Angels Among Us

I want to start out with my Sunday experience and then wrap back to last week. Cue Reba because I'm a survivor!!! I actually survived my finance class. Truly I am on cloud nine after completing my final exam. Going from a 56% to an 87% to finally an 81% is such an improvement and I couldn't be happier. Recently I was talking to a friend about how I am learning so much more than finance or management by taking these classes. I am learning more about myself and have been stretched and definitely doubted why I was even doing this and if it was even possible. Bless Jaden's heart for being my rock and cheerleader and giving me the best pep-talks, especially when I was a sobbing mess in the Poconos that first week of the semester. But I made it. One more exam this week and then I have completed my first semester and am 1/3 of the way done! 

One thing I want to make sure I have recorded is a sweet experience I had when I was very first beginning the program. I was so nervous, worrying if I had what it would take and feeling so inadequate because I didn't graduate from a business school for my undergrad. It's not like SUU is Carnegie Mellon or anything but I knew I was going to have to work harder than many others in my program because I come to the table with some work experience yes, but little to no book knowledge and I was intimidated to say the least.

 As I sat at my desk one night with the self-doubt and nervousness piling, my thoughts turned to my Grandma Moyle who always tells Jaden and I how proud my Grandpa Moyle would be because we are furthering our education. Since Grandpa was a professor, education was both a value and passion for him. As I pondered this it was as if I could hear his soft yet bellowing voice in my mind, "Believe in yourself. I know you can do it in a year. I'm so proud of you." I immediately wrote it down on a sticky note and put int on the whiteboard above my desk so I could have it as a constant reminder knowing I would be spending many late nights at this desk and wanted that sweet reassurance near me during those late and frustrating nights. 

And it has been such a help and a comfort! Just knowing you have people around you that love and support you gives you so much confidence and peace. Jaden brought up the other day how he feels such compassion and heartbreak for people who truly don't know what that feels like in their relationships with their family, friends, neighbors and others. We agreed that it makes us want to be even kinder to the people we come in contact with so that they can catch a glimpse of that kind of love, support and genuine care that ultimately is so calming and peaceful because it is an extension of Christlike love. 

It truly is so powerful to know that we have more support than we realize, especially on the other side of the veil. I think back to a day in Tennessee as a missionary when I first read the email from my mom that my "papaw" had passed away, my sweet mission companion said, "looks like you just got yourself another companion..." I have absolutely felt distinct times when Grandpa has been near and been a support and companion. 

Alabama puts it best:

Oh I believe there are, angels among us

Sent down to us, from somewhere up above

They come to you and me, in our darkest hours

To show us how to live, to teach us how to give

To guide us with the light of love

I feel so blessed to have had several very sweet and special experiences feeling some of those angels nearby. They truly do come when we need them most and show us how to live, teach us how to give, and guide us with the light of love.

And speaking of giving that was another key part of last week and how I want to sum up the rest of my recap. The importance of giving.  

Giving of Our Abundance

Our Relief Society put together an activity called a "Swip Swap" where we could all gather and bring gently used clothing and household items we wanted to give away and other ladies in the ward and any other friends and neighbors could browse and take anything they wanted and whatever was left over would be taken to local donation shops. A few weeks ago I had started pulling out more of my spring clothes I had boxed up and used it as an opportunity to take inventory of things I really needed/wanted and get rid of lots that I didn't. I read somewhere once that when you go through your closet you should ask yourself "Would I buy that today if I saw it hanging on a rack at a store?" and if the answer is no then take that as your sign to give it away. That helps me a lot when I am going through clothes and I quickly came up with a few grocery bags full of clothes to take to the swip swap. I knew I couldn't stay long because I had to study for my exam but I'm really glad I went. I was able to get rid of my stuff and picked up a couple of cookbooks and even found an oversized t-shirt that looked very similar to one I had recently looked at on Amazon. Like my grandma Jane always says "One man's trash is another man's treasure!" It feels good to give of your abundance and I'm grateful for many family members that have shown me by example to donate and not just throw things away. 

Giving Advice

I also thought a lot about the beauty of giving advice this week. I had several friends reach out with different questions and wanted my opinion on something and I really appreciated them feeling like they could reach out to me with questions. I also feel gratitude for a vast support network I have of people willing to listen and give me advice when needed. 

