Friday, October 30, 2009

Keep on Keepin' on

I have been on a "journey" of sorts lately. ( I am not a big fan, or little, of calling things by symbolic names, but I was really stumped on this one.)


It's funny when you think you have all the little details of your life all planned out, then.......wham! splat! bang! boom! and any other hit over the head noises you can think of, things change.


Some days I am convinced that even though this wasn't a choice, it really is for the better. I no longer have to worry about so many things that I did before. I am FREE.


Then, ( insert wham! etc... ) I am angry and resentful. I wanted the choice. It was mine to make and not someone elses. I am a PRISONER.


Confusing as my nondisclosure is, I realize that it is applicable to a lot that happens in life.


Being free to make choices about my own life, and the "path" I want it to follow. Giving up that freedom is really difficult and can result in a seeming life sentence.


But what I have learned also is that I can choose weather or not I am held prisoner to the trials of life. Life happens. Life goes on. Life is ever changing. Life is short. Life is a dance. Such is life. ( gag me now, please. Even I am having a hard time resisting all those quipy little quips!)

The photo on here is one from our road trip this summer. One of the places we stayed in was Nauvoo. Those of you who are members know the significance of this place. Back when the LDS church was starting out, a lot of the members settled in Nauvoo to avoid religious persecution. Well, that didn't last long, and along with abandoning their homes they also had to leave their beloved Temple.
The path they took leading out across the Missouri river was called the trail of tears. As the saints left their homes and all they had grown to love, they could turn back and look back over their shoulder at the receding Temple. Many people had come here at a high cost and would face many more challenges along the way. Knowing this, many tears were shed.
In commemoration of all the diverse people who embarked on the journey west, the church put up placards of personal accounts from these pioneers. This one in particular touched my heart and I too shed a few tears.
The trail has since been renamed The Trail of Hope.
Those people truly knew hardship. And keeping faith, hope, and charity, during their journey.

I am on my trail of hope.......

I will journey on.