Joy in the Journey

Sometimes I get caught up in the stressfulness of college life. The constant studying, never-ending midterms, ramen noodles, study groups and the constant search for quarters on laundry day. 

Then... I pause, and realize how great life is. 

Just look around you. It's one of the most beautiful times of the year. I love all the beautiful fall colors and I can't help but smile when I walk under a tree and leaves fall around me. 

I was talking to a friend last night who is at a completely different stage in life than I am, and it made me realize we all have our own trials and stresses. I find myself thinking that things will be easier when I get into my program, or when I graduate, or once I'm married, etc... I'm always looking to the next best thing in life, expecting it to be easier.. but that's not how it works. No matter where you are in life, you're going to have trials and it's not going to be easy.

The key is to find joy in the journey. 

Stop and take one minute to look at the beauty all around you. Tell your family you love them. Say a prayer of gratitude for the life you have and..smile. :) You'll never be at this point in your life again, so enjoy it while you can.

Wait... what?

Did you know I'm already a sophomore at BYU??

Where did the time go?? 

I know you're thinking... "Shelby, you said in the last post you wanted time to speed up so you could get to Utah!" 

Yeah.. well.. I have been journalizing my scrapbooks that mom finished and realized.. time is already going by fast. 

I think it hit me today that.. I'm living my dreams. Riiiight... now! 

I remember when I was 14, I went to EFY for the first time. It's a week-long summer camp my church has. It was the first time I had been around such a large group of Mormon kids my age. It was then that I realized... Mormons aren't too bad :) And... maybe someday... I should go to a school full of them! BYU was my goal from then on. 

Fast-forward to when I'm 17, the night before my brother leaves to serve a 2-year mission for the Lord. It's probably 2am, he's laying on my bed and we are talking about all the things that will happen while he's gone. I would graduate from high school, go to BYU, and finish my freshman year of college before he came home. I remember saying that I hoped I'd make good friends in college. But Brandon was always more worried about the boys. Before he received his call, he told me that he was going to serve in Provo so that he could keep an eye on me. After he was called to Salt Lake City, he said "See, I told you!" :) 

And now.. I'm 19. Brandon comes home in 18 days, and all of those things have happened!

It's crazy how fast the time goes. Before I know it, I'll be turning 30 with kids running around the house and a sweet husband by my side.

I'm excited for what's going to come in the many years ahead, but right now...

I'm going to enjoy where I am now :)

A Humbling Experience...

Today at work, I had some spare time to talk to Faye, one of my favorite residents. She told me a few things I don't think I'll ever forget.

As Faye sat in her wheelchair, in her half of the small room, she looked at me with a smile and said,

 "I believe I am the luckiest person alive."

I probably looked at her with a strange look, because she went on to say "You don't believe me do you?" She was right. I was thinking to myself, how are you lucky? You're confined to a wheelchair at a nursing home and spend the majority of your day solving word searches by yourself. 

I asked her how she was lucky. She laughed and said, "Look around! I have such a beautiful room. I love my bed. I love all of my [stuffed] animals. I get to sit here, and do my puzzles all day long. Not everyone still has the mind to do these things at 82 years old. Oh and do you see that window? What a beautiful window it is. I'm amazed every time I look out of it. I have such a great view. Earlier this morning, I looked out the window and said, 'Thank you, God. Thank you for giving me this window to look out everyday.' 

Don't you see Shelby? I've got the world by the tail!"

Sitting next to Faye, I was humbled and instantly filled with gratitude. I can do so many things that Faye can't; however, she's the one expressing an ample amount of gratitude. She realizes that it's a blessing to have certain things in your life, and she doesn't take a single one of them for granted.

In short... she's absolutely right. She is the lucky one.