Ope Just Kidding...

Ever feel like life says that to you? Things are going great. Everything seems to be falling into place perfectly. And then life chuckles and says, "Ope just kidding...here's another roadblock for you. Here's another heartbreak. Here let me throw a few more trials at you." It's like you're so excited to be back on your feet that you get distracted by the roses you stopped to smell and life comes up from behind and trips you. Down you fall again. But how far down do you fall?

Alright so obviously life isn't just a grand ol' walk through the park. I've always known that. But gee whiz sometimes I wish it would just hurry up and happen. No, not life. I don't want to die yet. Sometimes I wish there was a fast forward button so I could fast forward just a few months and see if that's any better than where I'm at. But I suppose from there I'd want to fast forward again so that's probably why there isn't a fast forward button. Don't get me wrong, I'm doing fine, but life just tried to trip me. It knocked me down a little, but it didn't knock me completely to the ground. Know why? Because I'm choosing to not let it. Sure I could give up and decide it's just not worth it anymore, but what good would that do me? Uh..none.

I'm reminded of a dream my friend had before he left on his mission. (I don't remember it exactly, but I remember the main theme of it.) He was climbing up this mountain. A very tall mountain. A mountain so tall it reached the Heavens. The climb wasn't too bad. He was doing great and covering a lot of ground. When he looked up towards the top he saw someone standing there. He didn't think much of it and continued to climb. Suddenly he was hit with stone. He looked up again wondering what had just happened. He was hit with another stone. The man at the top of the mountain was throwing stones at him. It made his climb really hard, but he kept at it. The man continued to throw stones down at my friend. Now, I don't know how the dream ended. I can't remember if he ever told it. But that part doesn't matter. My friend understood what this dream meant in his life, and it meant the same to me. We are the climbers of the mountain. We are the climbers of life. How well we climb the mountain will determine if we make it to the top or not. The man at the top of the mountain was our Savior and/or Heavenly Father. Yes, He was throwing the stones down making the climb a little more difficult. The stones represented trials and struggles in life. If life were to be easy then what's the point of it? Why would we have been sent to Earth? Heavenly Father gives us challenges and struggles. He is going to throw "stones" at us, believe it or not. I like to think that my friends dream ended with him reaching the top of the mountain and the man grabbing my friend by the hand, helping him to the top. That's exactly what our Heavenly Father and Savior would do for us. Life will be hard, but if we endure it well and the best we can, they'll reach down and pull us up.

So, have I gotten back up from my fall? No. No completely. That takes time. But I've got to face it with the best attitude possible and just hope for the best. I'll dodge as many stones as I can, but by dodging one stone I could possibly be hit by another. Life is full of surprises, some good and some bad. How we handle life and its little surprises is what counts the most. So life, bear with me as I try to recoup from the trip and fall. You haven't knocked me down completely..just knocked me to my knees I guess you could say. BUT Gordon B. Hinckley said, "If life gets too hard to stand, kneel." So maybe knocking me to my knees wasn't a bad thing, eh? I'm going to take that trip and use it to my advantage. I bet you didn't see that one coming, life, now did ya?