Life's Unexpected Turns

The past few years have been such a growing experience for me.  I've gone through significant life changes, family and disease struggles, and testimony-trying experiences.  Somehow (ok, I know how) I've been able to come out on top, time and time again.  I know that the Lord has been helping me in my life and directing me in all the things I need to do.  In the last year, I have felt the companionship of the Holy Ghost almost constantly because of my Heavenly Father's helping me to become a better person and leave my past behind me.  I've been happier than ever before in my life and I finally understand that when the Lord asks you to do something, it's for a good reason.  Even if it seems inconvenient for you and your life plan, things will always work out for the better.  The Lord knows what He's doing and will only direct your paths for good.

All of that being said, I was finally at a good place in my life.  I was happy, healthy, and looking forward with faith to my future.  There were very few feelings of lonliness.  Seminary and Relief Society have given me the strength and capacity to love the people I'm teaching and serving and have made my interactions with them more meaningful and real.  They have fulfilled me in a way I didn't think was possible.  I love my callings. 

In my personal life, I had taken the personal challenge to go on more dates.  In the last 6 months, I've been out on dates with a number of different guys (I think 6...).  It was all pretty casual and I had some fun times.  More recently, one of my friends came out of a relationship and I figured, why not?  I'll ask him out.  I knew that we had fun as friends so maybe we'd have fun on a date too.  He said yes, and we went on a few dates...that were actually pretty awkward.  Transitioning out of the friend-zone is never easy, for anyone.  We finally talked about it and realized that there was no reason to be awkward.  We could continue talking about everything we had talked about while we were friends (even the supposed date-taboo topics like past relationships and dating in single's ward) and not be uncomfortable about it.  Pretty solid agreement.

That being said, once the awkwardness was out of the way, our relationship was allowed to grow and now, for the first time in a very, VERY long time, I am officially dating someone.  It's new, and exciting, and we both feel good about it.  :D

Until next time,
-J

January Book Review

In January, I managed to squeeze in reading 3 books (ok, I cheated a little and started one just after Christmas, but close enough). 

First, Still Alice by Lisa Genova

 

This book tells about a psychology professor who is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease at the age of 50.  It goes through the terrifying identification stages, the dangerous disorientations, and the heart-breaking memory losses.  It highlights the randomness with which Alzheimer's attacks the brain and how some days are better than others.  It shows the difficulty in caring for someone like this because it's such an unpredictable disease.  A very compelling story.

Second, Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn

I read this book as an interesting commentary on religion and governmental control.  Essentially, the people of a fictitious island nation have a monument with the phrase "the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" that is dedicated to the man who supposedly invented it.  The letters fall off one by one and the council agrees that it is this man speaking from beyond the grave telling them that they can no longer use those letters.  All words with those letters are not allowed to be written or spoken.  The whole novel stems from the idea that this statue of this man is dictating how language is to be used, rather than the scientific evidence that the glue holding the letters in place for 100 years is finally disintegrating.  An interesting read, but not one that changed my life in any way.

Third, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

A very compelling, somewhat-graphic, portrait of life in Afghanistan during the 1980s and a family who escaped to America for a short time, only to return to Kabul during the rise of the Taliban.  A devastating picture of the fighting between tribes, the poverty and the war-torn country and people.  It made me nauseated, happy, disgusted, hopeful, devastated, scared, and guilty.  It moved me so much that I was on the verge of tears several times.  It may just be that I have very little knowledge of events in the Middle-East during the 80s, but I am shocked by some of the things I read.  But it was a great novel and one I would most definitely recommend.

Until next time,
-J