Blessings 10 September 2019

Beautiful classical music--free and available so easily
   - having a job/office where I can just sit here and listen to it while working

Beautiful blue sky with fluffy white clouds.  And a big window where I can look at it.

Done grading legal decision writing papers! All the experience and knowledge to be able to do this in a not too painful manner. AND knowing Mark is here and I won't have to do this for several months!

Public libraries!!!!!!!

My car isn't vibrating funny anymore.

I don't have to work in the heat. BUT also that my car is toasty warm and thaws me out after hours in a meat locker.

Being able to read, comprehend, synthesize and share information. It really is magnificent.

My new, oh-so-professional capris.

Having items for to-take lunch.

My curls.

A supportive boss.

People who introduce me to new ideas.

Leftovers.

Family. Little boy nephews. Sisters.

A prophet who taught me to be grateful. And the Spirit helping me remember the healing power of gratitude. It has truly been powerful medicine today. Dip in Jordan.

For the sake of the righteous

Today I was reading in Helaman 7. For the past few days I've been reading as the Nephites, as a society, quickly digress into wickedness and iniquity. Today was more of the same. It's rather discouraging especially because it's so reflective of our society.  But Nephi reminds them that if they repent they can be spared. And I was also thinking about this scripture:

"And there had been murders, and contentions, and dissensions, and all manner of iniquity among the people of Nephi; nevertheless for the righteous’ sake, yea, because of the prayers of the righteous, they were spared." Alma 62:40

Thinking about the prayers of the righteous and a society being spared for the righteous' sake, turned my thoughts from the wickedness that I see and hear about to the works of righteousness I see and and hear about.  Later, as I continued to ponder on this, I decided that I want focus more on the righteousness that is preserving us. Not only mine, but that of good people around me.

So I've decided to start blogging each day about some righteous act I get to witness. This is an answer to other prayers, has others purposes as well, but for the blog I plan to focus on the righteousness in my world. Stay tuned for a daily delight!

I voted!

This past week I got to vote in the South Carolina primary election.  I wasn't as prepared as I wanted to be, but there were some issues I wanted to vote on so I went and voted. 

I arrived a few minutes before the polls closed, but there were still people waiting to vote and a couple of women behind me. After that, I had my first experience of hearing them officially announce "The poll is now closed."  Gratitude filled me that I had arrived--and found the correct building--in time.

Watching the women and men close up the poll, after 13 long hours, I also felt gratitude for their dedication.  I imagine that most, if not all, of them are there as volunteers.  Because it matters!

I love voting for many reasons.  One is that it's a rare opportunity to really see members of my community.  I don't have children, so I'm not in the schools with a mix of people.  And I don't even know what else would bring me together with people.  But in the polling place, I get to see the face of my community.  And I love that!

In this particular polling place, I saw mostly black faces and at least half female faces.  It's incredible to me to think about how natural and easy it is for us all to be there--especially when you consider that it hasn't been that way for very long.  It's almost a miracle to me.  And my heart swells with the joy of it.

I voted for the first time 20 years ago this November.  My 18th birthday was just a few weeks before the election and I was delighted to get to participate.  That first time, I voted at a small rural store in the middle of fields.  It was close to closing time then to (like this day, I left home before it opened it and just barely made it back to the area in time), but I was so happy to go vote.  This time I was at a school in a city, but for some reason it took me back.  Maybe being in the south again (my first time in those 20 years).  Maybe just the Spirit helping me remember what a special right and privilege it is.  I get to vote!

Now I'm inspired to be better educated for the general election.  And to do more in my community.  To learn more about South Carolina.  I'm a re-empowered citizen, off to participate in this messy, wonderful experience of democracy.

Who knew that so much could come out of a simple trip to the primary election?!

Elevated

Every few months I receive the Clark Memorandum. It's the BYU Law school alumni magazine and it is a superb publication. I always feel uplifted when I read it. (Sometimes I feel sad too, because I feel like I'm not doing much with my degree, but that's eased some with where I am now.) And always it makes me happy to  be an attorney, and an LDS attorney at that.

I love mornings. Always have. My mind and heart are clear; I feel connected to heaven; and it's easy to see things as they really are and feel the Spirit enlightening me.  The sunlight, the new day...it's just glorious.

And I appreciate study time in airplanes. People talk about the chance to be disconnected from electronics -- and there's that. But there is also the fact that I'm removed from my normal routine and all the tasks I think I should be doing. And then there's the fact that I am literally elevated above the world. Being up in the sky, surrounded by light, it affects me for good.

Well, this morning I had a 3-hour flight. And my reading material (grabbed as I was packing earlier) was the Clark Memorandum. I usually read it later in the day and it was startlingly how much better I understood because I was reading when my mind was fresh and clear. Put all 3 of these things together and the revelation just flowed. I mean, flowed. I have oodles of notes and that's just what I could articulate. I feel so grateful that for a few moments I was lifted up above the mundane and touched by Heaven.

From the past

So young and innocent (though we were having a blast being adults that summer).

Today I'm going through lots of pictures from the past.  It's a bit rough on the emotions, but also incredible to reflect back.  Here's a favorite from one of the best summers of my life.  Look at me...well, I guess it was 10 years ago.  How?

Bites

I currently have a mosquito bite on the back of my upper thigh and a fire ant bite on the fleshy part of my left ring finger.  The are both highly inconvenient places to have bites, let me tell you.


This is my 4th fire ant bit so far and I'm not feeling happy about them.  (See that picture? Actually, hard to see in the picture, but I'm not taking off my new bandaid to take a new one.  This is 3.5 days since I got the bite, the swelling is gone but the pussy welt will be around for a few more days.)

But they've played an important role in remembering as they've bothered me the last couple of days.  You see, I knew this would happen.  Last December as I talked to my parents about my life-changing, in-a-couple-of-hours decision to move to South Carolina, I was crying to them about the bugs.  Vermont doesn't really have bugs.  And I'm a huge fan of that.  Roaches, ants, fire ants, spiders, all those lovely things they have in the south.  I've lived in the south before and I knew what was coming.  And sure, enough, I was right.  There are a lot of bugs here.  And some of them bite me.  And some of them (the ginormous--should have been a tarantula but didn't have hair--spider that I saw while mowing my lawn) just give me asco.

As I was dealing with the bites yesterday I couldn't help but remember when I was crying about bugs because I knew I was moving and it was the right thing but I hadn't had time to prepare for it. (And my parents were so kind and respectful even though I suspect they were thinking--you're making a life-changing decision and you're whining about bugs right now?)  Because I was right about the bugs.  But I was also right to trust the feelings that the Lord was leading me.  Because this is so right for me right now.  And I am happier and more content than I have been in years.  Maybe I'll write more about that in the days and weeks to come.  But right now, just take my word for it.  Life is SO good for me.

So if it takes a nasty, pussy fire ant bite and a highly inconvenient mosquito bite to remind me how blessed I am....I can do that!

Vermont

You know you're in Vermont when half the passengers are carrying skates.

(They made me chuckle. The dad who is waiting outside the glass, watching his cute hockey player until she leaves is going to make me cry.)