Don't Be Afraid Of Death, Be Afraid Of An Unlived Life

I'm still really young. I've not had the opportunity to get out there, spread my wings and really experience what life could really be like. Granted, I've experienced and had to deal with a lot of things, people my age and in my ward have never had to deal with before. In my life, I've had to give things up, had things taken away from me and have had to sacrifice things normal children growing up never have to experience. But I never let that stop me from moving on, I never let that keep me from growing and smiling every single day. My past can really go to show that the heart truly is the strongest thing in the world. Mine has been ripped in half, stitched back together, lied to, stepped on, and over worked with unnecessary stress. But it still finds the power to beat every day, to love people unconditionally and never give up. Now, I don't want this to seem like a pity me message, I'm not complaining at all, I am very happy with my life and I think that if it weren't for everything that I've experienced, I wouldn't be as thankful for what I have and how capable of making changes I am right now.

This last weekend, my aunt Cindy and I left for a five day road trip to Arizona, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Nevada. Along the way, I was able to convince her to let us make several stops at several Temples [St. George and Mesa Temples] throughout the trip. Our first destination was to be in the far east-north corner of Arizona by the end of the first day, along the free way to get up there was going through Phoenix and Mesa Arizona. So we stopped by the Mesa Temple and walked through the visitors center. My aunt Cindy is not a member of the church but she has really supported me with my decision to become a member and dedicate my life to the Lord and His church. So we went in, looked around and got to talk to some Sisters about the plan of salvation display that they had set out for visitors, members and non members alike. The display talked a lot about family, and how we really never die; we just simply move onto the next step of the plan our Heavenly Father has set up for us. It actually really touched the both of us since just a few years ago, my family suffered a loss. The loss of my uncle, her husband, John. I knew that while watching the short videos that were apart of it that showed a family and going through the loss of a grandparent, that Cindy was thinking of John, I knew because I was too.

This really made me realize something and reminded me of something one of my institute teachers mentioned a while back. This life has been put out to look so negative and so bad, when in reality yes there are negative and bad things in it. But that does not make it all bad all together. Life can be a beautiful thing, in this life we have a body, we have love, happiness and opportunities to learn things we've never had the chance to learn before our mortal lives. So live it up! When we die, it's not the end, it's the beginning of a new chapter. But why waist that time that we have until that new chapter begins when we could be happy and experiencing life. During this road trip, we visited the Four Corners Monument, Mesa Verde, the Zion National Park and Vegas. During each stop, I was absolutely amazed at each places beauty and unique virtues, it was at times overwhelming. But that never stopped me from wanting to have each adventure that was in store for us at each location. It actually did the exact opposite and made me want to take everything that it had to offer in. With all these experiences, I actually decided to start a bucket list, even if it may seem silly or ridiculous it's something that I would really like to start. Number one of that list will be to have a Temple Road Trip, where I will visit each Temple in the United States in an RV or whatever I have. It doesn't really matter how, I just know that someday it will happen.

Already I am able to scratch the San Diego Temple, Mesa Arizona Temple and the St. George Utah temple off the list. Visiting these was one of the best things I've done since joining the church. The way that I felt every time that I stepped foot onto the grounds of each Temple made me feel so at peace it was ridiculous. But I loved being there, and I loved seeing how much my aunt enjoyed it as well. It definitely is something that I will remember for the rest of my life and I am so thankful for the opportunity to go and for the opportunities waiting for me in the future.

I know that this post doesn't have as much in common with the last several posts, but this idea and experience I just had really meant a lot. But I have a lot more in store for this blog. I just have to organize my thoughts out.