Counting My Never-Ending Blessings

This weekend was...I don't really know how to describe it. But it gave me an opportunity to recognize the blessings in my life, and to be grateful for what I have. Ready?

1-A knowledge that this life is not the end and that my family can be together forever. The older sister of one of my dear friends died Saturday morning. It was sudden and tragic and I was so sad for their family. But I was also happy to know that they have faith and know they will be reunited with her one day.


2-People who are willing to serve...and an opportunity to serve. My friend's sister was attending BYU-Idaho. She was driving down to Utah to visit her family for the weekend when her tire blew and her car rolled just outside of Pocatello. Her parents and younger brother drove up immediately and saw her before she died. They couldn't fit all her stuff in their car, so Tyler and I volunteered our truck. This resulted in a last minute trip to Utah. I had to find someone to take over the crisis line I had for work that weekend and someone to deal with all my church stuff. Everyone was very helpful. And Tyler and I were grateful that we had the opportunity to serve my friend's family. Especially because in situations like this...there is so little we can do.

3-Safety. We drove our truck to and from Utah within 36 hours. Enough said.

4-Friends. Our truck had some brake problems when we had just about reached our destination, but luckily we know a guy. :) A friend of mine who used to be in my parents ward who knows about mechanics and has his own awesome little garage behind his house. He helped us replace the brakes and some other part, and taught Tyler how to do it, and only charged us for the parts. Which...saved us a lot of money.

5-Family. My parents let us stay the night. Not that most parents wouldn't do the same. But they were loving and helpful, and Mom volunteered to help me buy a plant or some flowers for my friend's family. They fed us and watched out for us. And served us in a million little ways not just this weekend...but all the time. Family is the best. We also saw Meagan and Zach and they fed us too.

6-Technology. It never ceases to amaze me. Our phones, which allowed us to keep in contact with my family, his family, all my friends...I was able to plan the trip, keep everyone updated on our progress, and communicate with my friends about putting together a special something for my friend's family...all while traveling. Plus Tyler was able to do his homework just as easily from my parents home as from our apartment. He can even remotely access a school computer from a different state. Seriously...wow.

7-Nature. It snowed on the way down. And rained on the way back. And sometimes the sun was shining. But despite my dislike of snow in May, I appreciated how green it has made the mountains and valleys we saw along the way.


8-My little apartment. Even though going down to Utah and seeing the family is always nice. And even though we were glad to help out a friend...it's always nice to get home. I think I am done traveling for a while. Though maybe not as long as I might think...after all, this next weekend is Memorial weekend...