Playing a Bit of Catch-up

I haven't yet pulled the trigger on a new computer, but today I'm taking the opportunity to use one in the family history center to get my blog updated.  This seems especially opportune since I taught a lesson about the importance of journal-keeping for family history class today!  The last few weeks I've been precluded from this approach since I've been giving people rides from church, but today I'm on my own.

It has been reasonably eventful since I last wrote.  I had a company party at Seven Peaks where I ended up bruising (at least that's what I assume happened) my knees pretty badly after dropping straight down on them when I fell into a pool that was too shallow.  I've still been having some pain with that periodically when my knees get knocked, but mostly they don't give me much trouble now.  It was still a fun party overall.  We all got an extra long weekend because of it since we had the day off of work in conjunction with the Seven Peaks shindig.  There are a lot of nice perks that come with working for Food for Health, and this was definitely a good one.  It was a lot of fun seeing some of my coworkers in a casual setting.

Here's one of our IT guys doing the knee destroying attraction.

The next week, I got to attend the temple with one of the sisters I visiting teach as she took out her endowments in preparation for leaving on her mission to Orlando, FL.  I really like doing a session where someone I know is going through for the first time, because it always makes me see it through their eyes in a sense.  It certainly lends a new freshness to things that I've seen and done hundreds of times.  As I thought about it, though, I realized that I should probably always have that perspective, since I'm always serving as a proxy for someone going through the first time!

Going through with someone I know who is new to the temple also gives me a chance to reflect again on my own experience going through for the first time.  I will always remember that day, and I'm so grateful that it was as wonderful as I could have hoped.  Just having my parents there with me made it very special, and I was grateful for that personal time with them.  I'm also grateful that we were able to do two sessions back-to-back since I think that made everything much clearer for me as I pondered the experience in the following weeks.  This time, as I went through with this sister, it also came to my mind the significance of having had my parents serve as witness couple that first time I went through.  I doubt many people have that opportunity, and I thought a good bit about the importance of it in my own life.  It has certainly made me think through some things differently.

The temple has been on my mind a lot for the last couple weeks.  I've been able to do work there several times recently, but I have also just ended up at the temple grounds every Sat for the last few weeks.  Right now, I'm in the middle of a month-long health challenge for work that requires me to follow a set of health rules like eating a certain number of fruits and veggies each day, not eating any sweets, not eating after 8, and exercising 5 days a week among other things.  Because of this challenge, I've been making a special effort to get out and walk/run every Sat. before it gets very hot.  Each week, I've set out on these expeditions without a real goal in mind, planning to just aimlessly walk around until I felt like it was time to go back.  Somehow, though I've set out on a different path each week, I've always ended up at the Mount Timpanogos Temple for my middle point.

Once there, I've always felt like I ought to take some time for reflection as long as I was taking a break anyway, so I've ended up spending some time each week sitting somewhere quiet on the temple grounds, reading a few Conference talks, and pondering the temple and my life.  It's provided me not only some great physical exercise, but also a lot of welcome spiritual exercise as well.  While I always feel a little weird being on the temple grounds in my workout clothes, I've decided that the Lord probably doesn't mind!  My thought as I was there yesterday was a hope that I will always find myself ending up at the temple even when my life seems directionless.  As long as that's the case, I thing will turn out okay eventually.

This past Friday, I was in the temple again for another special reason.  It was the 7th anniversary of my release as a missionary.  Every Aug 15th has been a special day of remembrance and gratitude for me since that time, and I saw the opportunity this year to spend that day of thanksgiving doing work for the dead in token of the blessing I have been given to serve the living for a year and a half.  I am so grateful for the multitude of blessings my mission has brought into my life, and I know I am a much different person because of it.  I'm also grateful for a family that always encouraged me to have the desire to serve.  The huge impact that has had on my life along with their willingness to pay for me to go has been immeasurable.  I was glad to have the opportunity for personal reflection and thanksgiving on that day.

Really though, I feel like though I learned so much on my mission that I will always cherish, in many ways, I've learned more in the years since then.  I've been forced to grow in unexpected ways as I've had many unplanned twists and turns that have derailed most of the plans I might have had for my life.  In the process, my trust in the Lord has been refined and significantly strengthened, and my gratitude toward Him in all things and all times has been deepened.  I'm not the same person I was as a new RM, but it has been reassuring to discover that the end of my mission wasn't the end of my growth, instead it was the beginning of a new adventure.  I'm grateful that God has shown me that there is always something new to look forward to, even as we close significant chapters, both in time and eternity.

I guess that touches on the major points for the past couple weeks, though there is also no doubt a number of things I've forgotten to mention.  Hopefully soon I will be able to steel myself up to buying a new computer, so that I can update more regularly!

Note: I actually wrote this last Sunday, but forgot to get the pictures in and post it until now.