The Good Stuff

I did NOT want to go to church this morning.  Some Sundays are like that.  I always love it when I get there...sometimes it takes a few songs or a few key people...but I NEVER regret going.  This morning I dragged myself into the chapel about halfway through the opening hymn, not feeling 100%.  It didn't help to walk in behind the most adorable girl in the ward who has recently lost about 10 pounds and now looks like a super model.  (People used to get us mixed up all the time, or think we were sisters...that hasn't happened in awhile.)  I struggled to keep myself engaged while the Bishop sustained a few people to new callings.  And then, he called the "newest Beehive" in the ward to come up to the stand...that's my June...she turns 12 on Wednesday!  And that was the whole reason I dragged myself to church in the first place.  I didn't want to miss seeing her receive her Primary graduation certificate.  So, it was only 9:10, and I could go home and crawl back in bed, right?  (I wanted to, but I didn't.)  

And then...the reason I was supposed to be at church today walked up to bear her testimony.  I love and admire this woman so much.  She has three boys, but has been in YW for as long as anyone can remember.  She currently works with the girls on their Personal Progress, so I have lots of opportunities to be in the presence of her amazing-ness...it's never enough for me, though.  Crystal stood up and talked about the reason God gives us commandments.  (Nope...that didn't get my attention.)  She said that when she was younger, she used to think the commandments were designed to test our endurance or to see how much we could take before we cracked under all the pressure.  But then she talked to a good friend yesterday (do you how much I long to be on that "good friend" list?) who put it in a different perspective when she said, "Heavenly Father gives us commandments so that we'll be happy and so that we won't miss the good stuff."  And then Crystal listed all the "Good Stuff" that's happened to her recently.  

The good stuff...that's totally what Heavenly Father wants for us!  The really GOOD STUFF.  Not the artificially good stuff or the short term good stuff, but the lasting, eternal, really, REALLY good stuff.  He gives us commandments so that we can avoid that other stuff and be in the places we're supposed to be so that we can experience and RECOGNIZE the good stuff.   

There is good stuff everywhere in my life.  Today it was seeing June beam as the Bishop said this would be her last week in Primary.  It was hearing one of my YW tell me that she thinks our families knew each other in the pre-existence because it's more than just a casual connection that we have.  (whoa!!..that totally made me melt!)  It was listening to my husband explain the joys of service to my kids during lunch and having them actually get it!  It was listening to my 8 year old read the scriptures out loud just before bedtime tonight.  And those were just the good things that happened TODAY!  There will be many more tomorrow and the day after that...

I'm so grateful for Crystal's testimony.  The commandments aren't a burden, they're the anchor that keeps us where we're supposed to be, so that we can enjoy the GOOD STUFF.  I love that I didn't miss that today.