I had an interesting experience last month.

I was headed to work on a Saturday at 7am (because my boss hates happiness) and wasn't feeling too swell. The only thing that seemed to not make me want to throw up was applesauce. So to the store I went. Upon purchasing my case of applesauce, I headed out the door. As I was reaching the door, an employee of Smith's caught my attention. He was throwing away some old, dried up, kind of pathetic looking flowers and asked me, "Hey, do you want a flower?"
"Sure," feeling a small sliver of a smile appearing on my face.
"You know what, just take the whole thing! Have a good day."

So away I walked, feeling surprisingly better by the small gesture of the employee at Smiths who didn't know that I was feeling awful and completely spent emotionally and spiritually and physically. He didn't know that. He was just tossing the old flowers to make room for the new. But the second I walked out of that store my eyes filled with tears. The Lord knew. He knew I was hurting. He did not take the hurt away, but lessened it and said, "Laura, I'm here and I know your heart."

Moral 1: You never know what a small kind gesture will do for someone.
Moral 2: Never, ever, EVER underestimate the Lord. He knows you. He knows your path. If He brought you to it, He'll guide you through it.

But wait, there's more.

Remember how I said these flowers were old, wilting, and kind of pathetic? 

I put them in water as soon as I got home from work. 4 days later, these flowers look brand new. They perked up and look vibrant and full of life. Not only was this a nice surprise that my pick-me-up flowers literally perked up, but also a beautiful analogy to me.

If I had been a bunch of flowers, these would have been me that week/month. Wilted, looking as though they were going to give up in a matter of seconds, downtrodden, weak.

They became lively and full of beauty.

John 4:14 

But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

The love of God and the peace the gospel of Christ brings is a source that never dries up, that never ceases to give light and life. 

I've been thinking more and more about the enabling power of the Atonement lately. Some experiences I've had have pushed me to depend entirely on Christ. Days went by, weeks were there was literally nothing I did without the Savior's help. But I got thinking, isn't that how it should be always? We should always depend on Him, not just through the hard times. But ALWAYS. Through rain and shine, we should give His thought first priority. The Atonement is an incredible gift that I understand more and more little by little. Just like everything in the gospel and life. Line upon line and precept upon precept. Through it all, we have patience. Or rather, we should have patience. Be patient. 

Through our trials and hardships, we can have comfort knowing that Christ knows exactly what it feels like. He's been there. On the other hand, we can know just a fraction of a fragment of the pain He went through. Our times of despair should bring us closer to Christ, because we are walking a path He did, though because He did it alone, we don't have to. 

Hebrews 11:40
God having provided some better things for them through their sufferings, for without sufferings they could not be made perfect. 

Happy Birthday Pops

I can't just write a blog post about mom and then neglect my father, now could I?

Without further ado, "20 Reasons Why My Dad, Brad, is the Bee's Knees" 

1. He has SWEET dance moves. You'll just have to trust me on this one. Because if I used any proof, I'd be dead. meat. 

2. Bless his heart, he calls his mom every day. He's a momma's boy. 

3. He has this quiet strength that makes you trust everything he says and love him for it. 

4. He would do anything (and he does) for his family. 

5. He loves his kids, but man, do his grandkids have grandpa wrapped around their fingers. 

6. He's the donkey every year for our family Christmas nativity. Except the one year when the role was taken by another, but he was given the supporting role of "cow"

7. He is the most giving person I know. His calling as Bishop requires him to give a lot, but he does it all willingly. He does it for the people around him. I've been blessed to see him in action so many times, and it really is humbling.

8. He has incredible and inspiring faith in and love for God.

9. He's the handiest man to have around. Really though. He can do it all. Cars, floors, plumbing, carpentry, the list goes on and on. I just don't know what he cannot do.

10. He opens the door for my mom every single time they get into a car. For 37+ years he has treated her like a queen. He's gone to countless concerts, carried her cello to and fro, supporting her musical endeavors. I've heard my sisters say "Don't date any guy who doesn't treat you as well as dad treats mom." He's set the bar real high.

11. The man loves history. He eats up books about American history, European history, church history. He's like a walking tour guide. One of the smartest people I know.

12. He is a protector and there is no where safer I feel than with him. He takes his priesthood responsibilities very seriously. What an example.

