Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Marigolds


I spent the past weekend in Utah and just got back last night.  I had great plans and expectations for this trip, but as often is the case with plans and expectations, things didn't go quite as I had hoped.  

One of the biggest disappointments was not being able to drive to Logan yesterday morning.  I was so looking forward to breakfast with my in-laws and then a couple of hours driving around Cache Valley by myself taking barn pictures before my flight left in the afternoon.  It feels like it's been forever since I've been in Utah and had the time and the opportunity to just drive around and take pictures.  That place breathes life into me.  

I came home discouraged and disappointed and not at all excited about returning to Dallas.  That's kind of exactly how I started my prayer this morning, too.  Frustrated that despite my best efforts, I couldn't connect with people the way I wanted to.  Frustrated that I had to catch up on all the things that had piled up here while I was gone.  Frustrated to be back in Dallas where everything looks flat and uninteresting to me most days and there isn't a mountain or a red barn within 100 miles.  

And then, this afternoon, as I was driving around running all of my mundane errands, there was this strip of unexpectedly brilliant orange right in the middle of the median...two of them actually.   And a bright blue sky filled with puffy, white clouds.  And I instantly knew that Heavenly Father was reminding me that there are beautiful things everywhere...not just in Utah.  

So I stopped right in the middle of Watters Road and took a quick picture, and then said a little prayer of gratitude and a silent apology for being frustrated this morning. And the disappointment turned into hope and joy.  

I'm so grateful for a Heavenly Father who wants to turn our disappointments into joys, and who sprinkles the medians with marigolds and the sky with puffy, white clouds.

4 comments:

  1. Beautiful, my sweet friend.
    Your photo of course...but also your words.
    So nice to see you here.
    Have a nice evening. : )

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    1. Thanks...it's been way too long of a bloggy vacation for me. Looking forward to a more consistent summer. Love you! <3

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  2. Nice picture and great post! So glad you are back in blogland! We are headed to Utah at the end of this month. After many years living away, we find Utah calling us "home" and are thinking of moving back once our son gets home from his mission. If you had told me 30 or even ten years ago that we would be considering a move back to Utah, I would have said, no way, but now we are feeling like that is what we need to do. No firm timetable yet, but I am starting to feel a bit "homesick" when ever I see pictures of those gorgeous Utah mountains. Glad you are seeing beauty in your home for now. We need to "bloom where we are planted" and the "go where [He] wants us to go." Thanks for this post.

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    1. Oh, how exciting for your family. I look forward with joyful anticipation to the day we will have some reason to move back. It is definitely home for me, too. Best of luck with your transition! <3

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