I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles

I am 64 years old.  I have never been outside of the United States.  I am now in Frankfurt Germany.  I don't know what people are saying.  I can't read any of the labels.  I am in a temporary apartment attempting to keep things clean until the residents return at which time I am told I will be in another temporary apartment.  I have only German television.  I cannot access wireless in this apartment so have to plug in my computer to get the internet.  I could continue to drone on and on and on . . . but I will just scream - - -

"WHERE ARE MY BUBBLES?"

As I was packing I decided it was really foolish to bring bubbles with me because clearly they are available everywhere.  Or I can make them out of soap and water, right?  

Sure, but I clearly forgot that even if I find the soap - 

where is the wand for breathing - ooops! I mean blowing?

Needless to say I have had some challenging moments - hours - days - since I left Lexington, Kentucky on December 6th (only 20 days ago!).   This past week I spent some time with the missionaries (Elder & Sister Peery) I will be replacing.    Ahhhhh....  the clearly sensed my anxiety (after all they are psychologists and one is in addition a clinical social worker!) and they began telling me positive stories about some of the young missionaries they have served.   This one is my favorite:

A young sister missionary was feeling pretty discouraged.  Sister Peery asked her to think of some things that made her smile.  Among other ideas the missionary said she liked to blow bubbles.  So they came up with a plan:   why not just blow bubbles?  Hmmmm.....  Simple, right?

So the young sister bought bubbles.  They made her happy.  So she and her companion decided to share the joy.  They got lots of bubbles and on a sidewalk in town put up a whiteboard and printed in big letters:

"...MEN (AND WOMEN) ARE THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE JOY."  2 NEPHI 2:25  WE CAN TELL YOU HOW!

And people stopped - not just to blow bubbles but to ask questions about finding joy.  Children and adults of all ages stopped - and there were bubbles and there was talking and there was laughter and there was joy!

This may not sound like much of a miracle to you, but it was a miracle to me.  Not necessarily the bubble experience of the young sister missionaries - but certainly that one of the first stories I heard when I got to Germany was a story about blowing bubbles!

Remember this You Tube video I shared  last year?  Here it is again - - - you have to listen to the music while you watch everyone finding joy - peace - comfort - laughter while blowing bubbles!

http://thelevityinstitute.com/2012/01/bubbles-of-joy-the-levity-projects-new-micro-movement/

Miracles, Miracles

Ahhhhh - the miracles!  the miracles!  Some might not consider them miracles because most of these experiences are not huge but I see them as miracles:  tender reminders that my Heavenly Father knows me and loves me and will watch over me and my loved ones while I am in His service.

As the day to leave on my mission neared, I was experiencing the highest of highs and lowest of lows when it came to my emotions.  My thoughts raced:

I need the right clothing.  I have to get shots?  Germany - really? Mental health - really? . . . anxiety began kicking in!  Not enough time to do it all:  need a new birth certificate?  Passport? I need to clean the house and sort and move and sell and toss and go to goodwill how many times?  I don't have the right Luggage?  How much is my monthly rent going to be - are you sure?  Oh no, where will I get the money?  I still need shoes - and scarves - and money for Utah - and what about Bridgette Rae?  No one will love her like I do! . . . and on and on and on - - - STOP!
The final straw was the day the money didn't come on the day it was expected: my social security check came three days late in November.  I cried and prayed questioning if God really wanted me to do this why were these things happening.

And the miracles began:

*I went to lunch with a friend who insisted on treating me to lunch as well as my vaccinations!  How could I say no to an offer like that?  

*We went back to her home where she was busy sorting through boxes of clothes that had been left with her.  Her job was find a home for these clothes.  I found skirts, scarves, tops many that had never been worn before. 

*My daughter-in-law recently lost lots of weight and gave me some of her cardigans - they matched the skirts!  A couple of the skirts need hemming.  

*Temple trips with my visiting teachers and another dear friend.

*My sisters Pat, Sally, Kathy  continued to offer support in the form of phone calls, money, loving words on facebook... a commitment to help however possible!   I met my sister Sally in Louisville and we talked for an entire day.

*Sweet cards from people - $20, $10, $100, and so forth.  Every dollar given was equally important and equally appreciated.  

*What a surprise - I met a friend from Illinois in Louisville to go to the Temple before I left and when she got out of her car she carried her Bernina sewing machine to hem my skirts.  

*We stayed overnight and went to church in Louisville.  I was surprised to see friends who had moved away visiting their son's family in the same church that day.  After church, they asked to speak with me.  They said they wanted to serve a mission but due to aging parents were unable to do so at this time.  They had been praying about how to best serve and had been inspired to help someone else serve.  They then offered to help me pay for this mission - the amount far more than I expected but definitely what I need to meet my obligations while serving.

*An open house (church friends) was wonderful.  On the way home I noticed an envelope in my purse.  It was a little bulky and the note on it said not to open until December 1st.  When I opened it the amount of money that fell out took my breath away because it was what I needed to pay for my Utah and travel expenses (the part not covered by the church) and enough extra to buy a few things I wanted to buy but had planned to do without.

*And so many more miracles that I haven't mentioned...

And in the midst of all the miracles there were the wonderful experiences with friends:  open houses, wonderful lunches, a luncheon (think chatterbox girls), a family Sunday . . . An on the last Saturday, a new home for Bridgette Rae as she was adopted by my granddaughter and her family.

And I stopped... really stopped... and remembered the words on this picture posted by a friend on her blog:  JUST Breathe - and I did!


I just breathed and as I did so I inhaled all of the Love offered and in my prayers I exhaled only gratitude to God for placing remarkable friends and family members in my life who listened to His promptings.  And my needs were met by Him through them.




President Spencer W. Kimball who was Prophet and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints wrote the following words in December 1974:  "I have learned that it is by serving that we learn how to serve. When we are engaged in the service of our fellowmen, not only do our deeds assist them, but we put our own problems in a fresher perspective. When we concern ourselves more with others, there is less time to be concerned with ourselves. In the midst of the miracle of serving, there is the promise of Jesus, that by losing ourselves, we find ourselves."