This man is an inspiration

The hornet and the armpit

Yesterday I overcame a grudge I've been holding for 16 years.
On a hornet.
Here is how it came about:

When you are standing on doorsteps, waiting in anticipation for someone to come to the door, you notice unique things:

Cracking paint, sidewalk drawings, meticulous wreaths, ants {p.s. New York has BIG ants}, doorbell styles, childrens hand print smudges, This list could go on and on.

Yesterday it was hornet nests. Does anyone actually like hornets? My previous experiences with them involve being stung on the hand as I was eating my peanut butter and honey sandwhich, and getting stung in the armpit as a I waved goodbye to my friends when I was 5 years old. Since that time any site of a hornet makes me tense up and do an awkward escape dance to get away from it.

So as I was standing post bell-ring yesterday watching the little meanies swarming in and out of their home in a brick, I thought about what it would be like to be the hornet.

And then I felt bad.

If I were a hornet just trying to do my job - whatever hornets do - and suddenly I found myself in a tunnel of color near something that smelled kind of funny and started coming down on me, I would panic and release the needle sharp point that stuck out of my backside too! {By the way, the funny smelling thing was a description of what I think my armpit would be like to something 1/2 an inch long.}

In stressful situations I think I am a lot like the hornet - nervous, unwise, makes bad decisions that sometimes hurt people. And when I am in those situations I wish people would try to view me as the hornet: trapped, scared and confused.

So i guess I should probably do the same for people. In fact there is a good word for that: forgiveness.

Thank you hornet, and waiting on doorsteps to help me understand this.

Check out tomorrow's video about a man and his incredible ability to forgive.

Roadkill

Let me tell you something about upstate New York. Actually, I'll just show you:

This is everywhere. Roadkill. This little guy was just right outside my car door the other day. I almost stepped on him when I got out. yuck.

I don't understand roadkill at all. I mean I'm from Idaho - not exactly the most urban place in the world - and there is about half as much roadkill there than here. I don't understand why animals in upstate New York are not scared of the gigantic metal animals running down stretches of hard ground. If I was 1 foot tall I would be terrified of it.

But I'm not one foot tall and I have a brain bigger than a chipmunks. SO I thought of how we are often like roadkill. We are just not smart enough to stay away from the monstrous galloping aluminum creatures, also known as cars. When we get in the way we get hurt. But then there is someone who looks down and says, "Why don't you just stay away from them? Can't you see they will only hurt you?" That's how we are with God. He sees what will hurt us when we can't and warns us through a prophet. That is why we need them today. So we don't become roadkill.

Empathy at the fullest

Father's day



There he is.

 I thought about my dad yesterday as we {Sister McKenna, my teaching companion & I} went to meet with a woman who had recently gone through a divorce.

My Dad = Sarcastic, funny, OB-GYN, Hardworker, wears giant earphones when he works in the yard, likes peanuts & chocolate, smart smart smart, reads history, reads about politics, reads about pretty much everything, still holds my mom's hand, dances around to "The Letterman," serves in our congregation multiple hours a week, strict, and sometimes he reminds me of a bobble head.

Let's just say my dad's a great guy, yes?

So even though I am thousands of miles away from him this Father's day, I feel pretty grateful to have him.

But many people are not that lucky. Yesterday was one of those days that, at age 21, I was suprised and at the situation I found myself in. The sweet woman was pouring out her frustrations and her anxiety about her little boy. What will it be like for him to grow up with a mom and dad that aren't together? And she wanted me to comfort her. Thankfully, while we didn't know everything, we knew enough.

Some people in this world may not have a father on earth, but they always have their heavenly father, and they can always know that even though life is not easy, Jesus Christ, through his atonement, has felt everything that we have ever felt.

Look for the great video that can accompany this tomorrow!

What's so scary about me?

"Stay away from her!" The woman shouted at my teaching companion and I from across the street as we walked down a neighborhood road at 3 in the afternoon. We were startled and a bit confused. We looked over and saw her teenage daughter walking up a driveway of a nearby house. The woman thought we were going to.... what?

Let me explain. As a 5'5" 120 pound woman of 21 - who can maybe do 10 'guy' pushups - up until this point in my life, no one {and by that I mean literally no one}has been scared of me. This was a new experience for me. {obviously a bit shocking to me as well since I am now blogging about it.} But it's caused me to reflect. Really, what is so scary about me?

This is what I have discovered: what I, and 52,000 like me, teach changes lives drastically. It improves family realtionships. It changes lifestyles, habits, priorities, self-esteem and happiness for the better. So I guess for those scared of change and improving life, that is terrifying.

A month ago I left for a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Have you seen us around? We are all over the world. The men wear suits, the women wear skirts and dresses and we are recognized by a little black name tag we wear on the left side of our shirts.

We leave at age 19 or 21, pay for our own way and live in places very foreign to us. This says nothing about us as individuals - just about what we do. We teach a simple but beautiful message: Because God is our Loving Heavenly Father he has given us things to make us happy, and we discover that happiness by following Jesus Christ. The church that Jesus Christ set up when he was on the earth has been restored through a prophet, Joseph Smith and since that time all the full gifts that god wants us to have are now available - such as being able to live with your family even after you die.

If sharing the news of happiness, love, understanding and peace = scary then I would say yes. I am very scary indeed.