...Sacrifice et le Petit Prince

 I know, I know. I'm slacking in this whole blogging business, but life has become super crazy and very hard in a lot of different ways, so I've kind of had my mind occupied.  However, some fun and awesome things have happened that I want to share. Even though I should be taking this time to study for the 6 tests I have to take by Wednesday....

First off, Bridget is in a photography class, and for her final she had to pick a theme for her pictures. She chose "adults doing kid things" to show that we don't grow up completely. But then while she and I were taking some pictures, she got some good candid shots, so she decided to combine the two. So, one weekend, she recruited some friends (Ariel, Darren, Ryan, and I) to do some kid things while she took pictures. We went to the local park and played on the playground, blew bubbles, had a squirt-gun fight, did hopscotch, and even ate a cake with our hands. It was a good time. Check it out!

Blowing bubbles with hard double bubble is harder than it sounds...

Ahh! Blowback! (10 points to whomever can name that movie)

Bubble Shark!

Darren was the last one to survive on Lava Monster

Darren snuck off to refill the squirt guns and came back for a surprise attack

Ryan was really into that cake....

So those are just a few of the pics we took. It was a blast and a half! Then after that Darren, Ryan, Hannah and I all went to Final Cut and then watched Midnight in Paris because I got credit for it as a cultural activity in French. Score! It was an evening well-spent. A good way to unwind before we all became completely over-wound with finals. 

Then we had the last three days of classes, which is always awesome, and then finals! Yay finals...? This semester, I not only have a final for each of my 5 classes, but I also have two tests I need to take to become officially certified/licensed to spray pesticides! Though if anyone is thinking of asking me to spray their yard with some heavy duty stuff, please don't ask. Haha I'm still working on being able to get the calculations right for how much to use, and we wouldn't want to spray too much, now would we?   Anyways...so classes ended on Wednesday. That night, Bridget, Heather, Darren, Ariel and I went to a University Choral choir concert for our friends Catherine and Hannah. It was actually really good! And they did a French song, which makes it that much more awesome!

Then came Thursday. When I got home from work, we headed out to a ropes course with our roommies from last year: Rachel, Amanda, Catherine, Ariel, Bridget, and I. And our friend Jared tagged along to make our group 7.  It was so much fun! Heather works there, and she did all of this for us without being payed, so a special shout-out to her saying thanks again for being so awesome and letting us have such a fun time there with you!  First we did a zip line, which was my favorite thing. Then we all swung in this giant swing- it's crazy! Your group members pull you up really high using a rope, then you let go whenever you're ready, but your first swing is backwards! Such a rush! It's like being on a roller coaster!  Then you can do fun things while you're swinging, like flips and such.  

Catherine, ready to go!

Ariel on the zip line

Bridget clinging for life on the zip line....

Heather. A beast.

Catherine getting ready for the swing.

The team, ready to go!

Getting ready to pull!

After the swing.

Okay, so this next one needs a little of explaining. For the last 'course' there was this tall tree trunk with stakes in it to climb, and a small platform attached to the top.  Our goal, climb the tree. Stand on top of the platform. Jump off the platform and try to grab the bar that was hanging from another line which seemed like forever away. Oh yeah, and the tree was not completely secure-it wobbled. So you have to keep your balance pretty well too.  Climbing was easy. Trying to stand up on that platform wasn't scary, but maybe a little challenging. The hardest part, at least for me, was to actually jump off, because that bar seemed so freaking far away! But I did it. We all did it! Jared was the only one to actually grab the bar with both hands and hang on, but we all climbed and we all jumped. We are awesome, it's true.

Rachel, all ready to climb!

Bridget ready to go next

Catherine-no fear.

Me on top, ready to jump.

It was way fun, and totally worth the $6! Especially since we all got to do it together! After, we all went to the Creamery for some delicious milkshakes and a good chat. 

Next was Friday, obvi.  I studied, then went to work. After work, I headed out to our Final Ward Social at an elementary school. It was a 90s themed field day! Woot woot! I didn't get there till about 90 min after it started because I had been at work, but it was still fun. I finished watching a game of kickball that was going on, then Bridget and I dominated in a three-legged race. That's pretty much why I came: to show how we are invincible when it comes to stuff like that. =)  Some people called it cheating; I prefer to call it as using my resources. I can't help it if she's my other half and we can practically do things as one person. Just how it works.  So that was fun.

