Superglue
There seems to be nothing as liberating as overcoming your own tribulations; as supergluing the broken pieces in your life back together.
Lately I've had a lot of broken things in my life, whether figuratively or literally... and I'm not gonna lie that it has been really tough. While I've had a crazy week, most of it seemed concentrated on Wednesday.
First, my phone died. I was sure it was a solid brick of brokenness. This meant that I lost almost 2 gigabytes worth of pictures, many song recordings I made, and notes from church events. Things that were material possessions, but meant a lot to me and were upsetting to lose...
Then, my mom sent me an email (since she couldn't text me) saying that her car had broken down again (second time this week) and that the tow truck couldn't take them all to the auto shop and that I needed to come to the McDonald's on Rengstorff Ave. to pick up CrazyJ. On my way to the McDonald's my GPS died, so I had to follow the signs, which I was nervous about because I didn't want to miss my exit off of 101 and get lost in "nowhere," since my GPS was dead and my phone was broken. Luckily, I found the McDonald's (Finally. I had to go to BestBuy to call my mom since I couldn't figure out exactly where CrazyJ was when I got there.) Traffic was awful, I was stressed out and exhausted, and CrazyJ's suggestions of how to fix my phone (which weren't realistic or helpful) were just frustrating me further. Turns out crying in traffic on 101 is a dumb experience.
After taking my mom to my grandma's so that she could borrow her car, I had to stop at the gas station on my way home with CrazyJ and Linus. There was a sketchy guy hanging around the pump I was at and trying to talk to me. He stood pretty close to me as I was pulling out my wallet, too. I swear, I was so ready to use my pepper spray on this dude if he tried anything. Luckily, I got my tank filled and got home with the boys safely.
When I finally thought that things were done going wrong and thought I might be able to get past this awfulness by diving into rehearsal and then getting some much needed sleep - my ukulele accidentally got stepped on by a cast-member at Stake Play rehearsal. My body could barely hold in all the emotions I was having in reaction to this horrible day. When I finally got into the car after rehearsal to go home, I was bawling.
It was a really tough day. But the next day my phone came back to life (and died again, but came back to life shortly after and hasn't had issues since. I didn't loose any photos, sound recordings, or notes.), my mom's car was fixed and we didn't have any further issues, and I was able to (by Saturday) find a replacement ukulele at the same value as my old one. (Another blessing is the fact that this cast member took responsibility and is paying for the replacement. I'm truly grateful.)
Through all of this, and everything else that has happened, I've realized that the superglue in my life is the Savior. It was one of those moments where something you already know finally CLICKS and you understand it so much better than you could have ever imagined. Whenever I prayed, things turned out alright. If I left things the way they were going and just wallowed in misery, it still sucked. Communicating with the Lord via prayer has been the greatest and most healing thing I could have done and have been doing. Someone recently told me, "The Lord can only help you as much as you let Him." The Lord wants you to succeed and He believes in you, but He cannot help you unless you ask for help. He wants you to come to Him! To tell Him of your trials, your joys, your life - everything. There is nothing he cannot do. For the longest time I've had a testimony of God's miracles, but the one moment that I had a slight doubt about God's miracles - and was utterly terrified of such doubts - was what has led me to understand and truly believe in the miracles that God can make come to pass. He's not going to make your life easy, but He can help you understand what the next step is. It's like this one Confidence Course exercise we do at Girl's Camp at Mia Shalom:
The good news? If we do screw up and fall to the ground, God will catch us and superglue the broken parts. The Atonement can signify the brand of superglue and Christ can signify the cashier that rings up your total. (It is not sacrilegious to make this comparison. Christ taught in parables because they are easier/simpler to understand and can be connected to on a personal level.)
Don't refuse help. But if you do fall, take advantage of your superglue.
Trust in the Atonement. Trust God.
Lately I've had a lot of broken things in my life, whether figuratively or literally... and I'm not gonna lie that it has been really tough. While I've had a crazy week, most of it seemed concentrated on Wednesday.
First, my phone died. I was sure it was a solid brick of brokenness. This meant that I lost almost 2 gigabytes worth of pictures, many song recordings I made, and notes from church events. Things that were material possessions, but meant a lot to me and were upsetting to lose...
