Moving Confidently Forward

What a week! After clean checks, relationship drama, major school pressures, and not sleeping well I was more than ready for the weekend.

Friday I took off to Moab with Kara, Kara's sister Kami, Kami's friend Stephanie, and Stephanie's sister Whitney. Kami and Kara were scheduled to run a half marathon and Stephanie was going to run a 5K. Due to extenuating circumstances, mainly health related, none of them ended up running. But it was still a nice escape. We got into the area Friday afternoon. We went to Arches National Park and did a three mile hike up to Delicate Arch, which is the arch you see in calendars, on postcards, and on licsense plates. We also went to the Sand Dune Arch where Kara, Kami and I climbed up on top of it. We took pictures but I don't have those. We only spent a few hours there, but it was fun and I look forward to going back and doing more exploring.

Saturday Kara, Kami, and I rode back with Josh - a guy Kami is dating. We went to a bizarre cemetary where there was no grass and only one tree. It was just dirt. And there were these big mounds where all the coffins were. It was strange. We also took some funny pictures by this plastic cowboy on a bronc statue. There was a wooden railroad car there, too. Josh, Kara, and I had a fake gun fight on the top of it just like in the wild west. But I don't have those pictures either. As we drove away we saw a whole little western town that will have to be explored another time. The weather was pretty warm, upper 50's and it was just nice to get out of Provo for a couple days.

This is just a quick post but one other thing I wanted to say.... This week in my marriage and family class we were talking about revelation, and the Spirit and how we can be guided. My teacher mentioned a story about Jeffrey R. Holland and his son that really touched me. I found the article that had this story in it and I want to post it:

"Returning from an exploring trip on backcountry roads, he and his father came to an unexpected fork and could not remember which road to take. It was late in the day, and they knew darkness would be enveloping them in unfamiliar territory. Seizing a teaching moment, Jeffrey Holland asked his son to pray for direction. Afterward, he asked his son what he felt, and Matt replied that he felt strongly they should go to the left. Replying that he had felt the same way, his father turned the truck to the left. Ten minutes later, they came to a dead end and returned to take the other route.
Matt thought for a time and then asked his father why they would get that kind of answer to a prayer. His father replied that with the sun going down, that was undoubtedly the quickest way for the Lord to give them information—in this case, which one was the wrong road. Now, though the other road might not be familiar and could be difficult in places, they could proceed confidently, knowing it was the right one, even in the dark."

You can take from that what you will. But for me, it just reassured me that sometimes we are guided down certain paths (metaphorically speaking) or pointed in certain directions so that we won't have regrets, that we won't live with the "what ifs" and so we can confidently move forward. Sometimes we are taught things in those situations that will help us to grow now, or we will be able to apply later on in the future.

It was just a thought that really touched me and spoke to recent things in my life.

I don't know where January or February went, but welcome to March!