Temple Baptisms

You know those days when you just love everyone and everything?  ...the days when you are infinitely patient and can happily wait for old people and small animals to cross the street?  ...the days when you just can't possibly contain how excited you are about life and the world in general?  

Well, yesterday was not one of those days...I had a mostly grumpy day.  I was irritated with everyone and everything.   It's a good thing there were no turtles in my path yesterday because there's a good chance they wouldn't have made it safely across the road.  I spent the day playing out arguments in my head over and over and over again...you know the ones you wish you had the nerve to actually have with the person they're directed toward.  It's a good thing I spent the day in seclusion.  

Last night, when I could take it no longer and had had enough of the little black cloud hovering over my head, I turned off all the noise and just sat.  I prayed.  I listened.  I pondered.  And I came to the conclusion (with a little help) that I needed to have a serious attitude adjustment.  Instead of being irritated with well-meaning people, I needed to be a little more understanding and compassionate.  Instead of comparing myself to the entire world, I needed to be a lot less concerned about everyone else.  Instead of thinking up potential confrontations, I needed to be a lot more humble and "check my pride at the door."   So I did.  
This morning, the youth needed another adult chaperone for Temple baptisms.  (There's something about these youth activities that seems to be like a magnet for me lately.  I had actually made a conscious decision not to be involved in this one because I'm starting to feel like a bit of a stalker.)  But there was a need, and I was available...and I could fit 6 people in my van.  

Apparently the Temple was exactly where I needed to be today because all those feelings of love and gratitude came back.  I loved the kids.  I loved the Temple workers.  And the time that I spent there FLEW by.  Seriously...it was 8am when we left the church parking lot, and I was shocked when I looked at my phone on the way out of the`Temple and saw that 3 1/2 hours had passed!  

We had 20 boys and 11 girls in our group today, and once again, I was amazed at their reverence, their maturity and their kindness to one another.   When we arrived, there was another group ahead of us finishing up, so we were all ushered into a fairly small room with limited seating.  As all the kids listened to the Temple President, I happened to look around the room and notice that all of the boys were standing and every single girl had a comfortable seat.   That's kind of remarkable, I think.  

Five of the kids had never been to the Temple before, but the older kids jumped right in and helped guide them to the right places. There were lots of older siblings happily helping the younger ones which is always delightful to watch...especially when two of them are yours!

It was a complete joy to watch all of them interact together and to be part of this group yet again.   I'm so grateful that no matter how crappy the day, there is always tomorrow.  And I'm so grateful that my little black cloud has been replaced today by rainbows and butterflies thanks to another opportunity to hang out with these great kids.