Red Light, Green Light

The other day was stop and go... literally. The power went out all along University Avenue so every stoplight had to be treated like a four-way stop. It was scary having to trust that everyone knew what to do at the busiest intersections. Luckily I made it home safely. Only to find out, the power was out at home.

When I got back on the road after the power turned back on again I was really grateful for green and red lights. They are there for our safety and protection. They regulate things and stop utter chaos from taking over.

Somewhere I got thinking and compared this to the commandments. Sometimes we hit a red light and are so frustrated because we want to keep going. Other times we hit a green and sail right through the intersection. Commandments regulate our lives so that we don't have confusion running amok in our own minds. They give us safety and warnings of when a stop will be necessary and tell us when to keep going.

So the next time you get stuck at a red light for 5 minutes, remember that it's keeping you from driving forward and getting seriously hurt. It's only for our good.

Red light, green light.

Bad Taste

Life never turns out the way we expect it to. Even when we do the same things every day of our lives, something will always up and hit you in the face.

For example, I have brushed my teeth every day before I've gone to work or school for as long as I can remember. Lately, my morning routine has gone something like this: roll out of bed, quick bite to eat, brush teeth, splash water on face, get dressed, go. My early hours cause me to spend as little time as I can getting ready and using virtually no light because it hurts my eyes.

One fine morning I wasn't feeling well, so I had a glass of orange juice to start my day out. As I've come to find in my years, orange juice and toothpaste never taste good together. I didn't think twice when brushing my teeth that morning and ran out the door for work. As I sat at a stoplight, I noticed an awful taste in my mouth. As I thought back over the last 5 minutes I realized that I popped the lid off my "toothpaste" that morning... my toothpaste twists to open. I quickly opened the door and spit my facewash "toothpaste" into the street! It got even better too, I had to keep spitting bubbles out all morning long.

Now can you blame me? Who doesn't think that the taste in their mouth is awful when brushing their teeth after having orange juice?

Whenever I get down and don't feel cheerful I'll remember that morning when I literally was a BUBBLY PERSON!

:)

Lessons We Should Have Remembered

Today I went to the park with my friend Bekah. It was a perfect day. Clouds made the possibly hot weather just right. As we were sitting a little boy and little girl ran towards us. They stopped a few feet away from us as this 4 year old boy and close to 2 year old girl had a serious conversation. The boy started out saying, "Mia, you know how you wanted me to be your boyfriend? Well I'm already Dana's boyfriend." He then picked some dandelion flowers and gave them to her. He also told her that maybe when she was 2 he could be her boyfriend! What a heart breaker! He then told her to run back to her mom (which she did and cried as they went to the car).

As Bekah and I looked at each other and burst out laughing, I couldn't help compare this funny yet sad situation to life now. Sometimes we are too young, too late, or too afraid for a relationship. I also thought about why we can't see when the boy we like is only giving us dandelions instead of roses. I guess somethings we have to keep learning until we get it right. Isn't that great though? Sometimes we try and we fail. Sometimes we run to our moms. Sometimes life seems like it will end. Will we remember for a while? Yes. Will we cry? Probably. Will it go away? Maybe.

Somehow it always works out for the best.

Sparkles

I've had my lava lamp for at least 10 years. Instead of the usual blobs, it has sparkles that float in it. When you first turn it on all the sparkles rise to the top in a thin, snakelike line. As they reach the top there is a brief moment when all the sparkles hang suspended. In that small moment the best part of the lava lamp shines in all it's brilliance before the sparkles disperse throughout the whole.

My friend Lisa has encouraged me to keep a blessings journal and when I started college I kept track of the little things that make me smile everyday. I find that noticing all the good things in life and especially the tender mercies from the Lord lets us see for a brief moment the sparkling mass before it dissipates into every minute, every hour, and every day of life. Sometimes the good moments are like a little piece of glitter, only a small shimmer of hope. It is my hope that when we truly take time to notice how good life is, we can see the scattered sunshine in every aspect of our lives.