Heavenly Father

I heard the argument recently that God is only an idea to provide comfort when life is hard.  It was argued that when life is good, no one needs or recognizes God in their life.  As soon as life gets difficult, however, people turn to God and attribute any solutions to Him.  Upon hearing this, I felt a strong desire to share who God is to me.

I believe God is the literal Father of all on earth.  He loves us with a perfect love just as most parents love their children.  I'm grateful to my loving earthly father, raising me as Heavenly Father would have him raise me so that I might better understand what God is like.  My dad is there when times are tough.  When things get too challenging and I've run out of options, I can turn to him and he will do his best to help me find a solution.

However, this is not the only time I talk to my father.  I call him when things are going great and I would just like advice on what classes to sign up for, or help editing an essay, or boys (yes, I talk about boys with my dad- I love my daddy).  Just because nothing is wrong doesn't mean my father can't help me.  He is also there for when things are going great.  I need merely dial his number to tell him that I got the research position I had applied for, to tell him about a great day at work, or even just to have someone listen to me as I share adventures of the day.  At these moments, I feel a deep gratitude towards him for inspiring in me a love of astronomy and a desire to work diligently for worthy goals.  I know it is because of the lessons from my father that I have achieved so much.  Lastly, even though he is far away, my father still wants to do what he can to make my life better.  He buys my food when they visit (or rather mom takes me shopping for food when they visit, but it's the same money).  He even bought me a printer last year.

My father has been an incredible example of what Heavenly Father is like.  God is there when times are tough, when things go wrong, when your heart hurts and your eyes leak and the world is so heavy you can hardly breathe.  He is there if we take the time to call him, through prayer.  Yet this is not the only time He is there for us.  If it is, that is our own fault.  Howard W. Hunter taught "If prayer is only a spasmodic cry at the time of crisis, then it is utterly selfish, and we come to think of God as a repairman or a service agency to help us only in our emergencies" (Hallowed Be Thy Name, 1977).  Heavenly Father is not just a repairman, he is our father.  He wants us to talk to him when we are seeking advice, he wants us to tell him of our success in life, and he appreciates our gratitude for him as we recognize how far we have come because of what he has taught us.

I've realized that I write most about the tough situations, the days when I'm given solutions and comfort.  I think this is because I feel those experiences will most help others.  But I want you to know, these moments are not the only moments when I see his hand in my life.  I see Him in the bright colors of spring, I hear Him in the laughter of friends, I feel Him as the missionaries I teach tell me that He loves me.

Wahoo!

Yes, I realize it has been quite a while since I've written.  Life gets busy sometimes- that's okay.  Between homework, finals, teaching, trying to still have a social life, I just haven't had the time to sit and write.  But here I am now, with a few spontaneties (that's spontaneous, turned into a noun and pluralized, spell-checker claims it isn't allowed, but I don't care) to share.

Spontaneity number 1 has already been stated- life gets busy and that's okay.  Being busy is actually really easy to handle as long as you remember what really matters.  Sometimes, regardless of how much homework and studying ought to be done, the most productive way to spend your time honestly is by playing with liquid nitrogen with your friends and roommates.  Nothing is ever so important that you can't pause and pray for a few minutes.  And nothing (besides prayer) is so important you can't laugh.  So bring on the busy- because that which is most important will still happen.

Spontaneity number 2- No matter how much you want to become better, no matter how hard you are trying to make each day a bit higher than the previous, life happens.  Life has been a bit of an emotional roller-coaster the past few weeks.  I've had plenty of high moments, like liquid nitrogen, school ending, and making memories with friends.  But these moments have been so clear because of the trials in between them, like attending the funeral of the baby of a close friend and the emotional strain of learning of the explosions at the Boston Marathon only minutes after my dad crossed the finish line.  I suppose the epiphany here is that life is allowed to be a little bit less than "better" every now and then.  When I forget to continue flossing and slack on exercising and retreat into myself, it's okay.  I'm not doing any worse.  Getting out of bed and getting dressed and making the choice to face the day knowing it won't be easy is the bigger accomplishment.  I don't have to feel guilty for being so worn out that I decide to skip Spanish.  

Spontaneity number 3- I'm grateful for my trials, so very grateful.  The Lord tested me and pushed me and made life really difficult, but at the end of this I realized how strong my testimony of God's Plan of Salvation was.  This is what I wrote about on Easter.  I had no idea how soon I would need to rely again on that testimony.  I would never have imagined that just over a week later I would sit at a funeral, watching my friend stand in front of the tiny casket holding her first child.  But I know, as does this dear friend of mine, that God has a plan for our families.  If we follow his plan, we can be with our families for the rest of eternity.  I know this is true and I am grateful that Heavenly Father helped me to remember how true it is so that my knowledge was there when I needed it.  I'm grateful that Heavenly Father is there to strengthen us when we are too weak to go to Spanish class. 

Spontaneity number 4- the semester is over. I'm free! Also- this is officially my 150th post. Isn't that cool. That's all.

Finally April

 It is finally April! I'm so excited.  April is 3 days old and it has already been so much fun.  For starters, I would like to inform the world that I successfully completed the Lazy-Iron-Man.  Throughout the month of March, I swam 2.4 miles, biked 112, and ran 26.2.  I did it... and I got a free t-shirt out of it, as pictured.

I feel very accomplished and much healthier.  I can make it all the way across the pool once without stopping and about half the way back. (If I have fins on I can make it back and forth twice).  I can also bike about 16 miles in an hour on a stationary bike while reading a book.  I have no idea if I've lost weight, I didn't check it before and I don't know what it is now.  I do feel, however, that I am more toned than I was before.  I have had to start using my belt more often... and my swimsuit feels to big, which worries me when I'm swimming fast.  It just always feels like it will slide off my shoulders, but that might just be a result of the swimsuit being really old.  I'll have to get a new one for when I take this class again next semester.  My goal for next semester is to complete the 500 (10 laps) without fins.

Well, that was the end of March.  April started off great! My roommate and I woke up super early to pull April Fools day jokes on friends in the apartment complex.  My favorite was filling up someones care with newspaper.  We also switched out a guys entire wardrobe with girls clothes.  Of course, these two individuals have both declared revenge.  This should make the rest of April pretty exciting.

Life is about laughter and I am so grateful that I have friends who allow such laughter, even mischievous April Fool's Day laughter.