Sunday, June 17, 2012

Farewell Fun

I promised I would report on how the farewell went last week.  This week has been so crazy that it has taken me a week to get around to that, but I figured people still might like to hear about it.  A week ago today, I gave my farewell talk in church.  It was about President Monson's talk, "The Race of Life," that he gave in the most recent General Conference.  It briefly covers the answers to life's greatest questions: Where did we come from? Why are we here? and Where do we go after we leave this life?  In short, it covered the Plan of Salvation.  It took me a while to figure out how to write the talk in the way that the Lord wanted, but the finished product turned out very well.  I received a ton of compliments about the content of my talk and my delivery.  I really appreciated all of the comments people gave me.

Afterward, I went back to my house, where we had a family lunch.  It was so wonderful to interact with everyone there and to chat and laugh and just have a great time.  I will miss all of the wonderful people in my life, and I was glad I had the opportunity to visit with them.  What a wonderful day!  So full of love, gratitude, and the Spirit of the Lord.

I was also grateful to have the chance to interact with some great friends at my farewell party on Friday.  We chatted, ate yummy treats, and just had a great time together.  Again, I will miss them all a lot, but I'm grateful we could have so much fun together.  I love you all!

Friday, June 1, 2012

Small Miracles

Just over an hour ago, my dad was watering the lawn and noticed smoke coming from our neighbor's backyard.  He assumed our neighbor was having some kind of bonfire in his backyard, though my dad couldn't see the source of the fire because the neighbor's shed was in the way.  When my dad got close enough to see around the shed, he realized that the vines on the neighbor's back fence were completely ablaze!  He immediately grabbed a bucket and started throwing water from the canal onto the fire.  Fortunately, he was able to put out the fire before it had a chance to spread to anything besides the vines.

I thought about how many small miracles played into this big miracle.  First of all, the fact that my dad was outside at the time was a huge blessing.  We're not sure how the fire was started; it may have been because of the highly flammable cottonwood seeds that have been blowing all over our neighborhood recently.  Whatever the cause, we're just grateful my dad was able to put out the fire before it spread; it was possible that it could have spread to someone's shed or something else valuable.  Second, the fact that our houses are right in front of a canal, an easily accessible water source, was indispensable.  I don't know how my dad would have put the fire out otherwise.  Third, that the fire was caught early enough that it hadn't spread.  It was a tense and scary few minutes, but I am just grateful for the little miracles the Lord sent our way today.