed that the minivan was a neighbor and thats why she had smiled and waved at them so i didn't think that much of it. Then, the little girl continued on her way, took two pushes again, stopped as I passed and waved to me, too. What a small act it was but it completely made my day. I didn't know the girl. She was an adorable little brunette that was probably 5 years old. She had little piggie tails and her scooter was pink. I am a 19 year old that was a stranger driving a jeep through her neighborhood. (didn't mean to make myself sound like a creep, I promise) But it didn't matter to her who I was. She stopped and took the time to do something that made me feel loved.

Sometimes we get so caught up in our lives that we forget to think about other people. It took this little five year old to remind me that everyone deserves our love. Heavenly Father loves each and everyone of us and sometimes he needs someone like me to be the instrument to show someone else his love for them. This was my lesson this week. Love one another. Even if you have to stop pushing your scooter for a few minutes and take the time to smile and wave at a stranger. You never know who you will influence.

Breakfast Burrito Blessing

7:30 classes stink! There's no denying it. I am not a morning person. So, having 7:30 classes 3 days a week really makes me not-happy at times. Especially at 6:30 when I am supposed to wake up. On Tuesdays my 7:30 class is my LDS Institute Enrollment Committee and so I really have to make an effort to wake up and go.

This morning was one of those days that was especially hard to make myself wake up. My alarm went off at 6:45 and I hit the snooze and decided that 5 more minutes of beautiful sleep was worth not doing my hair. Again, my alarm went off and I hit snooze thinking, "I really don't need to put make up on, hardly anyone will see me." I continued hitting the snooze justifying it each time that I did that I would just skip another part of my morning ritual. At 7:05 I finally decided not to hit the snooze. "Fine, I'll just wake up," I thought to myself. I layed in bed pretending that I was going to open my eyes until I fell asleep again. I woke up and rolled over and looked at my phone, "7:15, greeeeeeaaaaaat..." I didn't want to wake up. I knew that I wouldn't miss too much if I stayed in bed until 11 am. Then, I decided that I had a duty to be in class. I really need to be more responsible. So, I roll out of bed, say a quick prayer, put on pants and keep on the shirt I slept in and grabbed my keys and left.

Somehow I walked out right in time to catch the shuttle and arrived at the Institute building at 7:25. I walked in and to my surprise, beautiful, delicious, perfect-looking, steaming hot (not really, they were luke warm) breakfast burritos were sitting on the desks. Oh. My. Good. Ness!! I think that right then and there I could have died and been a happy woman. I just stared at the burritos until one of the other students asked if I wanted a steak and egg burrito or ham and cheese. "Gosh heck, I dunno. Is this for real?" I kept talking but I was clearly not awake becuse I remember saying things that made everyone laugh really hard but the problem is that I dont remember what the funny things were that I said. I grabbed a steak and egg burrito and someone offered me a glass of orange juice. I sat in my chair and relaxed as our class began. We went through our agenda and accomplished everything we had to.

We all have responsibilities in life. Especially responsibilities to our church callings. It is hard to do that sometimes but when we serve, we are blessed. There are different levels of blessings and sometimes blessings are immediate and sometimes we don't see them for a long time. But you never know, maybe your blessings will come in the form of a luke warm steak and egg burrito. And let me tell you, best luke warm steak and egg burrito I've ever had at 7:30 in the morning.