31 Days of Hope - Day 23

This is the beginning of a new day.

You have been given this day to use as you will.

You can waste it or use it for good.

What you do today is important because

you are exchanging a day of your life for it.

When tomorrow comes,

this day will be gone forever;

in its place is something

that you have left behind...

let it be something good.

~Author Unknown~

I think that hope is a chance to take each moment and use it for good.  To put the past behind you and live a better life.  To make better decisions and better choices.   If we did not have hope, there would be no reason for tomorrow.  No chance to change the todays of our lives.  Remember that each of us struggles with trials.  Each of us has our own trial to bear.  

The girls went on a walk yesterday.  The leaders took them all to a place that they did not know and they walked ten miles to the Snowflake Temple.  It was a hard journey.  Up hills and down.  My daughter had injured herself on Saturday and her knee was swollen and sore.  She twisted her ankle on the walk and she struggled a bit on her journey, but she walked all the way and made it at last to the doors of the Temple.  

I find her journey a beautiful testament to hope.  Her own chance to make good choices.  She could have whined the entire way.  She could have gotten a ride.  She could have given up and justified it with her injuries.  Instead, she bit her lip and kept going.  She wanted to finish with the rest of the girls.  She wasn't at the front of the pack, as a matter of fact, she was one of the last ones, but she finished her journey.

We each walk our own journey of hope.  We each struggle with the hills and valleys in our lives.  But ultimately, our goal is to arrive at the doors of our Heavenly Home.  Hope is what gives us the strength to endure whatever hardships might be ours.  Hope is what gives us the vision to take the next step, walk the next mile, finish the next hill.  Hope is what gets us, finally, home.   

Along with the good...

Ohhh, what a week.  I told you all about the trip to the Gila Valley Temple last weekend, but I really did not tell you everything about it.  I am going to add to the story today.  One of the things that I have noticed about going to the temple is that if something can go wrong, it probably will.  Someone will fall, someone will cry, someone will need me, someone will argue and fight.  It just seems to be that way, and we do much better if we just expect the difficulties and deal with them. 
I have often wondered why that happens.  I have thought a lot about it throughout my life and have come to the realization that Satan does not want me to go to the Temple.  He would much rather that I stayed home.  He would much rather that I did not get the spiritual nourishment that I so desperately need in my life.  I have come to realize that he will do anything he can to "ruin" the experience for me. 
Our trip to the Gila Valley was no exception to this rule.  It started out hard.  We wanted our son Josh to go with us, but he did not want to go.  So, the rest of us went without him.  It was a four hour drive each way.  We went through the forest, the mountains, the canyon, and the desert.  We so a little of all the different regions in Arizona.  We listened to books on tape and talked about the temple.  We arrived there with no additional disappointments.  We were able to walk around the grounds, take pictures and take the girls inside.  We were able to go to dinner afterward. 
I brought my amazing new camera along for the ride.  We took several pictures at the temple and along the way home.  On our journey, we went through the Salt River Canyon, which has some pretty amazing views.   It is not quite as impressive as the Grand Canyon, but it comes pretty close in it's own way and has a lot of beauty.  We saw several cars that had gone off the windy road over the years.  It costs too much in time and money to tow them back up the steep sides of the canyon.  So, some of them are still down there.  The girls decided that they had to get out and look at the various stopping points to see if they could find any cars.  As they told me, "It is so sad!"
While they were looking for cars, I decided to go hiking down the canyon a little way.  The view were drawing me close to the edges of the cliffs in my hunt for the "perfect" picture.  I was hiking along toward a particularly inviting vista when I heard a distinct rattle.  Yep, you guessed it.  It was a three foot long black Arizona Timber Rattlesnake.  It was right by my leg.  I leaped into the air, screamed at the girls to run to the car, and kept backing away from the snake.  For some reason, he was very aggressive and kept coming toward me.  Finally, I threw caution to the winds, and ran up the hill to the car.  I did not get bit, but of course, my husband wanted to see the snake, and than he wanted me to go back down and take a picture.  This is one time I told him "NO".  Not that it did any good.

I will never understand the fascination that men have with snakes!  There was another woman with her husband, child and dog there.  She was with me every step of the way!  We were up on the ledge yelling at the boys to leave the snake alone.  My husband is there telling me how it can't strike farther away than it is long and all the boys were trying to get a picture.  I was waiting for the thing to fly and have men for dinner! 
Anyway, it was a rather traumatic end (for me) to a very great day.  But, you have to admit, that it was definitely an interesting way to try and ruin the day.  I am just thankful that the snake didn't manage to bite us.  Most of all, I am thankful that we went and felt the spirit that day and were able to share it with our children.  I suspect that I will have a few more dreams about black snakes and husbands before I am able to put that part of it completely behind me!