So I'm sitting here in the library at UT Southwestern waiting for Steven to finish his test. Typically I am a professional "dilly-dallier" (if you will) and I can burn time doing pretty much nothing for an impressive length of my day. But today I face a problem that doesn't happen all too often. I've been on facebook, I've read a million blogs including people I don't know, and here I am trying to think of something to do. And then a thought crossed my mind that was presented by our friend Ben that I thought was very interesting. Before Steven and Ben left to go take their test he said: "You know, life has been so good lately that I'm starting to get nervous about when all of that might end. But, I guess life has it's good days, and life has it's bad days, and when you look at life as a whole it's a pretty great thing." I completely agreed, wished them well on their exam, and went on to my dilly-dallying. I now can't get what he said out of my head. (hah! that rhymed :)) Within the last year or so, especially the last 3 months, I have fallen into that trap of "Boy, something reeeeaaaaallll bad must be on it's way because I've been living on easy street the last 15 months". Have you ever felt that way? I mean, honestly. When I look on my 20+ years of life I have seen a pretty solid pattern of bad year, good year, good year, bad year, good year, good year. Does that mean I only have 9 more months until something awful!? The answer is: no silly, you're being ridiculous. Another thought...I also get caught in that trap of "My life is so good, why is that!? I don't deserve it! Look at all these people who are so amazing, but they go through so much every single day. Why can't I give some of my life's easy days and swap them with some of their crummy days?" Instead, I should probably just shut-up and be GRATEFUL for everything I have. And like what my older brother told me one time when I said this to him 5ish years ago: "To whom much is given, much is required." Ok, obviously not an original Brandon quote, but still, I have to keep reminding myself about that all the time. So then I thought...well, what is required? And then, almost immediately I thought, oh dur Amber, EVERYTHING I HAVE. This lead me to another thought: isn't the temple amazing?? Serving at the temple with Steven has been the highlight of our week, and I am not just saying that to come off all "holier than thou". It has made a HUGE impact on our life. We have witnessed miracles almost every single day since we decided to work there. And aside from the blessings we've noticed, the time spent there is so rewarding. We have made great friends, and every week we learn more than we knew before. So to wrap everything up really quick I have learned something this afternoon. Don't shun the blessings that are bestowed upon you and wonder "why you". Don't focus on how long the "prosperous period" is going to last in your life. Take the blessings that you are given, and figure out a way to use them to enrich the lives of others. And like Ben said, sure life has it's ups and downs, but in the end, it is truely a wonderful thing. Amber