Wild and Wonderful

This title could sum up how my life has been the last few years but for this post it is actually for a fun trip I've been able to go one recently. My family and I took a trip to Blackwater Falls, WV and it was awesome! We drove up and the weather was awesome just until about an hour before we arrived. We came into some thick fog, it was spooky, mysterious, a little scary and amazing too! We saw a thick wall just past the trees covering who knows what and wondered what was beyond the fog. We finally arrived wondering if we would really be able to see the falls. We heading on the path, we were amazed by the beauty of the scenery, the change of trees and greenery that we are not used to but welcomed, the fog was still there but not blocking our path right in front of us. We could hear the falls and new they were close. We made it to the first look out and could see them clearly and hear them too. We were able to get even closer and it was amazing and powerful! It was a misty day and the falls were so full! We enjoyed visiting a small lodge, looking at the map, and a packed lunch. After our lunch the fog lifted and it was great to see more of the outlooks clearly with out the fuzzy fog blocking our view. When we were done we headed out and on our drive out during that stretch where we had no idea what was beyond the fog was all clear now. Lots of trees were revealed, a side of the mountain exposed near the road held a beautiful strip of that good old black gold, coal. We even saw a coal mining equipment that was big and grand and we were surprised at how the fog had covered it. We could see clearly and our way back didn't seems so scary or spooky now that it was lit by the last bit of the days sun. This experience not only was a big stress reliever for me as I have been just diagnosed with Hashimoto's Disease and am still dealing with that news, but it also made me realize a few things about my life. Often I have fog in my life, no fault of my own and sometimes lots of fault of my own, either way it gets there it is blinding and a little bit spooking and some times feels thrilling. This fog of life can be a bad attitude or sin, it can be trials and burdens, it can be lots of things but if we hold fast to the scriptures and belief in Christ and in good things to come eventually the fog will lift! No matter how long the it has been it will lift! When the fog is lifted we will be able to see clearly, sometimes seeing those things we missed, sometimes finally being able to enjoy the scenery around us even though it has been there the whole time. No matter what life throws at us we can come off conquerer and be able to see clearly. Hold on and things will work out...maybe not how we want and maybe not when we want but things will work out! I hope to go on more trips like this, our next one we would love to go to the Natural Bridge, and I hope that each time I'm able to spend time with my family and enjoy what God has given us in nature that I can also learn lessons that will help me see my life more clearly and I can have more days of clearness and less foggy days.

Elder Holland Quote:“Don’t give up, boy. Don’t you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead—a lot of it—30 years of it now, and still counting. You keep your chin up. It will be all right in the end. Trust God and believe in good things to come.” Doctrine and Covenants 10:5 Pray always, that you may come off conqueror; yea, that you may conquer Satan, and that you may escape the hands of the servants of Satan that do uphold his work.