My Career in the Circus

Do you ever get the feeling that you may have missed your calling in life? I'm sure most people think about things like medical school, acting, or some sort of career in politics. Me? I think I should have been a circus performer. Plate spinning to be specific. Or maybe just perfect the craft so I could be a guest on Letterman or Leno.

I feel like I've got all of these plates going. Somehow, one by one, I've committed to all sorts of different things. When I say "yes," up goes another plate. At this point, I really feel like I've reached my max. Right now, I've got all these plates spinning and I spend my days running back and forth just trying to keep them all going. As I'm spinning one, I start to notice another one that starts to teeter. Very quickly, I notice that the teetering moves to wobbling which moves to dangerously close to stopping. But, in the nick of time, I am able to sprint over and get it spinning again. I am trying my best to do it with a smile on my face (rarely am I wearing an evening gown though), and although I go to bed exhausted every night, it is a good exhaustion. I'm managing. I'm thriving. I'm learning. I'm growing. I'm loving. I'm feeling loved.

But I'm telling you all right now: If I am handed another plate, it is all going to come crashing down.

(And you know what? If you look closely, you'll notice that the plates really aren't all that clean.)

The Gospel According to Macy

Macy was assigned to give a talk in Primary on Sunday. So, we talked about how she can quote a scripture on following the prophet and then state that she heard President Monson speak last Sunday. He spoke on gratitude, and she can follow the prophet by being grateful. To prepare for this, we made a list of things that she is grateful for and she is going to draw some pictures. She started with this picture of her holding hands with Heavenly Father and Jesus.

The first draft of the picture just had a few stick figures and it was kind of sloppy. So we talked about what her teachers at school teach her about what makes a good picture: details. So, she started over with the goal to put in some details. As she was drawing, and I was wiping down the counters, I glanced over and complimented her on her details - including the fact that she even colored in the background. That's when she pointed to the blue rectangle and said, "Yeah, and that's a Rock Wall."

Greg observed that "of course there are Rock Walls in Heaven, and you probably don't even have to use the harness."

* * *

There have been a lot of questions around our house about injury, healing, and death. For the first few weeks after the accident, we really didn't know if my brother-in-law was going to live. We prayed for him, and my kids asked some questions. One day, Macy asked if Curtis was going to die. I told her that it looked like he was going to live, but we really weren't sure about the extent of his injuries (this was probably about a month afterward). At the end of our conversation about living and dying and timing, she threw her arms up in the air and said, "Well...It's up to Jesus...He's the one who gets to decide...No one else can decide."

Sometimes I wonder if we are raising a Southern Baptist, but in the end, I guess she is right - It is up to Jesus. Now, if it were that easy to accept it. I'll have to chat with my daughter. Maybe she has some pointers. Never underestimate the wisdom of a 6-year-old!