All Aboard!

"No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude, and humility. All that we suffer and that we endure, esp. when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hears, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God... and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation that we gain the education that we come here to acquire and which will make us more like our Father and Mother in heaven..." - Faith Precedes the Miracle

"Jenkins Lloyd Jones said, 'Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that they've been robbed. Most putts don't drop. Most beef is tough. Most children grow up to be just people. Most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration. Most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is like an old-time rail journey - delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally with beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride.'...the trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride; and really, isn't it a wonderful ride? Enjoy it! Laugh about it! Sing about it!" - Gordon B Hinckley

Casablanca Lilies

For our 5 month anniversary, David brought home these beautiful Casablanca lilies for me. I love Casablanca Lilies. But they is more to them than just their beauty. They give off this powerfully sweet smell that I notice every time I walk in the house. In the Christian world, the lily symbolizes pure love (which makes it even more appropriate that David always gets them for me) and in another historical account they were believed to have anti-toxic powers and a capacity of curing depression.

After learning of these many wonders of the Lily, the smell seems to be even sweeter and the beauty far more radiant than before. In a way I find that to be a lot like life. Just as with some people, once we get to know them and their many wonders we find them more beautiful and want them around (symbolizing the pure love). Just as with trials, once we have surmounted them and realized all the growth and strength that came from such an experience, we become more grateful for them in our lives (the healing and detoxifying powers). Right now particularly I am grateful to have them beautifying my home.