13. He loves going to the movie theater. So one would assume that he loves watching movies. But he's just too hardworking to sit and watch a movie at home. Or maybe it's just the ADD. ;)

14. Brad loves his popcorn. He will eat popcorn till the cows come home.

15. He tells me he's proud of me all the time. And every single one of his kids and grandkids.

16. ^Because of that and other things like it, he instills confidence in every person he meets. 

17. He is the best. storyteller. of. all. time. I still remember some of the stories he told me as a kid. Louie the Lizard was a childhood staple. He'd lay on my floor at night and make these stories up on the fly. Still does. Louie has taken on a new generation of kiddos.

18. He's an incredible artist. I just love looking at his paintings and drawings. Many moons ago, we'd sit next to him in church and have him draw pictures for us, mostly of us as princesses, or Mack our dog, or whatever.

19. He is the hardest working man I know. He's run two half marathons and done a sprint triathlon in the last two years. He works his buns off at work to provide for his family. I can't say just how much I appreciate that.

20. I know he knows the gospel is true. He never hesitates to share the gospel or his testimony with those around him. Family scripture study and prayer are always a priority for him. I've learned so much from him temporally and spiritually.

(I could go on and on. But I will say one more)
21. He's hilarious. Sometimes unintentionally. He can be a bit passive aggressive. Ex. While trying to pull out of a parallel parking space, a driver cut him off. Dad-"Thanks a lot, sweetie." Still one of my favorite catch phrases.

Happy birthday, dad. I think the world of you. I love you!

love,

your little girl.

Happy Birthday Mumsie.

These days we see so many articles like "17 Ways to Use Your Laundry Lint" or "45 Ways to be More Like Sandra Bullock " (I would actually read that one...). But I thought something a little more meaningful would be appropriate for my spectacular mom's bday.

So here are (just) "20 Reasons Why Mama Wride is the Bomb.com"

1. She raised her kids on music, whether we liked it or not. (Memories of the chants "uggggh mom this is so gross. Ewwwww classical music" coming from the backseat of the car are flooding back to me) She brought beautiful, uplifting music into our home at all times. And she still continues to share and develop her talents in all kinds of ways.

2. She loves learning. She reads books and articles and magazines all the time, of all kinds and loves talking about her learnings. Her theories are renowned across the family. Some day we will have her to thank for the knowledge of "sleep hormones." She's sure of it.

3. That learning extends to spiritual goodness too. When she's read an inspiring talk, she sends it to everyone and their dog for them to feel uplifted, too. The Gospel According to Valerie coming soon to the bookstore shelves near you.

4. She has the best laugh. I can't help but laugh when she laughs.

5. She always has/makes time for family. Especially when it seems most inconvenient for her, because she loves us.

6. She takes care of herself. Probably not as much as she takes care of everyone else, but when she acknowledges she is in need, she'll go ahead and do what she likes or needs.

7. She made the most killer halloween costumes. I was a witch like 4 years in a row, but only after being Abu from Aladdin, Megara from Hercules, and Esmerelda from Hunchback.

8. She is SO attentive to what other people need (especially her kids). For example, one time in high school, I had had a pretty difficult experience at school and shortly thereafter I was having one of my classic "Laura Meltdowns". We got talking after seminary and she just said, "you know what? Take your time. You'll get to school when you're feeling better." (She also let me skip school every once in a while. Usually for something specific, but those breaks to hang out with her were always appreciated.)

9. She's one of my best friends. When something exciting happens, I want to tell her. When I'm feeling low she's on speed dial. When I need to vent, she sits down on the couch to just listen. I just can't keep things from her! She knows anyway.

10. Long story short, she's a nurturer and comforter by nature, but boy, she's really perfected that characteristic.

11. She's taught us kids that a timer/alarm is the solution to every problem. Just about. The essential and indestructible black watch has saved playdates from destruction, appointments from being missed, and probably the world from imploding at one time or another.

12. She has a simple and sophisticated style. I love it. In her dress, her talk, the decor in our home. She has class like nobody's business.

13. She is so cheesy. Sometimes her kids and grandkids get an eye roll or two in response, but most of the time it just makes us laugh and love "Pamela Primary from CTR News" even more. (It's obvious she passed that one on too...)

14. She is in touch with her emotions. She doesn't hide the fact that a lot of things make her cry, for a thousand different reasons. She cries during commercials. No big deal. She cries at family gatherings with the Polar Express soundtrack blasting in the background. I was raised knowing that if I felt like crying (which happens all the time--if I laugh too hard, if it's super windy outside...), it really was okay!