Then on Saturday I was studying ALL morning for my French final that afternoon. I think it went pretty well. Hopefully it'll help to raise my grade, because I could use that. I mean, I certainly learned a lot in that class, and I really enjoy French, but the grading system does NOT show an accurate determination of what you know. Oh well.  As long as I pass right...? Which I will.

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Now for Sunday. The most important day of the week. Oh my goodness! I just realized I did not post anything for Easter!! Happy Easter everyone! Easter is my favorite holiday. It didn't used to be, but the more I have learned, grown, matured, and expanded my knowledge of the Atonement, crucifixion, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, it has become such an important and necessary part of my life that I just can't help but love the Easter season more than anything.

Anyway, please enjoy this beautiful hymn in the background while you read, if you so desire.

Church today was exactly what I needed. Though I was able to have some fun on a few days, the last few weeks have been some of the most difficult, challenging, testing, and straight-up hardest weeks I have had in quite a while, for many reasons, most of which are completely unrelated to school.   And having 7 tests to add on top of that for the next three days doesn't really help either. So I've been feeling a bit run-down and overwhelmed to say the least, while struggling with these internal battles and feelings of inadequacy and self-esteem. Anyways...not my point. Today's topic in sacrament meeting was sacrifice. Which is ironic, this being finals week, and it being the same topic that my French teacher talked to us about on the last day of class. While the word sacrifice can be derived from Latin, it can also be derived from French: sacré and faire, which literally means 'to make scared'.  To me, sacrificing can be seen as sanctifying, making something sacred to you. In the talks today, it was mentioned that we can make sacrifices in temporal things, such as time and money, in relationships, as well as to sacrifice our will, and an interesting point was brought up in relation to that. The speaker that mentioned those three types of sacrifice, which was actually Heather, mentioned a quote from an Apostle (I don't remember who) along the lines of our will being the hardest thing for us to sacrifice, because it really is the only thing that is OURS to sacrifice; everything else we have that we 'sacrifice' has already been given to us by our Father in Heaven. Everything we have is from Him, but our own will, that is something that we personally get to choose as to whether or not we will give up for Him.  There were many other good points made in the talks, but I don't want to write a novel here. And it was a point like that one that made me realize that I have not been sacrificing all that I have for the Lord like I should. While my relationship with my Father in Heaven has developed into something strong and impenetrable, there are still many things within my life that I should be doing to show my love for Him that I have not been as good at doing. There are much better things I could do with my time and resources to help in building His kingdom, to strengthen those around me and to serve, and to build up my own testimony as well. These talks were just an eye opener for me and helped me to realize some things I want to become better at and things I want to change. Plus, I really feel like making the sacrifice in my time and resources to serve those around me and do what the Lord would have me do will help me in the other aspects of my life and will help to relieve the burdens I'm bearing, and to provide comfort and guidance in the struggles that are starting me right in the face. Some people look at sacrifice as a burden. I see it as a privilege. Our Lord Jesus Christ has sacrificed everything for us; He is the ultimate sacrifice. If we truly love Him for what He did for each of us, why wouldn't we want to sacrifice what we have, even what He has given us, to show Him how truly grateful we are? It is a blessing and a privilege to be able to sacrifice for our Lord and Savior, and it is something that I feel we all need to have softened heart towards, including myself.  

Now it's story time! In French when Mlle Hendry was talking to us about sacrifice, she spent some time reading parts of this:

The Little Prince. We didn't read all of it, and I haven't had the chance to read it all myself yet, but basically there's this boy from another planet who falls in love with a rose. Then he comes to earth and sees that there are so many roses, and is sad to think that his rose is no longer special because there are so many. Then he becomes friends with a fox, who he tames and becomes friends with. But then he must go back to his planet. This is the conversation between the boy and the fox before he leaves:

So the little prince tamed the fox. And when the hour of his departure drew near--

"Ah," said the fox, "I shall cry."

"It is your own fault," said the little prince. "I never wished you any sort of harm; but you wanted me to tame you..."

"Yes, that is so," said the fox.

"But now you are going to cry!" said the little prince.

"Yes, that is so," said the fox.

