Timing

Two years ago, I was pretty sure I was going to be called as a Sunday School teacher.

Before graduate school, that calling would have terrified me. I was shy, and standing in front of a room teaching each week seemed like the most daunting thing ever. But this was a year into graduate school, and something had changed. I was surprised to discover I wasn't scared of teaching anymore. When I started feeling like I would be called as a Sunday School teacher... I wasn't afraid.

Because of these feelings, I wasn't surprised when the Sunday School President pulled me aside at ward prayer and asked me to substitute teach. "This is it," I thought, "This is the first of many lessons." My lesson actually went much, much better than I expected. I actually enjoyed it.

And then... when we received our callings, I was called as the Family History Consultant. This was a bit of a surprise, but I wasn't concerned. I figured I had just misunderstood what the Spirit was trying to tell me.

Fast forward to winter semester. The Sunday School president facebooks me to see if I will be staying for spring/summer. They are going to start a family history Sunday School class, and they are wondering if I will be available to be a teacher.

I won't be. I'm graduating and moving back home in April. But I submit the name of another girl, a family history major who I know would be an excellent teacher.

Life gets crazy busy as graduation approaches. I slave away on my thesis until the day comes for my defense.

I am TERRIFIED. But it actually goes quite well, and I pass my defense.

I walk home, on a high from the experience. I walk through the door of my apartment.

My phone buzzes.

It's a message from the Sunday School president. They've decided to have the class now after all. Would I be willing to teach it?

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This experience was to me, a powerful testament of the Lord's timing in our lives. Months in advance, I knew the call that was coming. But it didn't come until the exact moment (literally!) that I had time in my life to do it, without being too stressed because of the rigors of graduate school.

In life, God's timing isn't always so easy to understand... But we need to trust that He knows us and He loves us. He always answers our prayers... in the best time for us. That can be outside our mortal comprehension for now, but when we look back someday, we will see that it is all for our best good. He knows what we need and when we need it far better than we do.

So... when I get impatient in life, I try to remember this experience. God's timing is the best timing. Our patience will be rewarded.

The Rules of Hockey

One key point: There are three periods in a hockey game.

Not 4 quarters.

Not 2 halves.

This is important to know. If you don't know, you might get confused and think everything is over after the second period.

Or, when your team is losing at the end of the third period, you might nonchalantly comment that you can still make a come back in the fourth quarter.

Also, always remember to watch out for flying pucks.

Chilling in the Airport

First of all, can I just say I'm sorry for severely neglecting my blog this fall? I was doing pretty good during this summer!

I woke up at 3 am this morning to catch a 3:30 shuttle to the airport. I think I could have caught a later one (but the company didn't want to let me). My flight isn't until 7:10. When I got here it was a little before 5. I was literally the only person in the entire Southwest section of the terminal. It was CREEPY. But on the bright side, for the first time ever I could hear the volume for the kids' TV (I guess the room is too loud normally? Or maybe they cranked the volume up today, not sure).

Scripture for the Day

Proverbs 3:5-6: "Trust unto the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

My Youtube Debut :)

My first foray into Graphic Design

Infographic authored by Healthy Relationships California. To view the original post, see the original Do Marriage Classes Work?.

NARME!!!

So I am in the airport waiting to head back to Utah after an amazing week at NARME (National Association of Relationship and Marriage Education... conference... yeah). Dr. Hawkins has been trying to get me to go for years, but as a grad student I just didn't have the money for it, and it was usually far away.

I LOVED it!!! Everyone there was so nice, and so united in the cause to save families. Many people were very open in sharing that they felt called by God to this work. That's how I feel, too. It was like meeting the other members of God's army called to fight for the family.

I hope I get to go back in the future.

My coworkers are all amazing people. I don't get to see them very often in person--usually just once every two months, but it had been four months this time. Our meetings are typically one day, so spending four days with all of them was a new experience, and a very positive one. We are all friends at HRC (and also professionals, of course). I enjoyed spending time with everyone.

All the girls on the Comm Team even got to go to Disneyland together last night! We had a blast! They are Disneyland pros--they knew the best places to go and the best ways to avoid the lines. It wasn't very crowded, so we went on all the big rides (except the Matterhorn, Big Thunder Mountain, and the Haunted Mansion were all closed :( ). I will say Disneyland is different as an adult. I still had fun, but it wasn't quite as magical as I remembered... and it seemed a lot smaller, too. Still, I'd love to go back for a full day sometime! And I want to take my kids there someday. I watched all the cute little families running around--I think Disneyland is a lot more fun with kids.

Anyway, looks like my plane's here! Catch y'all later. :)