Making Waves

On Saturday, following a stressful week, I found myself enjoying the great Bear Lake with some of my family. One of my sons, his wife, and their small daughter, came up to spend the weekend. That break at the lake was very much needed. We took over a picnic lunch, a canopy for shade, and camp chairs to kick back on and relax. But what helped me unwind more than anything else was something I haven't done in years. I ventured out into the lake and bobbed on a plastic flotation device. It was great. I leaned back, enjoyed the slight breeze, and rode the waves while visiting with my son. What a wonderful reprieve from the tension-filled week I had survived.

I did have quite an analogy surface as I lay back, watching the clouds go by. It was much more fun riding the waves as they came in, than to sit on still water. In other words, the friction that caused the waves made for a more entertaining ride. Hmmm. Food for thought.

I will admit there are days when I long for smooth sailing in my life--moments when there are no waves. But what would I be missing if that wish was granted? Would I arrive at the end of my journey and find that I had learned nothing of importance as a result? Enduring large unpredictable waves adds spice and color to our lives. We may not enjoy all of the foaming crests that descend without warning. But there is something exhilarating about learning to ride the waves as they come.

Since my life to this point has been filled to the brim with varied challenges, tests, sorrows, and joys, I suspect that trend will continue until I'm "safely dead," a phrase I'm borrowing from an inspired talk given by a former stake president. The winds of change will continue to bring mountainous waves my way. With God's help, I can learn to ride through all of them until the final breeze fades into stillness. Will waves follow me into the hereafter? Time will tell, but I'm almost certain I won't be basking on still water. I believe there will always be challenges, growth, and learning; what we gain is dependent on the type of journey we desire to make.

Reveling in Revision

One of the aspects of writing that I surprisingly enjoy is revision mode. I find it interesting how many items I catch when I go through a manuscript with fresh eyes, especially after a space of time. Things that I missed before stand out like a sore thumb. Sentences are strengthened, tightened, and often deleted. Missing words are added. Paragraphs and scenes are plumped out or stretched. Sometimes when extensive editing is required it can be a painful experience. Many times a favorite scene is cut in the best interest of the storyline. But it has been my experience that extensive polishing always makes for a better book down the road.

I suspect there is an analogy in this process for life. We start out fresh, new, inexperienced. It takes years to polish, mold, and tighten our characters. Some traits need to be deleted. Other areas of our lives need a bit of stretching. Enduring the Refiner's Fire is often a painful ordeal, but in the end, we are better for all that we experience. Every stage of life is a new opportunity for growth, learning, and refining. And when it's all said and done, when all of the "revisions" have taken place, we will hopefully be what our Father intended in the beginning.

Transitions

The other day I heard someone exclaim that they don't like change. I'm sure my jaw hung open over that comment. Life is change. It has been my experience that nothing ever stays the same; I suspect it's part of the mortal experience.

I learned this lesson while quite young---we moved 8 times while I was growing up. This makes for entertaining moments whenever I'm asked about my hometown. Lately I've found that it's easier to express that I've lived all over Southeastern Idaho, and parts of Utah. I consider Ashton, Idaho my hometown, since that's where I graduated from high school.

I have lived in the following places: Roberts, Pocatello, Idaho Falls, Annis, Menan, Ashton, & Montpelier (all of which exist in Idaho), and my family dwelled for a time in Bountiful, Utah when I was in the fourth grade. Now if you were counting, you probably came up with seven moves. Since we moved back to Menan from Bountiful at the end of my fourth grade year, I consider that 8 moves . . . and that doesn't include the move from Montpelier to Bennington after I was married. ;)

Some of the moves were easier than others. I was about three years old when my parents left Pocatello, following my father's graduation from college. (He was a pharmacist.) That is when we moved to Annis. From there it was to Idaho Falls, after my dad completed his internship. Eventually my parents built a home in nearby Menan, and we lived there for a few years. Dad worked for Skaggs Drug in Idaho Falls during this time, then was promoted into management, and transferred to Utah. When he decided he didn't care for managing a large drugstore, we moved back to Menan, to the home my parents had built in that location. Then it was on to Ashton where my father had a chance to manage a small hometown drugstore. So on and so forth.

These moves were true character building moments---especially those that took place when I was approaching teenagehood. That age is difficult enough without the added challenge of repeatedly starting over and being labeled, "the new kid." And yet, I look back and I can see that the challenges that went along with each move helped shape me into who I am today. I learned to adapt to change, since things were rarely the same in my life. So by the time I went to college, I was used to life throwing twists my way. I was homesick for one day. Then I embraced college life and enjoyed every aspect.

One of my closest friends struggled with this experience. A friend of mine since high school, she had lived in the same place her entire life. She fought homesickness throughout our freshman year, and went home every weekend, until the time I hid her car keys. Our other roommates had conspired with me, and we kidnapped my friend, taking her to Jackson, Wyoming that Saturday. We then dragged her to a couple of college adventures that night and the next day. By the end of Sunday night, she was lecturing us for not doing something similar earlier that year. She had thoroughly enjoyed herself, overcoming the homesickness as we had helped her see the fun she was missing each weekend. Too bad there were only a couple of weeks left in what would be a final semester for her.

