Just Thinkin'

This Sunday has been very contemplative for me and I would like to mention a few thoughts that have touched me. In church we spent a lot of time discussing lost souls. My bishop asked us an interesting question...If the Savior entered a room full of people, would He sit by himself and wait for someone to come talk to him? I have always thought this tactic was futile, but it had never before hit me that it is un-Christlike. So much time is devoted to getting my needs met, I wonder how many others I don't notice.

Henry B. Eyring has said that if you assume everyone you meet is carrying a heavy burden, more than half the time you will be right. I've had a tragic experience that taught me that, and ever since then I have been very careful to try and not add to the burdens of others, but it is also a comfort to me to know that Heavenly Father will never allow me to suffer alone. He is always near me, but he has given me family, friends, a ward, and roommates who know what it is to struggle and be mortal with me. I think I am pretty typical in that when I encounter trials I am far more concerned with getting through than with learning something. I never thought I would be grateful to go through what are now my worst memories, but I am. Some of the people I love are struggling and I would have nothing to offer them, had I not overcome what I did.

Today Trev and I were talking about when he moves away from home, and he was saying that college separates families. I started thinking about our Heavenly Parents sending us away from home. If my Heavenly Parents are anything like my earthly ones, I bet there were tears. The reason they let us go is because they knew the blessings of living away from home. Physically college has separated me from my family more than I ever dreamed (now I regularly go 2 months without going home.) But emotionally I have stronger ties to them than I ever thought possible. It's amazing how distance can do that. As freaky as it is for me to see my *little* brother move away from home, I am so excited for all the blessings that await him as he makes his own life and the blessings that await me in the future as I continue my trek back to my home in Heaven.