Then, my mom sent me an email (since she couldn't text me) saying that her car had broken down again (second time this week) and that the tow truck couldn't take them all to the auto shop and that I needed to come to the McDonald's on Rengstorff Ave. to pick up CrazyJ. On my way to the McDonald's my GPS died, so I had to follow the signs, which I was nervous about because I didn't want to miss my exit off of 101 and get lost in "nowhere," since my GPS was dead and my phone was broken. Luckily, I found the McDonald's (Finally. I had to go to BestBuy to call my mom since I couldn't figure out exactly where CrazyJ was when I got there.) Traffic was awful, I was stressed out and exhausted, and CrazyJ's suggestions of how to fix my phone (which weren't realistic or helpful) were just frustrating me further. Turns out crying in traffic on 101 is a dumb experience.
After taking my mom to my grandma's so that she could borrow her car, I had to stop at the gas station on my way home with CrazyJ and Linus. There was a sketchy guy hanging around the pump I was at and trying to talk to me. He stood pretty close to me as I was pulling out my wallet, too. I swear, I was so ready to use my pepper spray on this dude if he tried anything. Luckily, I got my tank filled and got home with the boys safely.
When I finally thought that things were done going wrong and thought I might be able to get past this awfulness by diving into rehearsal and then getting some much needed sleep - my ukulele accidentally got stepped on by a cast-member at Stake Play rehearsal. My body could barely hold in all the emotions I was having in reaction to this horrible day. When I finally got into the car after rehearsal to go home, I was bawling.
It was a really tough day. But the next day my phone came back to life (and died again, but came back to life shortly after and hasn't had issues since. I didn't loose any photos, sound recordings, or notes.), my mom's car was fixed and we didn't have any further issues, and I was able to (by Saturday) find a replacement ukulele at the same value as my old one. (Another blessing is the fact that this cast member took responsibility and is paying for the replacement. I'm truly grateful.)
Through all of this, and everything else that has happened, I've realized that the superglue in my life is the Savior. It was one of those moments where something you already know finally CLICKS and you understand it so much better than you could have ever imagined. Whenever I prayed, things turned out alright. If I left things the way they were going and just wallowed in misery, it still sucked. Communicating with the Lord via prayer has been the greatest and most healing thing I could have done and have been doing. Someone recently told me, "The Lord can only help you as much as you let Him." The Lord wants you to succeed and He believes in you, but He cannot help you unless you ask for help. He wants you to come to Him! To tell Him of your trials, your joys, your life - everything. There is nothing he cannot do. For the longest time I've had a testimony of God's miracles, but the one moment that I had a slight doubt about God's miracles - and was utterly terrified of such doubts - was what has led me to understand and truly believe in the miracles that God can make come to pass. He's not going to make your life easy, but He can help you understand what the next step is. It's like this one Confidence Course exercise we do at Girl's Camp at Mia Shalom:
You partner up and one partner is blind folded. (Imagine the blind fold as the veil. We can't see the endgame because we can't remember.) The blind folded partner has to walk on top of vertical logs at varying heights that are different lengths away from each other. In order to do this without getting injured, the blind folded partner has to hold the hand of the other partner - who stays on the ground and gives vocal directions to the blind folded partner. The blind folded partner has to TRUST the partner on the ground and listen to the instructions they are given. If they hear "step up to the next log, it's a little higher than the one you are on and a little farther away," but they don't trust their partner and decide to step lower and closer to the log they are standing on - they will fall. The partner on the ground also has to give correct and detailed instructions to the blind folded partner. However, no matter how detailed and perfect the instructions are - they mean nothing if the blind folded partner doesn't trust their partner and follow the instructions.We are the blind folded partner and God is the partner on the ground. He will not let us fall, but we have to trust Him so we don't cause ourselves to fall.
The good news? If we do screw up and fall to the ground, God will catch us and superglue the broken parts. The Atonement can signify the brand of superglue and Christ can signify the cashier that rings up your total. (It is not sacrilegious to make this comparison. Christ taught in parables because they are easier/simpler to understand and can be connected to on a personal level.)
Don't refuse help. But if you do fall, take advantage of your superglue.
Trust in the Atonement. Trust God.
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