I have a really amazing family, they are always there for me whenever I need them, and there is a mutual love of Jesus Christ and one another that seems to fill our home. But our life wasn't peachy-keen perfect either. When I was about 8 years old, my Dad lost his Job. Being so young, I didn't realize the impact it was going to have on the family. All I knew was Dad didn't have to go to work, and that meant he got to play with me...ALL DAY. To a kid that was like winning the lottery.
It's interesting to me, because I remember not having a lot of money, we lived off our food storage and our garden, and yet, I can't remember a summer I loved more than that one! As a child this was the greatest blessing in the world, but as a family, this was by far one of the most stressful times.
Wouldn't it be nice if we all saw trials like little children saw them? Like an opportunity for something
greater? I look back on my attitude as a child and think, wow, what faith I used to have. Even now I wish I looked at everything they way I used to, and then I thought about this truth beautifully stated by Elder Henry B. Eyring, "If we have faith in Jesus Christ, the hardest as well as the easiest times in life can be a blessing."
I love to tie-dye, call me a true Oregonian, but I feel like good tie-dye is in my blood. The vibrant colors are a form of expression and personality. No two items ever look the same, and yet, nothing ever seems to 'clash'. It's a different kind of art.
Our lives are filled with all kinds of color. When we are born we start with a white shirt, pressed and full of possibility. As we go throughout our lives we pick and choose splashes of color, are we bold? Outgoing? Musical? Political? With all the things we do and are, there are splashes of color, vibrant and dull. We involve ourselves in all kinds of things, progressing and becoming who we someday want to be, but just like tie-dying a shirt, with too many colors, a shirt just becomes ugly.
It's interesting to me, because I remember not having a lot of money, we lived off our food storage and our garden, and yet, I can't remember a summer I loved more than that one! As a child this was the greatest blessing in the world, but as a family, this was by far one of the most stressful times. 