How did I spend the most overrated day of the year? At ham radio school. Dead serious. The entire month of February has my saturday mornings dedicated to learning the fine art of hamming. What I didn't know when I signed up for the class is that I needed to become an electrical engineer. Talk about government regulation run amuck. Crazy town! I have spent 8 hours so far and still don't know how to call someone or what frequencies I'm allowed to use.....never mind that I haven't laid eyes on a radio either (except for a handheld that the teacher brings to class) Oh, I've looked at all manner of doodads. Yep, 8 hours of class and I still don't know my diodes, capacitors, transistors, etc.....The only thing I do know? Every time the teacher says capacitor I say "flux capacitor, haha." The class seriously makes me want to poke my eyes out. Especially when all the electrical engineers start going way off topic and muddying my brain with useless confusion. Press on I must so I can get my license and call sign.
After that I met the family for lunch. Nate was helping a family move and I took a bunch of stuff to goodwill. I had decided that I hated the garage and that my husband was a hoarder and made a huge mess trying to clean up a few days prior. I wasn't able to park the car in the garage for 3 days. I ended up helping another friend move and then working at the temple so I never got to finish what I started. Nate finished it for me for valentines day and all I had to do was haul away the donate pile. I love being saved from myself.
Nate and I had a shift at the temple on Saturday so we left the house at 3. Ok, I'm about to give you a window into my soul. It makes me think of a line from a song "I'll tell you my sins so you can sharpen your knife." The baptistry began opening up on Saturdays in addition to Fridays for anyone to come without a group. I got assigned to work there on Saturday. I went down there early because I don't have to attend the meeting that everyone else goes to because of my volunteer status. There were already people in there waiting to get started, so I jumped in and began working. 30 minutes later the female baptistry coordinator came in and seemed put out that I was doing her job. I quickly relinquished the duties to her and took my assignment in the bathroom. I was sitting there thinking that my night was a complete waste. Sitting in the bathroom for 2 hours was going to quite possibly kill me. I had to have a little come to Jesus meeting with myself. There is no place too small or too remote or too unimportant to serve the Lord. I was no better than anyone else. Someone had to have that job, why not me? I could make use of my time by chatting with people while they were in there. A couple of tears did fall down my cheek because sometimes you just gotta feel sorry for yourself for a minute.
I got to talk to a girl and her mom that were there for the girls first time. She had just turned 12 the day before and here she was the next day in the temple. It was such a sweet conversation. I realized that I really did have the best job of the night because I got to find out what brought people to the temple on valentines day instead of being somewhere else.
When I knew there wouldn't be anyone in the dressing room for awhile, I went out to see if there was something I could do. The guy that was in charge was all over letting me do stuff, but the female coordinator got bent out of shape again. I shook it off and took my opportunity and ran with it. It came time for me to leave before that particular shift was over and I offered to go and check on another volunteer that was handing out towels so I didn't leave her in the lurch. She snapped at me that it was her job and that she knew what needed to be done and I could just leave. Again, I just shook it off because I know this was her opportunity to be in charge and she probably has never had this kind of opportunity in her life. I get it. I'm threatening or intimidating to some people. I like to be busy and I know what needs to be done and want to do it. You either love that about me or you hate it. It's all good in the hood. I'm not there to step on anyones toes, just serve the Lord to the best of my abilities and hopefully brighten someones day in the process. (I hope that didn't come off sounding flip because it wasn't meant to) Besides, I was off to do my favorite thing in the temple - sealings.
I had been saving up some sealing so that I could do them with Nate. We aren't together in the temple that often....even when we are there together working. We know the male shift coordinator personally and asked for a special assignment and we were accommodated. I had my great grandparents from my mothers side and I had my Dad's mom and dad to seal together. I also had my Dad's mom to her parents and his dad to his parents. Could there be a more perfect way to celebrate love day other than sealing families together forever? I think not. My companion and her husband ended up being there as well. It was so sweet. There were 2 other couples there and all we did were family names from everyone that came.
I have no idea how my grandparents feel about being sealed together since my grandmother married 3 more times after my grandfather. Here's what I do know though. All family problems just go away at the alter. Everyone's difficulties just go away and all become perfect in that moment so should they choose to be. The best part was when we were done and I got to sit and talk with the sealer. I had a question I had been thinking about and we had a wonderful and spiritual conversation. My companion and her husband stayed because the question stemmed from something we had been talking about in seminary. There was another couple in there that decided to stay for the conversation and the wife had recently just been reactivated after having walked away and then realizing that it was a big mistake. We had a sweet conversation about conversion verses testimony and hopefully she walked away feeling good about herself (she had some worries) The coolest thing was that I learned something that I had never thought to consider before. I love when that happens. It was so uplifting and it got me off on an entire new path of thought.
My husband had to leave the sealings early because he had other commitments so he couldn't figure out what had happened to me. Poor thing was dressed back in his street clothes and waiting for me because it was 8:00 pm by this time. I had forgotten all about the way my night had started and was grateful for the wonderful opportunities I have if I will only see them as such.
As I was walking down the stairs to leave our friend asked how the sealings went and then asked me "aren't connections great?" He's so cute - and he was my connection. I am grateful for great connections. As I met up with Nate and we made our way to the door the sweetest and kindest man at the temple who is always so very happy to see me asked to see me for a minute. My initial reaction is always that I've done something wrong or maybe it was time for me to be released. Maybe God had told him that I was being a brat for a minute in the dressing room feeling sorry for myself at such a horrible assignment. I have no idea how he knows that I had any trouble with anyone, but he apologized to me if someone had been mean (he probably said something like abrasive) to me and that he hoped that I was ok. He blamed himself for the lack of training and told my husband that he needed to take me out somewhere nice for pie. I was stunned. I have no idea how he found out and I had not even thought about it because I was more upset that I'd had to give myself a pep talk about the assignment. The person being mean to me was the least of my worries. However, it was deeply touching that he took the moment to check on me and let me know how much he valued and loved my willing and happy heart. More than anything it let me know that the Lord was aware of me and reached out in love through this person.
It was a perfect love day in every way. It was so perfect that it just kept going because Sunday morning I was greeted with lots of balloons floating my way. They were literally right outside my window and 5 of them landed right down the street. Love was in the air. wah wah.
One last little thought about love day. After being greeted with balloons we headed off to church. While sitting in the chapel after sacrament meeting, my connection at the temple walked up tell me something. He told us that his wife's sister had just been at the huge root tech conference in salt lake city. While she was there she watched this video with some people from New Mexico. She wondered if her sister knew these people. Were they nice, she wondered. Oh my goodness. I had no idea people were watching this video in a large setting. I don't even know if people have ever even seen it on the website. Every once in a blue moon someone will tell me that they've stumbled upon it. It actually made my heart start to seize at the idea of people watching it. I'm not sure if she saw the kid's video or mine or both. No idea and I was too stunned to ask. After I recovered I thought about this little coincidence. The husband told his wife that he should tell her sister where the people were the same night she was watching the video. We were at the temple doing sealings. I was so happy that I was living what I portrayed. I am that person and I live it every day, not just for that moment to be captured on film. I think he was just as happy to be able to report that I wasn't a fraud. How divine that night ended up being in more ways than I could have ever even imagined.
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