"Then it has done you no good at all!"

"It has done me good," said the fox, "because of the color of the wheat fields." And then he added:

"Go and look again at the roses. You will understand now that yours is unique in all the world. Then come back to say goodbye to me, and I will make you a present of a secret."

 ***

The little prince went away, to look again at the roses.

"You are not at all like my rose," he said. "As yet you are nothing. No one has tamed you, and you have tamed no one. You are like my fox when I first knew him. He was only a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But I have made him my friend, and now he is unique in all the world."

And the roses were very much embarassed.

"You are beautiful, but you are empty," he went on. "One could not die for you. To be sure, an ordinary passerby would think that my rose looked just like you-- the rose that belongs to me. But in herself alone she is more important than all the hundreds of you other roses: because it is she that I have watered; because it is she that I have put under the glass globe; because it is she that I have sheltered behind the screen; because it is for her that I have killed the caterpillars (except the two or three that we saved to become butterflies); because it is she that I have listened to, when she grumbled, or boasted, or ever sometimes when she said nothing. Because she is my rose.

***

And he went back to meet the fox.

"Goodbye," he said.

"Goodbye," said the fox. "And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."

"What is essential is invisible to the eye," the little prince repeated, so that he would be sure to remember.

"It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important."

"It is the time I have wasted for my rose--" said the little prince, so that he would be sure to remember.

"Men have forgotten this truth," said the fox. "But you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed. You are responsible for your rose..."

"I am responsible for my rose," the little prince repeated, so that he would be sure to remember.

   

I think this story is so cute, and I can't wait to read the whole thing. The English translation isn't as good, but it's not bad. Referring to sacrifice, Mlle Hendry mentioned the second section I attached here: if we take the time to care for the things that are important to us, to really sacrifice our time, skills and resources to building it and making it grow, just like le petit prince did for his rose, that one thing we sacrificed for will become so precious to us it will not be anything ordinary to us. It will be unique in all the world. And it's the same with Jesus Christ. He sacrificed everything for us; He suffered for each one of us individually and personally, because we are His brothers and sisters. Because He loves us. 

I also like the secret the fox tell to le petit prince: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye.  I think that is so true. The mysteries of God are not made manifest to the world, but we must seek them out within our hearts, personally with Him.  And, I believe, it is only with our hearts that we are able to make those decisions that are best for us, that we are able to see what we can do for others, that we can really come to be in tune with the Holy Spirit and what God has in store for us. Those things that are essential are invisible to the eye. What things do you consider essential in life? For me, these are a few things I find essential: love at home, faith in Jesus Christ, a broken heart and contrite spirit, service (which if done with the right intention will not be visible to the eye of those you serve), love for your fellow man, happiness, knowledge and understanding, and so much more! Take a moment today to reflect on what you find essential in this life, and see if you are doing what you need to to make have those actually be a part of your life. Take a moment to see if there is anything you can do in your day to day life that might be a sacrifice to you, but one that would help to show that you love God, or even that you're grateful to be here on Earth, to experience mortal life, and to have received the blessings we've all been given. 

Okay, I don't want to make this post any longer because it's already pretty ridiculous. Enjoy your Sabbath, everyone. And to those other students out there- good luck with finals when they  come your way, and may the odds be ever in your favor.  I'm sorry I just couldn't resist, I set myself up for that one! =)

...Time

Something's been on my mind today, and that something is a little thing we all like to call 'Time'. Sometimes we like him, sometimes we don't. Sometimes he seems to drag his feet along the way, and sometimes we just can't see to keep up with him. But there's nothing more important than the time we have now, each and every day, and what we choose to do with that time.

My 'Living with Plants' teacher, Dr. St. Clair, has talked with us many times on the importance of time-management and really knowing how to know make time for the things that really are important. The first time he talked to us about this in class this is what he said (along with some of my thoughts on his points):

When we come to this earth, we come here to experience three things: a body, agency,

and time. The first two are the factors that will determine who we will be, based on how

we use our body and our agency. But it was what we choose to do with the time we are

given that determines if we can truly reach our potential and become who it is we really are

supposed to become. And because of that, time is something that Satan uses against us

more than we're probably aware of. Sometimes we do not take time as seriously as we should.

