HIGHS AND LOWS

This is one of those things that is so hard for me in life. I really hate going back and forth between good days and bad days... happy and sad... being on Cloud 9 to wanting to rip someone's head off.

These last couple of days have been great. Saturday, I participated in my very first TRIATHLON! I was talking to my physical therapist on Friday and he convinced me to do it. I am really glad that I did. I didn't do all that great though... but I finished! I really could care less right now on my time to beat. I wanted to try it and I did. Now, I know what I can do to improve... like swimming for more than 2 minutes at a time!

Yesterday at church, I got to go all by myself because Ryan has the dreaded croup! It was too hard for me to take Benjamin with me because I had to teach my Sunbeam class. For sacrament meeting, I decided to bear my testimony. That was a good decision. I was in a good mood all day. That's big for me! For a recap, here are some of the things I said:

I am so very grateful that my sister, Anne, convinced me to start running and to set a goal for an event. Most of the time when Anne wants to convince you to do something, she likes to talk and talk and talk until you give in. Not this time. All she had to do was run her full marathon. After she crossed the finish line, that did it for me. She was so tired and wiped out after the run but I could see the accomplishment and excitement in her face. That far outweighs the pain!

When I started running miles at a time, I could tell that I had a long way to go and that it was not going to be easy. One Saturday when I was running 8 miles, I was about to die! Around mile 5 or 6, I remember praying and telling Heavenly Father, "I am not going to stop running! I am going to finish this 8 mile run without stopping! I need Your help!!" I knew that He was going to help me finish that run. And He did. It was really rewarding.

I have compared this experience to these last couple of months. Troy and I have been having hard times with our financial situation, with frustrating times with the boys, with trying to teach Ryan, with comforting Benjamin while watching him get stitches. Benjamin has also entered the terrible 2's with a bang! It's been really hard and I'm tired. I'm really tired. But all of these frustrating times and the tears, these feelings are the same as when I'm running and I really want to stop. All I need to say is, "I'm not going to stop Heavenly Father. I need Your help to get me to the end of the race."

Sure, I'm not perfect with my training. I was suppose to run 4 1/2 miles today and did I do it? Nope. I didn't. I got too caught up with anger with the boys and I am going to take the evening off and watch my TV shows. It's just the same with what we're suppose to be doing here on earth. How many times have I skipped my scripture reading because I was too upset? Plenty of times. I'm not perfect but I am sure trying.

From my experience with my first triathlon, I am still very sore. My arms still hurt and so do my legs. I know that the pain and soreness will go away. This is just like the pain and sorrow that we feel through our trails. Sure, our trials really hurt and it's tough going through it, but all the pain and sorrow will go away. We just have to keep pushing through until the end.

Alright... now that I finished gushing my heart out, let's move on.

This week, Troy and I are really nervous. Troy has a potential job that sounds pretty promising and we are crossing our fingers! We have been waiting and waiting for something to happen. Troy had an interview already but I think they want to schedule another one. This company is working through a recruiter so that's why I'm saying, "I think..." Hopefully something more will happen this week.