mir·a·cle /ˈmirikəl/ noun

In my last blog post I used a scripture from the book of Luke when the Savior was praying the Garden of Gethsemane. As he prayed he asked saying, ‘remove this cup from me: nevertheless my will, but thine, be done’. Immediately following that scripture is of my favorites of the New Testament. It reads simply, ‘there appeared unto him an angel from heaven, strengthening him.’

I have always held those two scriptures close to my heart because of the profound lessons that they teach. With that said, I have come to appreciate them even more this week as I have pondered about how they apply to miracles.

When we speak of the miracles surrounding the Life and Atonement of the Savior we focus on the fact that we can receive forgiveness for our sins, hope for a reunion with those that we hold so dear in this life, and eventually partake in the resurrection. I think one that is often over-looked is illustrated in the scripture listed above.

Miracles are defined in two ways:

1. A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is considered to be divine.

2. A highly improbable or extraordinary event, development, or accomplishment.

It’s only natural in times of sickness and suffering that we pray for our loved ones to be healed. But, we should not limit our definition of miracles to be confined to those times when our requests are granted.

The thought that has been on my mind this week is this: sometimes the miracle is not to be healed, the real miracle is to be strengthened through those trying times.

Earlier this week I attended the funeral of a man that I consider to be among the best of friends. I was at the hospital shortly before he passed away. As I was leaving his children showed up to be with him. They each had a chance to tell him that they loved him, that they knew he loved them, and that they would be okay.

While he was not able to be healed from such an aggressive cancer he was blessed with the miracle of having his own angels, in the form of family members and close friends, with him as he experienced what must have been one of his darkest hours. The beauty of the miracle does not stop there…just as they were there for him, certainly he will be there for them when they need him most. They will be reminded of lessons taught and counsel given that will stick with them throughout their lives.

We have the opportunity to be miracles in the lives of those around us. As we seek to help those in need we become the angels they need us to be.

Elder Henry B. Eyring made these two promises to those who would choose to serve the Lord by helping those around them:

“Hard as things seem today, they will be better in the next day if you choose to serve the Lord this day with your whole heart. Your circumstances may not be improved in all the ways which you desire. But you will have been given new strength to carry your burdens and new confidence that when your burdens become too heavy, the Lord, whom you have served, will carry what you cannot. He knows how. He prepared long ago. He suffered your infirmities and your sorrows when He was in the flesh so that He would know how to succor you.

The other promise I make to you is that by choosing to serve Him this day, you will feel His love and grow to love Him more.”

I will end with these words from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland:

“Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are close, perhaps even closest through the Holy Ghost when we are experiencing difficult trials…bad days come to end, faith always triumphs, and heavenly promises are always kept.”

Trib-HUGH-te

I have sat down a couple of times to try and come up with a fitting tribute to someone that I truly consider to be a best friend. I first met Hugh when I began working for Simmons Outdoor. As my ‘trainer’ he brags (rightfully so) that he ‘taught me everything I know, just not everything he knows.’ We laugh about it a little bit but there is a lot of truth to that statement. I constantly find myself learning something new from him.

On one of our combined sales trips to Texas we stood in line behind the rental car counter waiting for our turn. I had reserved my car in advance and had gotten a cheaper rate. True to form, Hugh tried to negotiate with the girl to get the same rate that they had offered me. His argument was that I, his associate, had a cheaper rate and because we were ‘associates’ we should be paying the same price. She refused to give him the discount and he reluctantly agreed to pay the rate she was asking for. Well, Hugh and I have become much more than ‘associates’ over the years. In addition to considering him a best friend and associate, I also consider him an outstanding example, personal confidant and mentor. I would be hard pressed to think of someone that I admire and respect more than Hugh.

Some of my favorite memories of Hugh are the times that we spent working together. Whether is was singing along to ‘Sailing’ (Christopher Cross) as we were driving on I-80 out to Wendover, mountain biking on a sales retreat, or hitting up the closest Chinese buffet, we always had a great time. There were times that I would be driving the two of us around and he would turn to me and say, ‘I’m going to go Kawabata on you’…which meant he was going to take a nap until we got to where we were going...he coined the phrase because when he was training me I would fall asleep on some of our long drives.

Speaking of phrases, a couple of week ago, I sat in the living room with Hugh and read aloud some of the letters he had just received from Darren. As I read through them, I’d come to phrases that made no sense to me but that brought smiles to Hugh’s face because he understood and appreciated them. Fortunately, there were some of the phrases that he used the carried over into his work life that I came to know all too well. It is not uncommon to hear Hugh say, ‘what do you want, the sun and the moon with a fence around them?’…‘what do you want, eggs in your beer?’...’what the fetch!’…’he totally got poned’…and my personal favorite was when someone would tell an unbelievable story he would ask them if ‘they found a $10 bill too.’ More than the phrases are the smiles that come to his face when he says them.

