Pondering in the shade of a tree

I just got back from lunch break. It was lovely. I walked to the church just past the MTC and sat in the shade of a tree. There was a breeze to compete with the 103 degree day, and combining that with the shade I was really very comfortable. Such calming perfection is totally on my "top 15" list.

Diane and I (mostly because we were best friends and adventured each other into all sorts of wonderful situations, and only partly because we were next door neighbors and she had a couple of perfect climbing/sitting under trees) used to do this all the time. Between making up stories, recording puppet shows, spying on neighbors (thank goodness all of our neighbors were boring), creating strange potions, playing Steve's latest imagination game, puddle-jumping, and the step . . . our childhood was something else. Whenever I think about my childhood it seems like my memories are all bright. I'm always out in the sun or in a brilliantly lit room. Even memories of rainy days are tinted--and the clouds aren't as foreboding as they might have been back then. Somehow the storms in my childhood were always warm rains--at least, I remember them to be that way. I love rain storms. Basically, these things that I've grown up with have stuck with me, and so now whenever anything sparks a memory it also strike a chord with my heart. Memories are powerful things.

I cherish my growing-up experiences (which I'm actually still having, despite being taller). Even through middle school and the realization that I'd have to start growing up I was happy. Music fed me. The band and our directors Mr. Hill and Mrs. Winscot (sp) will pretty much be my heroes forever. :) School became noticeably more difficult than it was in elementary, but I didn't seem to care. I learned how to make friends. I learned how to keep friends. All of my memories of junior high are bright, too.

Then came high school. Ah, it would have been easy, I think, for me to hate high school. Fortunately I was too naive and trusting to even dream of what was actually going on around me. And the truth is, as with everything in life, if you are looking to be happy you will find what makes you happy. The converse is also true. If anyone knows me, they know that I can't stand being mopey or depressed. Yes . . . heartbreak, anguish, depression, frustration, and complete despair have all set in at times, but I love being happy. It's that simple. So I loved high school. I learned incredible things. I have darker memories of high school than I do of almost any other time in my life, but there is always a light in those memories. The light of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

Which finally brings me around to the point I was thinking in the first place. These things that I've grown up with will always be with me. My memories are strong, and they really do shape who I am trying to become.
I think I'm beginning to understand what the prophets meant when they said that when a child is raised up in the right way they will not depart from it. When something as simple and small as sitting under a tree can bring back childhood memories of joy and comfort, surely the love of Christ, Heavenly Father and earthly parents can strike the hearts of even those who might not seem like they'll ever come back. Today was a testimony builder for me. Sitting under that tree helped me realize that despite the troublesome direction the world is headed, I will be able to raise a family up unto the Lord "...for in his strength I can do all things" (Alma 26:12).

Keep smiling!