15. She sets goals to better herself and I've seen her achieve so many of them. She doesn't let "failure" stop her from what she desires. If something isn't working, she thinks about how to change it. And she goes for it. What a woman.

16. She's the sweetest woman you'll ever meet. I've never heard her say a cross thing to anyone ("cross" makes me think of Mary Poppins). Except the one time in Spain when this kid tried to steal the insignia off the front of the car she was sitting in. She got out of the car and just started laying into him in English. He was SO not expecting it. Dropped it and ran. Funniest moment of my life.

17. this picture.

18. She is incredibly in tune with the Spirit. I've had so many times when I was feeling low and then BAM. Mom sent me a package last WEEK and it shows up on my doorstep. WHAM. An email with the conference talk that I needed to hear. She's just awesome like that.

19. She loves my dad. In everything she does I can see how much she loves him. She supports him to no end, day in and day out, and has for the past 37+ years.

20. She loves God and Jesus Christ more than anything. She isn't just a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, she is a disciple. She doesn't just live the gospel, the gospel is who she is. One of the most Christlike people I know.

(okay, I can't resist.)

21. She is the most beautiful person I know. Inside and out.

So, happy birthday, mom. If you can't tell, I think you're the greatest woman on the planet. I love you!

Come Thou Fount

I'm back. Tell yo friends.

Just kidding. You really don't have to. It's up to you. I won't be offended if no one but your beautiful self reads this. 

Well, since I last "blogged", I've had lots going on. Winter break was just the greatest. Coming back to school was hard because I had SUCH a fabulous time at home with family! School is school. It's mostly a good time. I've been called as a gospel doctrine teacher, meaning that I get to study the Old Testament and teach every 2 weeks or so. I was terrified at first, and I still get pretty nervous, but honestly, I love preparing so much that I almost enjoy this calling. I have done so much scripture study and conference talk reading in the past couple of months, which has been a huge blessing. 

In recent testimony building news, I've been thinking about the hymn "Come Thou Fount". The second line sings "Tune my heart to sing thy grace." 

Tune. 

If you've ever tuned a string instrument or seen someone tune a violin or cello, you know how vital the tuning process to making a beautiful sound. You know that these instruments are so fragile and are rather temperamental; if you leave it in a cold or hot environment for too long, or look at it wrong, it will go out of tune. This is where the tuning pegs come into play. There are the large tuning pegs for larger adjustments and the smaller fine tuners for the slight adjustments. These pegs pull or loosen the strings and apply the correct pressure, according to the destined pitch. This tuning has to be done carefully to avoid snapping or breaking. If we liken this to the gospel, The Master Musician uses the tuning pegs, or trials as we affectionately call them, to turn us into the people He wants us to be, the people He knows we can be. He knows the potential we have to be beautiful.

 It will be worth it to be tuned to sing His grace. 

December 13th

Christmas tree

Silly me. In my prancing about in celebration of the end of the semester, I totes forgot to take a picture of my SERIOUSLY awesome decked out apartment, complete with the most awesome glittery Christmas tree and snowflakes. But, luckily for me, my Grandma has a pretty rockin' Christmas ensemble going on. And she won a poinsettia at her ward Christmas dinner tonight, courtesy of her fabulous granddaughter. ;) Also, old people are hilarious. I know I'm a broken record, but man, Grams has some seriously funny friends.

December 12th

Jesus is the reason 

"Jesus is the reason for the season."

He is also the reason that about 95% of my friends (A LOT more of whom aren't pictured here--not enough squares on those darn photo collage apps.) are spread across the world (USA, Brazil, Africa, Iceland, Philippines, Japan, Peru, Chile...I think you get my picture). Knowing what they are doing and why they are gone, but mostly for WHOM they are away, is the only thing that makes it alright to be separated for a few short (siiiiiiike) months. In fact, I'm incredibly proud of every single one of them. They are teaching of our Savior Jesus Christ. The incredible good news that 

we are not alone.

Christ was utterly alone and suffered more so that not one of his brothers and sisters had to. I love Him. I don't know a lot of things, but I know He's there.

Merry Christmas.

December 11th

Stockings 

My roommates totally love Christmas too. Love it.