April 5th- The Miracle of Prayer

April 5, 2014

Today's miracle is a silly one but I appreciated it. As I got to work today I went to open up the store and realized that I had forgotten my key! This simply could not do. As I thought quickly of what I should do, my mind went back to a time in which I had lost my keys before. I prayed about it and asked for help to find them and sure enough they were found! So I skipped the middle part and just thought they were missing. I checked my car and my purse. Nothing was found. That was when I remembered the vital importance of the middle part of that story. I had prayed.

So I humbled myself and actually got on my knees next to my car right there. Don't worry, there was no one around. I prayed that I would be able to open the store somehow. Not long after my coworker showed up and she had the key. I had forgotten she was even coming in! Turns out God does answer prayers. No matter how big or small. What a miracle!

April 4th- The Miracle of Sleep

April 4, 2014

Today was kind of a bummer day. There was no latin dancing tonight so I didn't get to bust a move. That is usually my stress relief for the week. All is well. I will dance again soon enough. Since that didn't happen I had nothing to do tonight. Which ended up being a good thing for me because when I got home from work, I was exhausted so I passed out! I guess I really needed that sleep cause I slept for quite some time! What a miracle!

April 3rd- The Miracle of Madeline

April 3, 2014

Have you ever met a person and right away realized that person would be a part of your life from then on? No? That's just me then? Well, that was the case for me. A young woman named Madeline crossed my path months ago. I was at an FHE activity and that week we had combined families and gone laser tagging! Very fun. I noticed this young woman standing all by herself. Feeling empathetic and lonely myself I decided the only reasonable thing to do was to go talk to her. Not soon after, I had realized that was just not something she wanted. She put up the facade that she didn't want to be talked to. She was cold. She was demeaning. She was electrifying. The more she fought against the attention I gave her, the more I wanted to understand her. Finally understanding my concern for her, she began to let her guard down a bit. Within minutes tears welled up in her eyes and it seemed as though no one else was in the room. She was all that mattered at that moment. Seeing this beautiful young woman in such agony crushed a part of my soul.

As I walked home that night I pondered on her situation and how much the Lord must love her. I had two other occasions on which I had the good fortune to converse with her again. Both deemed insightful and oddly inspiring. Through her shrewdness I was able to see a fragile woman with the desire to just be loved. Not just loved by others, but herself as well. The latter seemingly the hardest, but what would I know of that?

Today, I got a knock at my door after work and it was her. Madeline put a beautiful necklace around my neck that she made and told me how she appreciated me. I had done nothing but listen. Much to my surprise and disheartenment, it became strikingly obvious to me that she had not the companionship of  a listening ear or an understanding heart. Madeline is a prime reminder to me of how much everyone needs to be loved. One of the best ways of showing love is by listening with an open mind and heart.

So who are you? Are you the one who witnesses the person sitting by themselves and turns away to talk to a familiar face? Are you the one who goes over to talk to the person no matter the sharpness of their tongue? Or are you the one sitting alone crying out for help without ever uttering a word? If you are, know that you aren't alone. Everyone has been or will be at some point in their lives in your similar emotional state. But you can be a miracle to someone today. Madeline was mine. Why can't you be that for someone else? What a miracle!

April 2nd- The Miracle of Groceries

April 2, 2014

I keep thinking something is wrong with me. I keep going to the doctors and they tell me the medication they have me on isn't working. I hate taking it. It makes me feel weak and dependent. I just wanna be happy again. Is that so much to ask? Well, they changed my medication again so we will see how this one goes.

You know, it's easy to just put on a face and create the facade that everything is great. The hard part is at the end of the day when you're left alone to the reality that it isn't great. I look at others and I see happiness shining through their eyes. I want that. I see people who have it so much worse than I and yet I still find myself self-loathing and dreadfully unhappy. There must be something wrong with me. How can I have so much to be grateful for and still feel so empty inside?

Well, I guess you can tell that today isn't the best day. However, amidst my bad days I can still find a miracle. Today I was able to buy groceries. After budgeting I found that I had enough for a decent amount of food. What a Miracle!

April 1st- The Miracle of Being Missed

April 1, 2014

Today was so relaxing. I only got to work a few hours. When I came into work one of my clients got so excited and ran to hug me. He told me he had missed me so much and to never leave him again. If that doesn't make your day then I don't know what will. Then I came home and got to catch up with my roommate Darbi. I missed her a lot while I was away. In fact, I missed all of my roommates while away. It was nice to see that I was missed as well. They all greeted me this morning with surprise and and genuine excitement to see me home. That was very much a miracle in my day. What a miracle!

March 31st- The Miracle of a Safe Trip

March 31, 2014

So I have been away for a while! I know... Sorry! Everyday really has been a miracle though! I decided to take an early spring break to my home in California. While I was there much occurred! Including but not limited to: earthquakes, bar fights, drunk Guatemalans that can't keep there hands to themselves and LOTS of dancing.

Today on my way home I was able to reflect on the trip I had. I realized a lot of things. I don't show near enough gratitude to my Father in Heaven about my family. I feel so blessed to be a part of each and every one of their lives. They will never know the effect they have on me.

I was blessed today to have a safe trip back to Rexburg. That is a miracle in and of itself. What a miracle!

March 15th- The Miracle of Some Jokes

March 15, 2014

Fridays are usually my favorite day because that is when I get to teach Latin dancing on campus. But I won't lie, the rest of the day yesterday was tough. It was my dad's birthday. He has been dead for a little over 2 years now. I don't know why I had such a tough day. Nevertheless, it was hard.

Waking up this morning I was hoping to feel a little bit better. My hopes were less than achieved this morning. On my way to work I was feeling pretty lousy. I called my mom and got to talk to my nephew Tristan and my brother Travis. Tristan had his first baseball game this morning and they told me all about it. Travis told me some jokes and lo and behold, I felt much better. Gee, I love my family. What a miracle!