Curveballs

This past week, I've realized that life is funny. It keeps you on your toes.

Basically, this past week has contained occurrences that were really awesome, and also really lame. I'm a planner and I've got at least a rough outline for what I want my life to be like. And sometimes my life does go according to plan. Other times, not so much. Living life is hard work. You have to set priorities and make goals but also be willing to go with the flow and work with what comes your way. Balance is key. Because sometimes you meet the man of your dreams, and sometimes your heart gets broken. There is the option of always playing it safe and refusing to go down any path that isn't what you have in mind. But then you miss out on adventures, and God usually throws you some curveballs regardless. We may be in charge of our destiny, but we are also subject to the specific path that we are meant to be on. Our control comes in the response we have to the things that come our way. When times get tough, we can either complain and give up or we can rise to the challenge and make it into something great.

My life is going really well right now. I'm happy and in a good place. That being said, there are still going to be bumps in the road. My plans won't always go perfectly. Occasionally I'll get bad news, and life will stress me out. But, as Buddha said, it is better to travel well than to arrive. 

Because I knew you

This past Friday, I went to my freshman BYU YSA ward reunion. I really enjoyed seeing familiar faces that I hadn't seen in years and catching up with what has been going on in everyone's life as well.

The reunion caused me to stop and think about the people that we find in our life. One of my favorite quotes is:

I love the beauty of that. I love the thought that every person that we meet and become acquaintances with, become friends with, or fall in love with is there in our life for a reason. Friend or family. Heavenly Father is so aware of every single one of His children. He knows who needs who. Looking back on my life, I can definitely see the truth of this statement. People have hurt me. People have loved me. People have helped me. Every single person, whether they have continued to be my friend or not, has become apart of my story. I am who I am today because of the relationships I have now and have had in the past.

With this in mind, going forward one goal I have is to make the most of each relationship I have. Tell the people in my life already how much I appreciate and love them. Take the time to make new friends with those I met in various circumstances. Because you never know going into a relationship what you're going to get out of it. But there is always something to be taken out of it. You live and you learn, along with everyone else in your life.

The Book Cover

While I was on my mission, I met a lot of different people. And one lesson I learned over and over again is that you can't judge people. They always surprise you, and most of the time your judgements are wrong.

One such instance really made me think. My companion and I were going door-to-door with a college-age girl in the ward we were serving in. We walked up to a house, but only made it halfway up the front walkway when suddenly a very angry lady started yelling at us from an upstairs window. I don't know if it was a bad day for her, or she had bad experience in the past with evangelical proselyters, but she was rude. She yelled at us for a good minute as we turned around and walked quickly back down her driveway and on to the next house. We all walked in stunned silence for a little bit, then brushed it off with comments about how some people are. As we stood at the next door waiting for someone to answer our knock, I noticed a man walking toward us from the house with the angry lady. He was quite a sight - he walked slowly because he had two boots on his feet, and both of his ankles were still yellow from the paint they put on your skin when you have surgery. His slow gait and slight limp gave the appearance that each step was painful to take. We walked over and he said, "I just wanted to apologize for my wife. You guys are just out doing your job and what she did was uncalled for. I'm an atheist, so don't bother sharing your stuff with me. They're all Catholics in there, so who knows about them. But I just wanted to come and say sorry for her."

The apology was simple. But one phrase stuck out to me: I'm an atheist.

Isn't it ironic that a Christian woman's atheist husband came and apologized for her not treating us in a very Christian-like manner? That really struck me. As a missionary, you're out to help people come closer unto Christ. That requires a belief that what you are teaching people is a great way, the best way you've found for yourself, to accomplish that. But that man taught me a lot about what it meant to be Christlike, and he doesn't even believe in Christ.

So what? You can learn from everyone. Sometimes, people surprise you. Everyone has different viewpoints, and just because someone disagrees with you doesn't mean that they are a bad person and it definitely doesn't make you better than them. The more we take the time to remember that, the more we learn and the more friends we end up having. Each one of us is a Child of God. We all have that divine potential and we all have the responsibility to help one another reach that.

Just do it.

My marketing class frequently has guest speakers come and inform us about their field and job description. This past Tuesday, a man who works in the marketing department of Nike came.

Confession: I have a HUGE obsession with Nike. My dream job would be to work for them. I think I inherited this love of Nike from my dad, although I have no idea why he likes them so much. The presentation on their marketing tactics was the best ever. It only made me more excited about the prospect of working for such a company, and determined to keep working so that could be a possibility.

The Nike image - there's just something about it. I love the idea of inspiring people to be more. The owner of Nike says that everyone who has a body is an athlete. Which isn't a common idea. In the world of sports, or really anything, there's always the focus on which team is better or who is the best at a particular skill. The world is competitive. But everyone has that potential to be an athlete. The only thing that limits us or keeps us from achieving our dreams is ourselves. And although Nike marketing is based heavily on their products being used by well-known, talented athletes, they have a way of reaching the average, sub-par athlete that's just learning how to shoot a basketball. Maybe a pair of sweet shoes won't make you an all-star athlete right away, but that motivation and potential is there. We need more of that in our society. Encouragement instead of being torn down.

Words are powerful. So is the Nike swoosh, which started as just a small local company that travelled to individual track meets to sell their product. We can be anything, do anything. That journey starts today. Just do it.