Aspiring

A while back my spiritually struggling son and one of his friends, a non-member, moved into my home. I try on a daily basis to have hope and faith that they'll make positive decisions but sometimes I wonder how well it is working. You can imagine my delight the other day when I walked into the house where they were both sitting at the table and my son said to me, "L... thinks we need more pictures of Jesus in our house so we can remember what we are aspiring for." That made my "mother's heart" leap with joy and I wondered what could have possibly brought on this wonderful change of attitude. However, it didn't take me very long to realize that what they were aspiring for, what they were focusing on, was Christ's facial hair.  They wanted to have beards like Jesus Christ.  At first this realization crushed my hopes and made me wonder what I was doing wrong, but I immediately decided I was going to respond to their request and I knew exactly which picture was coming out of my church magazine and going on my fridge.



After it was placed, I continued to think of this experience and their comment about Jesus Christ and remembering what we are aspiring for and I decided that they couldn't be upset if I blasted them with images of Christ since that was what they had asked for.  As I read my church magazines I began looking for pictures of Christ and as I found them I would cut them out and place them on the inside of my front door.



  At first it was done as some what of a joke, but I felt strongly that it could be a positive thing in their lives and maybe in my life too.  As the pictures on the door multiplied, my son was a little bit put off, but really couldn't say anything.  However, the friend, commented that he liked them and I continued.  Each day I would find a new picture and as I placed it on the door I would think of the story or the Christ-like attribute that it represented.

As I would leave the house each day, I would aspire to be more like Jesus Christ.  My pictures on the door continue to increase and they fill my heart with joy.  I'm not sure what impact they have or may have on my son and his friend but I do know that the impact they have had on me is undeniable.  I want to be like Jesus.  I don't know how long my pictures will stay on my door, but for now they represent my commitment to try every day to be a little better, to reach a little higher, to lift a little longer and to try to be a little bit more like Him.

Where I'm From

A couple of weeks ago the oldest son came by looking for my opinion and assistance on a poem he was writing for a class project. You can see his masterpiece, which received a 10/10 and the teacher called intriguing, here.  

We had a fun hour talking about his childhood and some of our family stories.  When he left he challenged me to write a similar poem and sent me the template to follow.  

It took me a while to get around to it, but here is my version of 

Where I am From

I am from mountains,

picture from here

from McCalls 

and North American Decoys.

I am from the house on the hill -

Spacious, wide-open,

it felt as though all I could see belonged to me.

I am from the weeping willow,

the prickly pear cactus,

long, strong, encircling arms and sharp, pointy thorns.

I'm from the faithful and frugal,

from Byron's flock 

and Maureen's garden.

I'm from a thousand words

and the cut it ups and put it back togethers,

from "families are forever"

and "because I said so".

I'm from We believe ... -

second witnesses, living prophets and binding temple covenants.

picture from here

I'm from Heber City and England,

from bottled fruit and dry ice root beer bubbling in an old milk can.

me, with the pony tail, and my cousins Deanna and Bonnie.

From the frosted glass over grandpa's right eye, sight lost to a flipper rock,

my nephew Brian and Grandpa Cheever

from the service Mary Ann was rendering the morning of her much needed rescue from Martin's Cove.

Treasures packed into published books, 

three-ring binders,
plastic tubs, 

salvaged envelopes and 

cast off shoe boxes.

Names, dates and places,

little known facts and much loved faces -

I'm the cute little sister

all links bound together in an unbreakable chain of belonging.

Today I am grateful for

a wonderful fast and testimony meeting where I felt the spirit.
coincidences that make me wonder if they're coincidences.
anchor points - undeniable spiritual experiences that help get me through the hard times.
a son who motivated me to be creative.  It was fun.  

If you would like to try your hand at writing a Where I'm From poem let me know and I will send you the template.