I found this picture online...I'm so bummed I didn't take any pictures of the weekend or the gorgeous cabin, but this picture looks so peaceful and beautiful to me...that's exactly what it was like! It was so quiet up in the mountains, and the snow was beautiful! And there was a ton- which made for some awesome sledding and a pretty fun snowball fight :)
First off, I have the best job ever. I am so incredibly lucky to have received the email from Dr. Pennington to his previous PETE 212 students, asking for a new secretary to work in his PETE department Mon-Thurs 8-12- Times and days that fit my schedule exactly. I felt so blessed that day, and continue to feel so blessed. I know that my Heavenly Father is always watching out for me. And I am grateful that I have that knowledge.
In the beginning of the semester Grandma Lucy started forwarding these "Latter-Day Light Daily Devotionals" to our family. They are so great! Each has a scripture, quote, and events from church history that happened on that day. I finally subscribed to them for myself, and I love reading the scripture and quote each morning. I really like today's quote by President Thomas S. Monson:
"As we face the temptations of our times, the confusion of choice, the embarrassment of error, the pursuit of perfection, our Heavenly Father is there to listen, to love, to inspire. Our Father to whom we earnestly pray is not an ethereal substance or a mysterious and incomprehensible being. Rather, He has eyes with which to view our actions, lips with which to speak to us, ears to hear our plea, and a heart to understand our love."
"The confusion of choice". Man. Tell me about it- facing the confusion of choice...that is where I am at right now in my life. I am excited and anxious to graduate from BYU, but it is probably THE most bittersweet event in my entire life. I have absolutely loved my time at BYU. But I do know that it is time for a change. Aaaaand the big question is: what is that change going to be?? EFY applications just came out...I would love to be a counselor again next summer. I think I'm going to plan on that. But then next fall...where in the WORLD will I be? Because actually, I could be anywhere in the world. Anywhere! Whether it is serving mission, teaching...who knows! Only my Heavenly Father does. I just gotta get it out of Him :) haha. Just kidding. I know that I need to do my part and work to find the answer. But holy moly, it scares me to death. I am trying really hard to stop saying that it is scary, because I know that something will work out, and I will see the Lord's hand in my life, as always. But for now, as I weigh my options and try to figure things out, it's just scary. I am ready to know where I am going. Patience... :)
"He has eyes with which to view our actions, lips with which to speak to us, ears to hear our plea, and a heart to understand our love." This part of the quote leads me one of many reasons why I have had such a great semester. Human Anatomy. I wonder how many times I have answered the question, "Wait, so why are you taking anatomy? Do you need that for your major??" That would be a NO. No, Elementary school teachers don't need to take Human Anatomy to graduate. But actually, I strongly believe that every single BYU student should take this class. We are so lucky to have a cadaver lab on campus where we can truly immerse ourselves in learning about the human body. It has been an incredible class. Of course there were a few times where I wondered why in the world I was putting myself through this class...especially last week as I studied for our lab final. It was a 50 question practical exam, where we were tested over 942 terms. Nine hundred and forty-two. That is how many terms I learned in just this one class. How amazing is that?? But just in case you were wondering, 50/942 = 5.3%. We had to study all the terms to be tested on just 5.3% of them. But hey, no complaints, I did this to myself! haha. It was so fun having my lab with Jason too. He cracks me up, all the time. So needless to say, I really enjoyed anatomy lab. We still have a few more weeks of lecture and then the final, but then I will be done with that class. And I never thought I would be this sad to be done with it. It is one of the best decisions I have made here, and I have absolutely zero regrets. I got to learn about the most important thing on earth that our Heavenly Father created- the house of our spirits. Our bodies truly are miracles. I am so grateful I had the opportunity to learn about my body and how it works.
As I think about past semesters at BYU, I feel like I have never been happier than I have been this semester. But why?? Once again, confusion of choice...I have a big decision to make soon. And adjusting to Kyle and Mekelle not being here anymore was rough, let me tell you. And I will always miss them. Even typing this little bit brings tears to my eyes. In the past three years, the memories I have with them and Mrs. Abby Blunck are some of my most cherished memories. I love them so much. And then there's living with Abby, my best friend, for two years and then all of a sudden having a random roommate...another hard adjustment. But aside from all of this change in my life, I am still so happy. I know that it is all because of the gospel. No matter what changes happen in my life, there is one thing that will always remain- my testimony of the gospel. Each Sunday I go to church. Even as I think about next fall and wonder where I will be, one thing I can guarantee myself is that I will be going to church every Sunday. I will always have my Savior, my brother, my friend, always with me. I will have the gift of the Holy Ghost to give me comfort. There really is no reason to fear. I need to have FAITH. Whenever I think about fear vs. faith, I always thing of Dr. J, my NZ director. That is one thing I am so grateful that he taught us when we got to NZ. And it is something that has stuck with me and will always be with me.
I think that only time will tell what my decision will be...and as we all know, time goes by much faster than we want it to sometimes...in this case, that may be a good thing :)
