Heeding the Call--Part Two: A Very Angry Thursday

Two weeks had passed since that day at the Temple.  I had since turned 19 and was continuing to settle into college life.  Each day had its ups and downs, but for the most part, I was loving college life.  Then, as Cedar City prepared to host a College Cross Country Meet, anger began to again stir up inside of me.  This was the meet I'd been so looking forward to running in with the Dixie State Cross Country team.  People had planned on coming up to see me and cheer me on.  I would be racing with dozens of people that I knew.  I had planned for that race.  Now it was here, and I would not be competing.  I don't know why this hurt me so much!  I guess it was partially because this was the first time I really got hit in the face with what my life could have been like.
As I went for my run that afternoon, I continued to get angry and loathe my situation.  All I had wanted was to run, but for some reason, God asked me to give it up.  I kept asking myself why on earth I ever had to get sick.  If none of that would have happened, I wouldn't even have thought about doing anything else with my life, so I would have been completely content with staying where I was. But, now that I was at SUU, it was hard to be happy because I knew what I was missing.  I ran faster and faster, rage coursing through my veins. 
Then, when I calmed myself a little bit, I heard a still, small voice whisper to me that I needed to hold on just a little longer, be patient for just another day or two, and all would make sense.  God had a plan for my life, and it would be revealed to me soon enough.

Heeding The Call--Part One: Temple Thursday



In the last few days, my life has been drastically altered.  I wanted to write the story in one big post, but I realized that just was not possible.  So, one dat at a time I am going to back up and tell of the experiences that I had that led to one big, fast moment.
September 13, 2012. Exactly one week before my 19th Birthday.  What a great day it was!  My roommate, Shaylie, and I had played our first intramural football game. I was mad that we lost, but all was well because I knew that, that night, I would be going to the Temple for the first time in three weeks--it was the first time in two years that I had gone that long without doing baptisms, and I was definitely feeling a hole.  As Jake and I drove down to St.George, we listened to songs from some of our favorite bands and talked about how excited we were for an upcoming concert we would be attending.  I was still scared of the freeway, so I was making Jake drive.  We called our friends to tell them that we were getting close so that we could meet them there.  I was incredibly excited because our friend Eric Hall who was just a week away from leaving on a mission was going to baptize us. Jake and I met Kyle, Eric, Whitni, and Jandee in front of the Temple and we all went inside together.  I got to be the first person Ric ever baptized. 
I was the first person out of the locker rooms and sat in the waiting area alone for quite awhile.  I began reflecting on life--especially the events that brought me to Cedar City.  Despite everything that had happened, I still had doubts about whether or not I had made the right choice.  I mean, I had loved it so far, but there were still so many things I didn't understand.  I was trying to look ahead and figure out where my life was headed.  As I pondered this, the Spirit spoke to me with indescribible clarity.  It told me that I am on the right path right now and to accept that for now instead of trying to look into the future.  It told me not to plan so far ahead and that the Lord would lead, guide, and hold me.
The boys shortly joined me in the waiting room, and the girls eventually came out as well.  We met up with family and more friends at Yogurtland.  Jake made me drive home and I was scared to death, but ended up only needing his help once or twice.  Just before I went to bed that night, I realized that I wanted to remember those promptings, but being too lazy to write anything down, I just typed them in a quick note on my phone.  Little did I know that they would all make sense soon...