2 Nephi 28:24- "Wo unto him that is at ease in Zion" We cannot afford to be lazy in our daily

activities and responsibilities, nor can we afford to settle for the minimum. Satan will use

time to try and stir us, as his way to grab us. Time is a valuable thing-but it can also be

a dangerous thing. It can distract us from what is really important. Too often too many

of us use our time to do unproductive things, to refrain from learning and discovering

truth, to focus on the computer, the television, or the phone instead of looking at the beautiful

creations around us.

At this point, he made a challenge to us: take an inventory of your time and see what you really spend your time doing and how much time you take to do it. Lay down a sacrifice of that time to draw closer to Heavenly Father. You are only going to get more and more busy in life; the patterns you develop now are the one's that will be with you for the rest of your life. Doctrine and Covenants 25:10 reads "And verily I say unto thee that thou shalt lay aside the things of this world and seek for the things of a better." Take time to turn off your phone, turn off Facebook and your computer, to turn off your music, and to turn off the world around you and really evaluate yourself and the relationships you have with your God and with the people around you. Take time to strengthen those relationships and really develop the patterns of life you want to have, and do it NOW. Life gets busy, and it gets hard. But in the words of my dear missionary: "Just remember the important things like prayer and scripture study. Never compromise those times." While it is important to still do the things you need to, like study, work, and things like that, never compromise the time we need to have in our lives for "the things of a better" like family, prayer, scripture study, and our relationships.

Today, Dr. St. Clair spoke with us again about time. Only this time it was in relation to the future. He started out by telling us that there was a day a few years ago that changed his life. He came home, opened the door, and said "I'm home!" Nothing. No one came. No one said anything. When his wife came home, all the kids ran to her, "Mommy! Mommy!" and jumped into her arms. Dr. St. Clair said he took some time to evaluate his relationship with his kids. He found an article that talked about what the author would redo with his kids if he had the chance, and one that we focused on was bedtime. My professor said, "I used to read a lot with my kids, but now I read a ton." The author of that article he read explained how bedtime is a crucial time to be with your kids. It is in those 10 minutes or so that they're getting into their PJ's and brushing their teeth that the stresses of the day go away and they just talk. And that is when you can really come to know your child and can be one of the most precious times to spend with them. After reading that, Dr. St. Clair made some changes. Now, every day he leaves school around 5, and until about 8 he just plays with his kids. That's impressive. And he has an established bedtime routine for each of his kids, separately, and they each have their own song that he sings to them. Even his 13-year-old son-they read together every night and then just talk.

Can you image the difference a relationship like this could make within our families and within the lives of our children? Granted, I do not have children yet, but a long while ago, I decided how I wanted my relationships with them to be-and it was as if Dr. St. Clair was just expanding on my own expectations for myself and how I want my family to be. While he talked about this in class today, I couldn't help but think of my own parents. I love my parents. This gave me the chance to to reflect on how bedtime used to be when I was little: when Dad would fly us around the house like Peter Pan in our feety pajamas, and Mom would sing us each our own song. Mine was "Over the Rainbow". I remember how, when Daddy would come home from work, even though I'm sure he was so tired, he would always play with us as we would run up to him, sit on his feet, and beg him to carry us around. I'm grateful I had parents who loved me as I was growing up, and who still love me, who have supported me throughout my years, who take time to play with me, and who have always been there when I've felt like I've messed up just too much. My parents are amazing. And as I've started to grow up, I've thought a lot about how I want my family to be, and how I want the relationship between my kids and their parents to be. And it's a beautiful thing to have found someone who shares the same exact perspective of family as I do, and has the same desires for a family as I do.

But here's the deal with time. We're just going to be getting more and more busy as life goes along. If we do not learn how to manage our time now, then making time for the truly important parts of life will be difficult. MY CHALLENGE TO YOU: Take an inventory of your own time. It really can be eye-opening. Record everything you do, even if you only do something for a minute or two. Evaluate what you do with your time, and sacrifice one of those things that may not be as important to really do what matters. Establish your habits and patterns now, and prepare yourself for the dreams you have for your future.

Sorry-but I lied when I said I wouldn't make another post as long as my last one. But sometimes you just gotta put your thoughts out there. If you have thoughts on this or any other insights, I'd love to hear them. Now go and spend a day in the life of time.