Summer to September: Thoughts of Home

Before I start rambling, I would like to state the reason for me choosing to start a blog. Since I often struggle finding ways to put my thoughts into words, I use quotes to help me to conquer this battle. So to provide a foundation for why I'm typing in my apartment on a sunny Saturday I would like to share something that President Dieter Uchtdorf, a leader in the LDS Church once said:

 "The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before.You might say, “I’m not the creative type. If that is how you feel, think again, and remember that you are spirit daughters of the most creative Being in the universe.What you create doesn’t have to be perfect. So what if the eggs are greasy or the toast is burned? Don’t let fear of failure discourage you. Don’t let the voice of critics paralyze you—whether that voice comes from the outside or the inside.The more you trust and rely upon the Spirit, the greater your capacity to create. That is your opportunity in this life and your destiny in the life to come."

So there you have it. I love to read and love to write, and I realized one day not too long ago that I have not written anything for someone to see in a while. Like, years. So this is my little opportunity to try to create something that may have not been there before. So for those people that fix cars, design shopping malls, and can create musical masterpieces, hats off to ya. As for me though, my work site is the keyboard and my laboratory- the English Language. There is one caveat about this blog, this is a work in progress. I know I'm no expert at writing so please be kind as you read my blog; you may be getting the equivalent of greasy eggs and burnt toast from an author's perspective, but it won't stop me from cookin'!

Now then, onto the real reason of this post: home. What do you think of when you read that word? What places or people come to mind? I can think of my friends reading this and their varied answers. From Sunny beaches in North Carolina to a frigid sunset over the Rocky Mountains in Alberta, Canada. It's funny how the same word can bring about so many different thoughts for different people. So what would I like to share about the topic of home?  I would like to share how my thoughts about the word home have changed this summer.


I ended the school year at BYU last Winter semester on a good note. Happy with my grades, my friends, and my summer job waiting for me in Waterton Park, AB, (a National Park thirty minutes from my parents home and bordering Glacier National Park in Montana). Truly heaven on earth (I'll get to the subject of heaven and home in a bit). So here I am sitting one Sunday in my Provo, Utah dorm, when the thought comes to me, what would be wrong with going to Edmonton to work for the summer? It's amazing what a simple question like that can do to somebody's life, as it has changed mine forever. So, with little finances and more faith than I was comfortable exercising, I made the drive up to my new home for the summer, Edmonton. Well, as you can see with the month being September, I'm still here and not in Provo. Why? Well, it's a long story. One I could tell for many hours. Let's just say that I believe firmly that God put people in my path, both friends and family, to help me make the decision to stay in Edmonton, something I hadn't even CONSIDERED two months before I made the decision. Most important to note was a job offer from my brother in law Jan. So, the decision was made. The deal done. Edmonton was my new home.

So with the City of Champions as place to live I was able to travel a little during the month of August to see some friends in different places that I had lived over the past few years; namely, friends from North Carolina, my hometown of Cardston, and some friends from BYU. Strangely enough, in about 2 weeks  in August I had seen friends from four different places and had felt at home being around every one of them. Let me repeat this, because I think of all the typing I have done so far this next sentence is the most important I will type in this post. The idea of home happens when you love and feel loved in return.  Forget the thoughts of a building with walls and pictures when you think of home. In my opinion that boxes it up way too much, both literally and figuratively. Think of the people you love and want to spend the rest of your life with. Isn't that what home is all about? Let me illustrate with a quick story and then finish so you can get on with your life rather reading an inordinately long blog that caught your attention only because you were bored perusing Facebook.

At the end of the last semester at BYU I witnessed something I will never forget. It was the end of the semester, with the feeling of nostalgia permeating the air. I personally don't like that time of the year too much. Never did do well with goodbyes. Have you ever had that feeling of saying bye to someone either in your class, congregation, or dorm that you didn't really care for or spend a lot of time with in the first place? If not, you rock. Anyways, with that gloomy, pessimistic mood in mind, I was walking back to my dorm, when I saw a freshman girl bounce happily to her fathers car, luggage in hand, and hug her father in a tight embrace. Now, knowing how hard a first year of college can be, and guessing that it had been months since this girl had seen someone she undoubtedly cared about, this sight may have got me emotional. Emphasis on the word may. But here is my point to this story. When her father first saw her, what do you think was running through his mind? Her daughter's GPA for the semester, or how many hours a week she had spent in the library. Of course not. He was happy that she was safe, and even happier (I would guess) at how happy she was to see him.  So, there it is folks. On a warm March afternoon I witnessed two people at home. In the grass. Near a California plated car. In Utah.

Now bear with me as I write this last idea. I think it's pretty good, to be perfectly honest and humble, but I'm curious as to what you think. We, like that freshman girl, are separated from Heavenly Father. He knows us perfectly. Not knew. Knows. He knows our heartaches, are frustrations, our weaknesses; he even knows about the crush we had that we didn't tell anyone about. Rather than being at a dorm in Provo Utah, I like to imagine my reunion with my Father as somewhere a little more picturesque (no offence Provo). I would like to think that He cares about me so much, and knows me so well, that he can't wait to just sit and talk to me about my life and the people he placed me near and the miracles he performed to help me grow and becomes what he wants me to be. At His first glance of me, I doubt Heavenly Father will be wrapped up in the details of my earthly GPA. Not that how we live doesn't matter. Please don't misunderstand me. But the point I wish to make is that when we go back to God, if we love him, we are going home. This is what a dear friend told me once. And I love the idea. With this idea in mind please consider the scripture in John 17:3:

"And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent."

So, how do you think the reunion I mentioned earlier in the dorms at BYU would have differed if the girl being picked up didn't really spend much time with her dad or even care about him? Similarly, what good would it do to get to heaven realizing that we haven't really spent much time loving the people around us or loving God? To me I don't think it would be heaven. That's why I think our Heavenly Father assigns people to a place where they are most comfortable and ready for. It reminds me of a scripture that a missionary named Clayton Chase shared during a missionary meeting that has affected me forever.

"For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?"

So to close I would like to repeat what I have said and would be happy if you remember. Home is about love. As one of my mission prep teachers put it "If you're not near the ones you love, love the ones you're near." So the next time you think about going home or missing home think about the people that care about you and those you care about. Those who are near you, those who aren't so near you. And those in the heavens waiting for your final homecoming. There is beauty all around, when there's love at home. :)