THINGS THAT STUCK:

I am writing some thoughts from words that have affected me today. I came home from church and began talking, talking, talking deliriously about all that my mind is clinging to. Ann spoke about the TIME we have with our children and are we using its full potential. We have been given this time but ah, the catch is, it is fleeting. You mean my little girl just had her 5th birthday. FIVE entire years have passed? I don't want to sprint after it, throwing my body out in hopes of grasping hold. It's just a reminder to live in this moment with my children. Scott shared how he has created trusting relationships with his children, in hope, as they grow older they will invite him into their life, share with them their brilliance and weaknesses. I gathered that he wasn't interested in disappointment. People will make mistakes in this life. He just wants his children to be able to trust him with their mistakes so they, as a family can get it straight. I love that he doesn't waste his energy with these mistakes but uses it to regroup. Yes, I think we all waste too much of our strength dwelling on wrong paths. We need to use it to reconnect with ourselves and each other.

The spirit continued when Terry Gifford, creater of SWAN (Serving Women Across Nations) shared some pictures and experiences from Bolivia. She showed us a picture of a family with 6 children in their one room house. A house constructed of materials found here and there, a house with holes that allow flying dirt when the wind blows. Here I stand, complaining about how I won't travel the world, can't escape my not so harsh reality for a vacation. I have warmth, nutrients, electricity, clean water, all of the necessities to create. Needs everyone deserves. Terry spoke to the kids in our Primary and said so next time your mom says you can't play your video games . . . I don't think that Heavenly Father will ask me "Where have you been in this world, Michelle?" I think he will ask "What did you give your family, friends, people in this world?"