Flat Iron

I recently set out to go hiking with a friend of mine. We were going to hike Flat Iron on the Superstition Mtn range. It's a very difficult hike and it's easy to get lost.

Prior to hiking, everyone I talked to told me to remember to stay to the left after the amphitheater. We got to the amphitheater and we saw that there were two faded paint spots on a rock to the left, so we made the assumption that we were on the right trail. We stayed to the left. We hiked with our heads down for quite a while because of the boulders that had to be climbed and the cactus that had to be navigated around. The brush got thicker and thicker. Finally, we looked up and saw that we were definitely off of the trail and that our destination was far to the right. We realized that we could not go back down the way we came up because it was too steep and over grown.

We said a prayer that Heavenly Father would help us to get safely back onto the right trail. That somehow we would reach our destination in safety. After the prayer, we made a decision. We decided that since we couldn't go back down the way we had come, we would go across to the right because we could see that our destination was to the right of us. We blazed our own trail for a time, using our backpacks as shields from the cactus and trying not to think about what could be living in the thick brush that we were stepping on.

Before long, we heard voices. Looking down to the right, we could see two men quite a ways below us and they were on the correct trail. We knew that Heavenly Father had answered our prayers. We carefully scaled some boulders and rock faces. I would throw my back pack down and then climb down to a point where I could then jump. We did this over and over again until we made it safely to the men. We eventually made it to our destination, but we didn't make it completely unscathed. We had cuts on our hands and legs, but we were safe. Heavenly Father had answered our prayers.

As we sat on top of the mountain and we reflected on the experience, a couple of thoughts kept coming to mind. First, why didn't we look up every once in a while to view our destination? Why didn't we look up to see if we could see paint dots marking the trail? In our lives, it's easy to get complacent. It's easy to say all is well in Zion. Are we looking toward our eternal destination? Are we looking up to make sure we are still on the right path?

Second, we came to realize that we had gotten off of the trail by a staying a few feet too far to the left. It was amazing how such a small difference had led us so off course into dangerous territory. Had we recognized our mistake by looking up earlier on, getting back on course would have been much easier. Instead, we had to experience a longer, and more painful path in order to reach our destination.

Much like in life, when we evaluate and correct mistakes earlier on, the journey is often less thorny. There is joy to be had in keeping our covenants and staying on the right path for our eternal destination. There is safety in keeping the commandments. I was very thankful in this analogy for the atonement. No matter how far down the incorrect path we travel, we can always pray for guidance and we can repent of the things that were keeping us from our destination. The path may be difficult, we may experience pain along the way, but through prayer and through the atonement of Jesus Christ we can conquer our spiritual mountains and reach the top.

Here We Go Again

I'm sitting here so sick and decided to add to this blog since I can't really run or workout. Here are some highlights that I thought of. 

The other day, I was visited by my visiting teachers. Hannah took my hands, demanded attention from the sweet sisters and said, "This is my mom, Ralae. And, I love her. I mean, come on people, I give her shiny pebbles all of the time and that means I am thinking about her!"

Today Joshua is sick with me (and Cub and Luke too). I came down the stairs and it took every effort for me to make it to the couch without falling over. Joshua hopped up and retrieved me a blanket and said that it looked like I needed it more than him.

Mercedes was very disappointed that she's not sick, because for two days in a row, she's had to go to school while her brothers stay home. Se was crying hysterically and I said the words, "look on the bright side, you're probably incubating." She has done a great job changing her attitude about it. This morning she was rushing about trying to take care of all of us. Nurturing comes naturally to her. She lets Caleb sleep on top of her at night (on the nights that we let them all sleep together to form bonds), because he finds it comforting. 

Caleb is talking so much. He likes announcing to the whole congregation if he sees boogers in anyone's nose. He loves telling me that he sleep good. Lately, he has been wanting the Halloween song for his bedtime song. He makes large movements to show you that he is looking for something like his blanket and then he has to announce if he has found it or not. He tells his blanky night night when we get to our destination and I make him leave it in the car. Then, of course, he has to tell it to wake up when we get back to the car. 

Luke says very good prayers at night. They are always very thoughtful and lengthy. He gets sad if he doesn't, "get to talk to the God of the universe". When he makes a bad choice, he's been quicker to make amends and he tells me that he doesn't want to be on Satan's team. He wants to be on Jesus' team. He's a thoughtful boy who likes to write me notes and tell me he loves me. He gives me very long kisses, so we had to put a time limit on them because he was stalling bedtime so much.

Jon Mark is a great husband and provider. He makes my life so pleasant and happy. He works hard to give us our necessities and then some. He's optimistic and loving and such a great dad. I know he doesn't get a lot of mention on this blog, but I am so thankful for him and all that he is.

I'm doing good, other than my annoying zombie like illness. I'm training for another Ragnar and I am thankful that Heavenly Father has blessed me with a strong body and mind. I have been awoken recently to my potential and that perhaps I could do more to show my Heavenly Father that I love Him through serving others and adding to the effort that I put into my church callings. I have tried to be more thoughtful and service minded. I have tried to see needs in those around me and try my best to feel those needs. This has been a special journey for me. I have found opportunities to serve and build relationships all around me. I have felt my Heavenly Father's love more assuredly as I have done so.