It has been my experience that life is often like a rollercoaster ride. There are numerous up and downs, and lots of scary stuff in the middle. ;) And yet, if you open your eyes and embrace the ride, there is a thrill not found on the complacent merry-g0-round. Ponder that analogy briefly. ;)

Through the years I have dealt with chronic illness (I've been a Type 1 diabetic since I was 19 and tested positive for lupus a few years after that), deaths of loved ones (a childhood friend passed away when we were in the 5th grade---since then I have lost grandparents, a parent, aunts, uncles, etc.), financial distress, worry over children, etc.

On the plus side, I have earned a college degree, married a wonderful man, given birth to 3 awesome sons, had 9 books published so far, and I held my beautiful first grandchild (a cute little girl) in my arms just minutes after her birth. This positive list goes on and on. There is so much of life that I have loved and savored, and I plan to savor more. I'm sure I'll be one of those who will leave this life kicking and screaming because I haven't sampled everything life has to offer. =D

Life is change. Those two words could be synonymous. If it wasn't that way, life would be stagnant. Reflect upon ponds of water that contain still water. They usually don't smell very nice after a while. This is the direct opposite of a refreshing stream that hurries forward continually. Movement\change is crucial to promoting growth. Not all growth is good\and\or\fun, I will admit, but without it, we would not progress. And how sad would it be someday to stand before our Maker and reveal that we spent our entire time in mortal mode hiding under the bed?!

Here's to enjoying the journey, making the climb, and cherishing each moment as it comes. Face the violent rainstorms with courage---even though the thunder makes us cringe, and the lightening often inspires us to run and hide. The new growth that will take place as a result is something to be appreciated, not feared. (Remind me I said all of this the next time thunderclouds appear in my sky.)

Side Effects

Between storms over the weekend, my husband and I ventured forth into a local canyon to check on the status of the ever-popular huckleberry. We had heard rumors that this year the bushes will be loaded with these plump, delicious berries, so we decided to check things out for ourselves. Along the way we came across some gorgeous impromptu waterfalls from all of the recent rain, and the snow that is still melting on the mountain tops.

This is a picture of Sherman's Peak, which you can still see contains a bit of snow on top.

This is a double waterfall that was quite spectacular.

And yet another waterfall that was gorgeous!

The ponds located on top of the world in this location, are filled to overflowing.

Here is another pond we found. Notice how green everything is around it.

And here the love of my life is savoring this beautiful moment of inspiring peace.

We did eventually find our favorite huckleberry patch. And the bushes are loaded with future berries!!! Way good news . . . providing it doesn't freeze.

And here's an interesting growth I found just as we were leaving.

It was an enjoyable jaunt, and proof that there are reasons for the numerous storms we've been enduring. It's almost dawn here in Bear Lake this morning, and the gathering clouds indicate more storms are on their way. I will more than likely carry an umbrella with me just in case, but instead of muttering under my breath, I will try to remember the beauty and growth these storms have inspired. Words to live by. ;)

Enjoying Storms

I don't know what the weather has been doing in your neck of the woods, but it has been raining in ours almost nonstop this past week. The rain has made things green and pretty, and despite the storms, we decided to go camping for a couple of days.

Last fall we came across a campground we had never used before about an hour away from our house. It's located in the mouth of Logan Canyon, up above Bear Lake and it's called Sunrise Campground. If you ever get a chance to camp in this location, do it!!! It's gorgeous!!

Here's what our campsite looked like:


Since we had ventured off to visit with relatives after claiming our campsite on Friday afternoon, we didn't return to our campsite until about 9:00 p.m. It was raining and we were starved, so we opted to cook our hot dogs inside the trailer. They still tasted delicious, possibly because we were hungry. ;)

It rained most of the night and off and on the next morning. We were a little disappointed, since I wanted to capture a picture of the sun rising over Bear Lake, but it was too cloudy. So after a wonderful breakfast, also cooked inside our camper, we ventured forth between storms for a little hike.

Here's Kennon looking out over the valley below and the beautiful Bear Lake:

And this is what he was seeing:

After I took several shots of the area, Kennon caught a photo of me:

While he had the camera, he walked around a precarious outcrop of rocks and captured a beautiful bunch of wild flowers:

I appreciated him taking that shot, since I was sliding around a bit in the mud and with my track record of "grace" or the lack thereof, I wasn't sure I dared climb around to this location. As it was, I managed to lose my cell phone for a brief time. Our youngest son was driving up for lunch that day, and since we were up on top of a mountain, we were receiving pretty good cell phone service. I had tucked my cell phone inside of my camera case, on the chance that he might call. When I posed for that picture Kennon took, I slung my camera case over one shoulder and the cell phone fell out. Fortunately, I caught on that it was missing before we hiked away too far. Following my tracks in the mud helped a great deal with the search. I found the phone not too far from where I had been standing earlier.

We finished our hike and returned to our campsite to fix lunch. We had opted to cook Dutch Oven chicken and potatoes which we also did inside the camper to avoid getting wet. Kennon had brought along his Dutch Ovens, and we utilized the gas stove that came with our camper to cook up a delicious meal. I also sliced up some watermelon, our first of the season, to go with everything else. It was all wonderful and we ate as soon as Devin made his way up to our campsite.

All in all, it was a fun camping adventure, even if it did rain on us 80% of the time. We hiked in between storms, played games when it was raining, and enjoyed bonding with nature.

I had an analogy hit as we camped this past weekend. [No groaning allowed. ;) ]All of us endure storms in our lives. We don't enjoy it much when we're facing a trial, but it is those "life storms" that will inspire growth, strength, and beauty. It's up to us to appreciate what we've gained. And to cling to faith, knowing that a rainbow is just around the corner.