This December: Like Martha

So life has been crazy, insanely crazy, which is why this blog has been sorely neglected. I have much to catch up on, but for now I'll reminisce the two weeks in December that followed Amber's wedding and before family arrived in town. 

I'd be lying if I said that December was an easy month. I have felt much like Martha in the Bible "careful and troubled about many things."  Life is good. So good. But sometimes there are so many good things that having to choose between them is hard. Usually, not always, choosing between good and bad is easy. I choose good. But choosing between good, better, and best, and sometimes even choosing between two equal "goods" can be pretty hard for me. On top of hard choices, being a firm planner and having many elements of life not going anywhere near according to plan can be very frustrating. I know that exercising faith is the answer. Some days that is easier than others. 

The last few months have been filled with so many good choices and with so many unknowns that I finally became overwhelmed, and it began to seep into all elements of life. For instance, in the period of two weeks, I broke a Worcestershire bottle, a Pyrex liquid measuring cup, spilled my make-up remover everywhere, lost a Christmas present I wrapped for Ben, lost an important church-related paper, and, finally, lost my wedding ring. Yes, you read that heart-breaking truth right. I didn't know I could cry so much over something so temporal. Clumsy and careless doesn't even begin to describe how I have been, especially considering I usually don't lose things (like, almost never) and breaking things is not a usual habit for me. 

I am still trying to pin-point the stress. Maybe it was because I was crazy and decided to make sixty to seventy home made plate goodies (not all in one day, mind you) this Christmas, or maybe it was because I was hardly ever home, or maybe it was because the last six months I feel I have barely been at home and working more than I used to (re-cap of last six month travels--girls camp, youth conference, a week in Vermont, a week in Iowa, a week in the south, a week in California, a week in Alpine, two trips to Yellowstone, and a trip to St. George... all from June to December. i LOVE traveling, but it does take a toll after a while). And maybe it was because my mind was "cumbered about" the future.

Then I realized. That's what Christmas is all about. Belief. It is about people who for centuries had watched for and knew the Savior would come. They believed with their whole heart. They believed everything would turn out all right. It is about the Nephites who were about to be put to death when, at the last moment, the star and sign of his birth appeared. Even though I don't see the whole picture now, I can still believe and even believe in good things to come. The Lord knew he would save the Nephites in the nick of time, but they didn't, yet still they trusted. I can trust too. I love 3 Nephi 13... "Consider the lilies of the field how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin...Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, even so will he clothe you, if ye are not of little faith. ..Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself."

I didn't need to be "cumbered about" any more. The Lord is in charge. And as meaningful as my wedding ring is, there are more tragic trials, really. This article helped me put things in perspective:

http://www.lds.org/ensign/1987/01/mary-and-martha-faithful-sisters-devoted-disciples

 "The story of Mary and Martha, observes Elder Dallin H. Oaks, “reminds every Martha, male and female, that we should not be so occupied with what is routine and temporal that we fail to cherish the opportunities that are unique and spiritual.” (Ensign, Nov. 1985, p. 61.) Now as I look back on moments that matter most, I reflect on the joy that occurred within those two weeks of major stress.

Enjoying a Sunday afternoon with my Ben

Celebrating Ben's acceptance to his Executive MBA program at Utah State! I am so proud of him and know he'll do great!

An impromptu concert to The Kurt Bestor Christmas Concert with family

The Nutcracker at Ballet West

Our cute neighborhood nativity!

These llama pictures are meaningful in two ways--one, I am with a llama who was snuggling up next to me; two, this may have been the last time I was wearing my wedding ring before I lost it. 

I made my first double layer cake, and it looked beautiful until I put on the chocolate ganache. 

The way my house looked pretty much all of December because I was constantly in the kitchen. 

Our delightful Christmas tree.