Teenage Babies,Tricky Treats, and Adversity.

No, my son is not having a baby.  Just wanted to put to rest all those assumptions out there, whew.

What happened was...
I cut my little dudes hair the other night.  I am not necessarily disappointed by the state of his head now as I entered into the thing with adventurous inclinations and tendencies.  It was rather fun and cliched, chasing him around with a comb and scissors as he jogged butt nakey around the room.  I am curious how he could possibly have known to stay still whenever he heard the "snish-snish" of the scissor blades.  And it was a tiny bit sad to throw all those curls in the waste basket.  I therapeutically repeated, "It grows back, it grows back..." to myself as I transformed my baby into a little man.

Which begs the question -- upon receiving a new 'do', why do our personalities also seem to shift?  Boogiebear looks and acts like a cross between a teenager and a Terrible Twos vigilante.  I miss his soft curls and the softer side that came with it.  He hasn't kissed me in days..willingly.  However, I was watering the plants a few minutes ago and telling him that plants like to drink water, just like us.  His response was, "Coooooooool!"  And he sounded just like me :)
Today we are going trick or treating at the local mall with some pals.  It has been so fun dressing up as Dorothy with my Little Lion Man.  It will also be fun to be done with trying to snap all the buttons on the costume and trying to scrub lollipop our of his mane.  Till next year...

Yesterday I gave my first talk at church.  It is one of the things that first attracted me to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (yep, that's the Mormons!).  There's an open forum that any and all can engage in to seek information about the Book of Mormon and all that it contains as well as the organization and fundamentals of the church.  No more funny looks if I ask blunt questions about life after death, the role of the godhead and what the heck does THAT mean, Baptisms for the Dead...do you know how CREEPY you sound???  Weirdo Mormons.  Nah, in this church there are plenty of people that actually know what they believe in (although, you must understand, this church is comprised of humans and you may ask the wrong ones to answer your questions...just keep seeking if you truly want to know).  So where was I?  Oh yes, my first talk.  Every 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th Sunday the bishopric asks several members (usually ahead of time ha!) to speak for a few minutes during Sacrament meeting.  And I was asked Saturday to speak this Sunday.  I was so nervous that I initially and cowardly declined.  But as soon as I turned around I knew it was wrong.  The topic was something I was familiar with and felt that maybe I could get some words out that may bring comfort and reassurance to the very people that have been catalysts for tremendous positive change in the course of the past year.  I knew I had to dive deep and just do it.  Had to get my Nikes on, so to speak.  Get pumped.  Oh yeah.  I could do it!  Oh my geez was I nervous.  I arrived as everyone was singing the first hymn and climbed up to seat in the cushioned seat next to the other speakers.  The young man whom spoke before me talked about prayer and how it can be so helpful.  It magically segued into my talk on maintaining faith through adversity.  As tempted as I was to spill my guts and have storytime instead of A Talk, I stuck to my guns and read more scriptures than personal anecdotes (a great personal feat, I tell ya).  I spoke of how our Heavenly Father has our backs by promising us that he will "consecrate thine afflictions" and turn them into some sort of gain for us.  I know dats right because although I was a good person before all the tough stuff happened, I have gained much more patience and understanding when it comes to love and relationships (friend or foe).  I have become brave and graceful only through suffering through a ton of humiliation and shame and pain.  I learned to be super smart AFTER being quite idiotic.  And I got to this other side because something inside of me always told me, "Hey, it's better on the other end of this, if you can just drag yourself there...whatever it takes..."
In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, they call it the Light of Christ.  I don't so much mind how you know it, I just hope that my folks out there know they have it.  That's what drew me to all the people I've come across...the worst one and the best ones. Like adversity, the Light of Christ hardly discriminates, I think.  So yeah.  It was all I could do to squeak out an "Amen" when I was finished.  Then the choir followed with what I believe to be their most beautiful and well performed piece this year, "All is Well with my Soul."  Call me self-centered, but in that moment, after turning from the podium with my face all screwed up in silent teary-ness (the ugliest kind of cry!), in that moment when the biggest picture came flooding into my framework, I heard my friends and sisters and brothers saying, "All is well with my soul," and I knew they were singing a confirmation to my very own heart.  All IS well with my soul....all is well...with my heart, mind, and soul.  And I know why.  And I know how.  And I know that I want that peace for every single person I've crossed paths with in this adverse journey through the wilderness.

"...in the wilderness, thou knowest the greatness of God; and he shall consecrate thine ^aafflictions for thy gain." 2 Nephi 2:2 in the Book of Mormon.
"And it came to pass that they were many times buried in the depths of the sea, because of the mountain waves which broke upon them, and also the great and terrible tempests which were caused by the fierceness of the wind...they did cry unto the Lord, and he did bring them forth again upon the top of the waters."
Ether 6:6-7 in the Book of Mormon.

Boy howdy did I get swallowed up by stormy waters.  Waters that I did not cause to swell and then some that I did.  There were times I cursed God and later begged him for help.  Looking back it is quite clear to see the many instances in which I should have been much worse off but survived.  The day that I gave up trying to figure it out by myself, gave up trying to solve all my own problems like I was taught, the day that I realized there was no way that any living thing on this planet could survive without a miracle...well I guess that's the day God knew I was ready.  And I was ready.  To treat Him more like my Heavenly Father and less like a mere philosophy or possibility or fair-weather friend.  I did drag myself through the last stretch and didn't look so hot when I arrived.  I probably smelled bad.  But babies look pretty ugly and smell funky right after being born, right?  That's exactly how it is...come out ugly and then ya get all cleaned up and you're ready to go to work.  Go to work living.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Happy Halloween 

to all and to all a spooky, safe night MWHAHAhahahahaha!

;o)