Giving Trust

We signed Bridger up for his first semester of classes at Weber State this fall after he returns from his mission. We've tried to stay on top of all the dates and help him out as much as we can so he can stay focused and make the most out of these last few months he has as a set apart missionary. In doing so it has been nice to be able to talk with him once a week and get his opinion and explain things to him. At one point I was explaining to him that we might not be able to get him into all the top class picks because freshman are the bottom of the barrel and usually have the last registration dates and classes can be full, he said to me "Just do what you can, I trust you." It's not that I ever doubted that my brother trusts me but hearing him say it so point blank really touched my heart. Trust is a powerful thing and I am honored that Bridger trusts me. I am so excited for all that awaits him in the future and am getting more and more exciting to see him and give him a big home in July when he gets home!

Giving Friendship

We say it all the time but our friends out here make all the difference in the world in this experience of living on the other side of the country from family. It has been so fun to have a group out here that is going through the same experiences of going to school at CMU and figuring out a new life in Pittsburgh. Knowing we have a crew to hangout with on weekends is a blessing I don't think we fully realize. We are so grateful for the friends we have out here as well as our friends back home. Logan and Bryn FaceTimed us the other night and with the time difference we ended up chatting pretty deep into the night but it was definitely worth it. We miss our friends back home like crazy but again feel blessed to have a solid support network no matter where we are. 

Giving Time

I have realized again how important time is and that it truly is a gift to give to others. This past general conference that was something that struck me from one of President Nelson's addresses. He said something along the lines of "give the Lord adequate time." It really struck me as something I need to work on. In Relief Society we talked about Elder Christofferson's talk "Our Relationship with God" and the instructor leading the discussion had us read the different scriptural accounts Elder Christofferson referenced. The one that most impressed me was the account of Abraham when he was nearly sacrificed at the altar and cried out to God to save him. He did and Abraham went on to be the "father of all nations." My takeaway from this story was that I would like to think that if I was in a life threatening circumstance like Abraham was I would cry out to God above anyone else. However maybe more importantly I asked myself if I turn to Him first in my smaller less dire but day to day experiences... That same mission companion that made that comment about my grandpa also shared with me a quote her mom would often say to her, "have you prayed about it as much as you've talked about it?" Referencing back to my earlier thoughts about giving advice I wonder if I often seek advice from others more than I seek advice and counsel from my Heavenly Father. I know that He most often uses others to answer our prayers but I think that an area in my life I need to improve upon is seeking Him out in prayer and asking for those angelic answers as well as asking to be given opportunities to be an angel in the lives of others.

Thank goodness we have a God that gave us the opportunity to come to earth to gain these experiences and learn so many important lessons. And thank goodness we also have a Savior who gave His life so that we can return home with our families and loved ones once more. They have given us so much to be grateful for and so much to look up to.

Elder Holland as always sums it up so purely and powerfully,

"So keep loving. Keep trying. Keep trusting. Keep believing. Keep growing. Heaven is cheering you on today, tomorrow, and forever."

Peaches

• Jaden inviting me to sit on the front porch for
•  a few minutes one day after he got back from the gym
• Went to the Cheesecake Factory with friends and indulged in our favorite Smore's Cheesecake
• Made zucchini bread muffins 
• Played games with friends
• Passed my finance exam
• Had great church meetings
• Facetime calls and chats with friends and family
• Listening to 2016 hits and reminiscing about high school
• Finding out one of my good friends got engaged!
• Feeling prompted to reach out to certain people
• Trying to find a place to get my haircut out here and texting a friend and finding out she just went to a place that day and loved it! 

Pits

• Compiling this note sheet for my exam, isn't that horrible looking!? It saved my bacon though!
• "Somebody" left our new can opener sitting in the sink so I had to blow dry it so it didn't rust
• Jaden's siblings all got Garth Brooks tickets and even though we are going to see him in Cincinnati we are sad to miss out on going with our fam

Lessons Learned

• There are angels among us
• There are people who don't experience Christlike love in their relationships so we need to be examples and give them glimpses of goodness in even the smallest of interactions
• The act of giving is so powerful