A Grateful Currant Bush

This week has been good but a little long because I worked hard on a big project and getting other things done. This week I had a ton of papers, finals, and other things that I needed to get done. Between this post and the last one, I have been able to give one of my good friends, Crystal Champion, two priesthood blessings of comfort because she was going through a really rough time since she's graduating this week and starting a whole new adventure. I won't lie, I'm going to miss her because she's like a sister to me. We've been friends since we both started school back in 2006. We're both dorks who love the South, the gospel and who both speak French (I speak it more than she does but she does a good job understanding me).

A few weeks ago, Barbara and I attended the annual Jane Austen Yule Ball. It was lots of fun to get dressed like the guys on Pride and Prejudice. For those of you who don't know, I have read the book and my favorite movie version is the A&E 5 hour version. I should note that it seemed to take quiet a while to get changed into the garb which made me thankful that I didn't live in that time period. It was a lot of fun doing the dances and seeing lots of different people that I know. Here's a good picture of Barbara and I.

Going back to the blessings that I gave Crystal, it was interesting because in one of them, I told her as the Spirit directed that "Heavenly Father was proud of what [she'd] done with the friendships that [she'd] made and the lives of the people [she had] blessed." I had to pause for a moment after that because it was a tender moment because my friend Crystal truly has blessed my life.

So this last week, I reflected a bit on my past and where I thought I'd be. I was reminded of the talk "The Currant Bush" by Hugh B. Brown. This is one of my favorite talks and some of my longer readers will recognize that this is not the first reference that I've made to it. I remember feeling like the currant bush earlier this year because I through a third and rather painful breakup. Coming to the close of a year, I am definitely not were I planned to be and this next year will be to be interesting and full of new challenges. While Elder Hugh B. Brown saw some 50 years later that the Lord had hurt him to put him on a new path, for me it has not been 50 years but I will say that I am thankful for the path that the Lord has put me on. Because here, I have been able to help my friends and family, and I was able to meet Barbara. Barbara has been a great blessing in my life (for the short time that she's been a part of it) and she has helped me to learn things that I could not have learned anywhere else.

I hope that you my dear readers will be able to look at your past and see the places where God put you on another path even if it meant hurting you a bit. I hope that you will see His hand directing you and thatone day, like I am today, you will be thankful for Him redirecting your life so that you grow more and better become who He wants you to be. This is my prayer for you. I hope y'all have a good week!

Life's Like a Jump Rope

So this week has been pretty mixed. I didn't go on a second date. My sister Catherine is pregnant with my future niece or nephew. My roommate Eric got a contusion and I had a test. I also went to the temple with a long time friend of mine.

So from all this I thought about how we all have long or short life plans. These almost spring from hopes or fears. One of my dad's favorite quotes is "Man plans and God laughs". I definitely think this is true. I think that sometimes the Lord just shakes His head, smiles and says "Why do you want that? You don't need that."

I think that sometimes like Carl from UP that we have some dream(s) that we want to come true and they don't. Sometimes our cakes burn, some times we fall back into a bad habit, or something else doesn't go as planned. We then, like Carl, feel that we're a failure and we get down on ourselves. As I prayed this week, I expressed this feeling to the Lord. He quietly let me know that I was still where He wanted me. He let me know that His plans were different from the ones that I've made for myself. With small plans, it's pretty easy to give up. With big plans, you just have to take a deep breath and ask the Lord to help you accept His plans for you. Sometimes we need to accept His plans and enjoy the "detour".

A tender moment today, I was at church and someone was watching Mormon messages. They started listening to a kid singing "Families Can Be Together Forever". This caused a sudden pang of homesickness. Luckily my sister came over and I got lots hugs.

I will say that I came up with up with a plan towards the end of week and the Lord has effectively given a me way to do that. The title of this blog comes from one of my favorite songs by Blue October. This is a happy, up-beat song with a good message.