Dad's Advice: Leave it in the Lord's hands

On Father's Day I am thinking of my wonderful father and his precious pearls of wisdom. How grateful I am that he left so many writings behind so that I can study them. As I encounter trials and difficult moments in my life I think, "What would Dad tell me?"

Here's a keeper:

"Someone is being prepared for you at this moment. So leave it in the Lord's hands to bring about; and trust in Him for a happy outcome. I can say these things with confidence, because I feared that no one would want me, wiped out as I was, and am by polio. But I trusted in the promises of the Lord, through his patriarch, and I prepared myself. And he blessed me with your mother, and with you children. 'Happy Day! All is well!"

Thanks, Dad. Truly, you are an example of faith and fortitude. I hope I can be as faithful as you. I love you. I miss you.

Instagram gems

So if you're not on Instagram these pictures are new to you but if you are they are old news. I wanted to share some fun times without going into a million details. Here are some of my gems. Life is good.

Car time with the sexy six...I just came up with that name but I love these ladies!

Student story time, jump roping, and "the day we had fun" as my students coined it. These kids drove me crazy but we had a lot of good times together too.

The SW's return but no MDG. We miss you girl! And so does Boo :)

My haircut. I feel like a flapper; especially when I sport red lipstick. Great Gatsby here I come!

Hiked Billy Goat trail with Kathryn and crew. I'll be honest, hiking really isn't my thing but I keep doing outdoorsy things so that I'm a well-rounded person. I'd rather run around the monuments, I think.

I went to North Carolina for Memorial Day with a whole bunch of peeps from the ward. Here is a beautiful sunset. The south has so much charm.

Oh and to entertain ourselves we dove into the lake and caught the frisbee over and over again. It was one of those times when I wished that I didn't wear contacts!

My wonderful student, Sutria, from Indonesia! She leaves to go back next week. Talk about a beautiful person with a big heart and smile. I will miss her.

For kicks and giggles Allison and I went on a tour of the Frederick Douglas home in DC. I was so inspired by him that I started reading "Battle Cry of Freedom"...an 900 page book about the Civil War. I'm on page 25. We'll see how many pages I get through!

I got to see Megan and Ben in DC this week! So fun to see my niece and nephew and chat it up. We had some hilarious conversation. It makes me miss the fam.

Pat on the Back!

*Pat Pat*

I have finished my 3rd year of teaching people. I welcome summer vacation with open arms (I can almost hear Journey right now).

I'm just going to pat myself on the back and say this:

I have survived 3 years of inner city teaching. And this is no small feat. I hear kids swear. They swear at me. Parents yell in my face. Pressure is high to succeed from all stakeholders. I grade their long research papers. I break up potential fights. I look like a fool repeating inner city jargon. I am a therapist, a social worker, a nurturer, a disciplinarian...oh, and I plan lessons that are basically like stage productions every.single.day. I study history so I don't look like an idiot teaching it. I clean up their trash. Listen to their issues. Go to meetings. Hear an onslaught of guilt trips for not doing enough. Am told by my students that I "do too much" (ghetto accent in there). Yell at kids for misbehaving and call administrators to keep them in line. Work with students one-on-one and let them do test corrections after school for a test they never even studied for because they're lazy. And the list goes on...

Yes, I have survived year 3. Definitely better than years 1 and 2, completely. But seriously, pat on the back! Who knew I would ever do such a thing and that I have done it for 3 years????  Here comes year 4! (can you believe it??)

But first...

SUMMER VACATION!

Can't wait to relax by that pool or beach this summer!

(this is when all of you are jealous of my job right now but you all know that you wouldn't really want my job so no need to tell me that you're jealous because that's just plain ridiculous)

Girl, I feel ya.

Most of you know that I am pretty open about this "being single" business. As much as I strive to embrace it and bask in the opportunities, freedom, and friendships that I have, it can still be hard! My roommates and I all agree that being single is legit trial. And not like I'm trying to compare trials or anything or even complain; it's just that for someone (me) who expected to get married a while ago, this experience has definitely caught me off guard!

My dear friend, Charity, wrote a blog post recently that truly encompasses my current feelings about being single. Again, it's not that I want to be a bitter person or anything like that but just honestly say: it's not easy to be alone! There's an ache inside of me that years to take care of someone, pair off, and deal with the pains of life with a helpmeet rather than doing it alone. I have had this ache before I was even marriageable age. To not have your righteous desires met (yet) can cause an ongoing frustration.

Here's her post here (with her permission). For all of my blog audience, I think it yields a lot of reflection and progressing empathy for people in this stage of life.

I want to end on a positive note because I believe in being optimistic. I know that this being alone, not lonely business has given me a cause to truly empathize, love, and serve others. I have felt myself being pruned until I have had no branches left. The greatest pruning has been in the last few months. I have felt transformed and changed by the atonement. I know that my Savior bears my burdens and loves me for He has ultimately felt the most alone in life. I am grateful to know that I as I strive to make this stage of life meaningful, joyful, and learned that I can rely on Him through the bumps and sporadic bursts of aloneness.


All will be well!