There were also some common phrases that he used when it came to training me how to be a better sales person. He would encourage me by saying, ‘see the people’, ‘press the flesh’, or, ‘all they can say is no’. I still love to go on sales calls with Hugh and see him in action. I consider it one of the great privileges of my life. He always seems to know when it is time to talk and when it is best to be quiet and let the customer break the silence. He has a way of finding common ground with just about everyone he meets. I didn’t know him as a missionary but I’d be willing to bet that the same qualities that make him a great sales person are the same ones that made him an even better missionary.

One of the things that I am most grateful for in my association with Hugh is that the greatest lessons I learned were not about sales but about life and love. Among his greatest attributes are his love for, and faith in, God and his family. I’ve always felt that the best compliments given are the ones that are unsolicited and will likely never get back to the person that they are said about. That is one of the reasons that I appreciate hearing about the most recent accomplishments of his children and wife. Whether it was Diane getting a new job, Darren playing the piano for the school musical, or Jerry playing for BYU, he speaks of their accomplishments as if they are his own. You can see the pride that comes over his face each time he speaks of any of them and you catch a glimpse of just how much he loves them.

Of the many proud moments that Hugh has had as a parent, few compare to seeing Darren receive his mission call. When he told me about the mission call he humbly admitted that he wasn’t sure how he was going to get along without him. He then proceeded to tell me all of the ways that Darren had helped pick up the slack when Hugh didn’t have the energy to do things that he needed to do. It is compliments like those that are most sincere and long-lasting. They are a tribute not only to Hugh but also to his family that he cares about so deeply.

Sadly, Hugh has been fighting an uphill battle with cancer for the past three years. He began going through chemotherapy a few months ago only to find out recently that it hadn’t been working as well as they had hoped. The cancer had spread to other parts of his body so quickly that the doctors explained that there was not much else that they could do.

Well, a couple of weeks ago we found ourselves behind another check-out counter and he turned to me and said, ‘I’m not in denial…I know that I’m sick but I don’t have any other choice than to have faith and hope because it is better than facing reality.’ That was another great lesson of having faith and hope in the face of adversity. Anyway, I have always appreciated Hugh’s hope and unwavering faith and later that same day as we drove in the car he explained to me that his faith was not necessarily to be healed but that Heavenly Father’s will would come to pass. He assured me that trials like these in life are not meant to weaken faith but to strengthen it.

There will be plenty of reality facing Hugh in the coming days and weeks but I will stand by him in faith and hope…because it is in fact better than facing reality. As Moroni said, ‘God has not ceased to be a God of miracles.’ The children of Israel were spared at the borders of the Red Sea, Lazarus was raised from the dead and Daniel and his ‘associates’ were also saved. So, I will continue to hope and pray alongside Hugh and many others for one of those miracles to happen in his life.

In doing so, I know it is also important to remember that even when the Savior prayed and said, ‘remove this cup from me: nevertheless my will, but thine, be done’ he was not spared. However, ‘there appeared unto him an angel from heaven, strengthening him.’ in cases like those when we are allowed to go through unimaginable pain and suffering that we would prefer to avoid, the Lord provides us with heavenly help to strengthen us.

Hugh has taught me to be the salesperson I am, and the person I want to be. Thank you, Hugh. My love, thoughts, and prayers are with you and your family during this trial!

$37.74

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. My dad boasts that he doesn't read novels, he reads spreadsheets. I'm am not as well-versed as he is but I have developed an affinity for rows, columns and cells myself. I have taken my new-found love and created a budget for 2011. There are about as many different ways to budget as there are to spend your money and I'll be the first to admit that my budget needs to be modified. As I make the necessary changes to it throughout the year it will become better.

A few weeks ago I asked my dad for some pointers on improving my budget. He gave his suggestions and also said that there is probably a statistic out there that states that those who budget save more. I'd have to agree. Just like the calorie-counting dieter, the budgeter begins to see where to trim the fat from a spending diet. I have noticed that I have been more aware of where I'm spending my money and consequently where I can save it. That's not to say that I don't avail myself of paying a little extra for some conveniences...I love On the Spot renewal at Jiffy Lube. $10 is a small price to pay to avoid the lines at the DMV.

Anyway, this month I am happy to report that I came in $37.74 under my budget goal, I spent 37% less this January over last January, and was able to put a little over 17% of my gross income into my savings account. Initially, it sounds like a triumph but in retrospect those figures could have been even better. Hopefully, the trend continues as I strive to stick to my budget. It's exciting to try and find new and creative ways to save money and eliminate expenses...so, if you have any suggestions, let me know.

