I'm interested in collecting stories of people for whom love/life has come in unexpected forms. I think sometimes we have an idea of what/who we will end up with and how it will all play out. That idea can create destructive (oxymoronic?) energy if we cling to it too fervently.
I was reminded of the story of Alma and Ammonihah recently from ye olde book of the mormons...Alma the missionary got tired and counted the city of Ammonihah as a loss (with good reason! Those jerks were pelting him with sticks and stones and words that hurt him) and headed out...on his way home an angel came and told him to go back (WHAT???!!!) so he did, BUT HE WENT THE BACK WAY. And at the back gate of the city he found his BFF Amulek who was prepared by a dream to take him in and minister to him. As Elder Holland reminds us in one of my favorite talks of all time "Cast Not Away Therefore Your Confidence"
"That is the second lesson of the spirit of revelation. After you have gotten the message, after you have paid the price to feel his love and hear the word of the Lord, "go forward." Don't fear, don't vacillate, don't quibble, don't whine. You may, like Alma going to Ammonihah, have to find a route that leads an unusual way, but that is exactly what the Lord was doing here for the children of Israel. Nobody had ever crossed the Red Sea this way, but so what? There's always a first time. With the spirit of revelation, dismiss your fears and wade in with both feet. " Jeffrey R. Holland, BYU address, 1999
So what has the back door looked like for you in matters of love and pursuing authentic adventures of self?
2 comments:
Oh, man, where do I begin...
I'll comment. Because I love my story : ) I never had a boyfriend, never was in love, and never kissed a boy that I had feelings for. (Looking back, I know this is because I wasn't open to it and pretty defensive.) So I moved to SLC the mecca of mormons so statistically my odds were better for meeting the love of my life. I had my list of what I wanted in a guy. I tried to be the kind of girl that THAT GUY would want. After years, I finally gave up, and decided to move to Taiwan, a land of petite, unattractive (to me) men with little chance of meeting someone I'd be interested in. It was a journey for myself, a growing experience, an adventure. I didn't have love on the brain at all. Then I met my future husband. We lived and taught at the same school, but even with those close quarters, it took us a few months to get to know one another because he was shy and I wasn't interested. He wasn't what I was looking for. He didn't meet alot of the qualities on my list. But we fell in love and I'm so thankful that love blinds. His list of qualities are so much better than those on my list and I would have missed out on so much.
The End.
BTW You look beautiful! I stop in occasionally to see what you are up to. Back from Korea, but where are you living now?
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