Considering Lilies

As I walked around Salt Lake today I was just so excited because it was/is spring and warm and I didn't need a jacket and I could wear sandals! Seriously! It was the perfect day....
But as I wandered the city, and walked across temple square I had to stop and stand for a moment.
It was quiet and warm. The air smelled of cherry blossoms and the color was astounding and I couldn't take the smile off my face.

"Consider the lilies of the field".

One of my favorite song lyrics came to mind and as I stood in all that perfect  setting it simply hit me, once again, that often times in life we find ourselves in winter.
It gets cold, dark, and stagnant.
The winds blow and sometimes you feel buried under foot after foot of heavy, wet, snow.
But what I, and we, often forget is that just because there are clouds doesn't mean that there is no sun.  And just because it's frozen now, doesn't mean it won't warm up and be spring.
Here in Utah, in our little desert, it takes all that snow to make those flowers bloom. They desperately need the moisture it provides.
When we are in trials it can seem hard to remember that they won't last forever, and sometimes it seems that if one more person tells you that "it will all be alright in the end, you'll see" you'll explode. But the thing is, it WILL be alright. It WILL end. The snow melts, the clouds go away, spring arrives, and we remember that winter is only one part of the year.
And most importantly.  We are not alone.  God will not leave us. Just as he clothes those beautiful flowers, he will clothe us.
"Consider the lilies of the field,
How they grow, how they grow.
Consider the birds in the sky,
How they fly, how they fly....
He clothes the lilies of the field.
He feeds the birds of the sky.
He clothes the lilies of the field,
He feeds the lambs in His fold,
And He will heal those who trust Him,
And make their hearts as gold."
(Lyrics from Consider the Lilies)

Time Simply Flies

I've always hated the question "Where do you see yourself in five years?"  because most of the time I can't even see where I'll be in five days, sometimes not even five minutes.  Life changes and moves so fast and suddenly you're ninety looking back and wondering where time went.  Or it's nine o'clock at night and you're wondering where the day went.  They say that time flies when you're having fun... but I think time just flies.

Sometimes I pause and I think about how crazy it is that suddenly I've been home from Australia for 8 months and in two I'll be leaving to serve the Lord for 18.  It seems just yesterday I was walking down the board walk in Geelong, but at the same time, it's an eternity ago.  I said I wasn't the same person who left when I came home from Australia, but now I'm also not the same person who came back.  

I have grown so much these last few months.    

It has been wonderful and crazy.  I have made friends, lost friends, broken down, and grown stronger, and I have recognized the importance of knowing myself.  

I might not know where I'll be going, but I know where I am.

And in the scope of time...  That's what I think matters.