Finally, while I geeked out on creating my own budget, there are plenty of budget templates online. Find the one that works for you and stick to it.

right of passAGE (literally)

During our youth we reach certain milestones as we grow older. At age 16 we get a driver's license, at age 18 we become adults and have the right to vote, at age 21 we reach the legal drinking/gambling age, etc. Those are all exciting birthdays but as we get older they start to lose their appeal. First comes 25, then 30, then 40 bringing nothing with them except clever phrases like, 'the dirty 30' or 'over the hill.' That is until you qualify for the senior citizen's discount at the local Denny's, get your AARP card or can retire and start collecting Social Security (assuming it's even still around when WE get there).

Well, today as I talked with someone who has made it past each of those earlier milestones and is currently working on some of the others, we spoke of the other 'privileges' that come with old age...or rather the behaviors that become more acceptable/excusable the older we get. There are three major ones that we discussed:

1) You no longer have to be politically correct. You can say whatever you want. People can chose to be offended, or they can just chalk it up to your old age and grumpy disposition...or the fact that you 'grew up in a different generation.'

2) You can drive erratically (for example: you can drive 20mph under the speed limit in the fast lane, you can back up without looking over your shoulder, and you can leave your blinker on indefinitely, or not turn it on at all.)

3) Perhaps the most important (and the reason the person wishes to remain anonymous) is the fact that you can 'fart anywhere you want.' By way of example this individual explained that at the beginning of a relationship we are all careful not to break wind in front of the other person; as the relationship progresses we become more comfortable and, in certain instances, passing gas is at least tolerable; but, it is not until we reach our golden years that it is okay to cut the cheese freely in private and in public.

My response to those three suggestions was: 'haven't you already been doing all of those things anyway'...and quick came the reply, 'yeah, but it's getting worse.'

I have to admit that suddenly getting older doesn't seem so bad.

If you have any others you would like to add to list, feel free.

Best Blind Date Set Up...

We've all been set up on blind dates before, right? This email that I received this week is quite possibly the best approach I've ever seen, heard or read.

"Before we begin, let me say that this (email) will probably fall in the category of “Emma’s top 10 all time most awkward emails." And trust me I’ve written A LOT of awkward emails.

That being said, here we go…

Travis this is Stacy. Stacy this is Travis.

1. You both are sort of Asian… I think, 'hell I don’t know, but I’ve been set up for weirder things.'
2. You both travel. (or so I hear)
3. You both are outstanding members of the LDS church. (as far as I know)
4. You both are single (if this is not the case then you can stop reading now).

So when you combine these four factors, the result is (obviously) Matchmaking Nirvana… or at least to a certain coworker I have. I personally think it’s ridiculous. The chances of crap like this working is about as likely as Matt Damon showing up on my door step… riding a unicorn… nekkid.

Anyhoo, normally (because I set people up soooooo often) I would have just given a phone number to you, Travis, and let things go from there. But oddly enough, Stacy here doesn’t have a phone at the moment (sigh). She claims she didn’t really need one while she was in ECUADOR taking care of little ORPHAN BABIES (fact) and also claims to “really enjoy” the freedom that phonelessness gives her (crazy hippy talk). I figure that will change now that she’s got a big girl job … if not we probably won’t be friends anymore (kidding, sort of… you're walking a fine line Miss Stacy). So I’m giving you each other’s email address and you can exchange whatever information y’all want (if you want). Or you can totally blow each other off (at least that is what I would do).

Moving on, based on my conversations with you (Travis, I’ve talked to you probably less than 5 minutes since I’ve known you. HA! And Stacy, minus that whole phone bit, and the stint with old-man window air conditioner repair guy) I think both of you are pretty normal. I doubt you’ll have to worry about stalking issues or the like. Just in case, though, you’ll probably want to meet up in a public place (Walmart, Redbox, Super Target if you're fancy-like).

So there you go kids… have fun stormin’ the castle.

Oh there’s one more thing. Did I mention, I think you two are probably related? (Queue “Big Love” theme song…Warren Jeffs is applauding right now).

The more I write the more I’m realizing this is bound to be an EPIC FAIL, but I figure it will result in a hilarious story… so just to pacify my coworker (she digs playing matchmaker), go to dinner (lunch? Ice blocking?). Definitely keep it cheap (del taco on a Tuesday?), go dutch even!… you can exchange frequent flier miles, talk about your cousins, write a travel log (or whatever you kids do these days), then go your separate ways.

On the off chance that this does work (which it won’t, these things never do) I’ll expect this email to be printed, framed and hanging in your living room.

Best wishes for wonderful life together... or at least 15 minutes at the Dairy Queen."

I guess all that remains now is to see just how great Del Taco can be on a Tuesday night.