My Family

  
   As a missionary, I don’t get to see my family for two whole years. I can talk to them twice a year, on Christmas and Mother's Day, and I get to email them once a week. That's it. It’s hard to believe. Now, although I was always fairly close to my family, being away from them for 18 months has shown me how much I love, care for, and depend on them.

   My family can be described in so many different ways: love, humor, debate, struggles, etc. But, perhaps above it all, we are a family that is together. There are so many quirky stories that come to my mind as I remember my family.

   For instance, my older sister, Bonnie, and I are only three years apart. When we were young, we would come home from elementary school and argue about whether we were going to have Macaroni & Cheese, or Tuna & Noodles. Later in life, when we were in high school, we grew so close as we spent hours together. She was also the one I went to for advice, whether it was school, dating, or anything else.

When Life is a Downward Spiral...

Sometimes life feels like this video.  You know it is going down hill, and it is going to be a long hike back to the top.  But, instead of stopping, we just keep on going.  Closing our eyes to the consequences of where we are headed, wherever that may be.  Now of course, the reason I didn't stop running down the stairs was because I wanted to visually capture how tall the tower was that we had visited in Reading Pennsylvania.

However, in life, it feels like there are those things that keep us from stopping, and turning around, from repenting, and returning back to the clearer vision that comes from higher ground.   Sometimes it is fear of how difficult the trek will be.  Perhaps it is pride.  Sometimes it is just the momentum we pick up as we get used to a destructive activity or lifestyle.  I know that for me, Satan convinces me to believe that I can turn around after one more step, after one more level.  He promises me great pleasure and ease "if only I go a little farther."  Unfortunately, I just end up at rock bottom, out of breath, hope, and sometimes desire. 

The miracle of the whole thing, is that Jesus Christ is real, and his power to change us is always accessible.  We have never fallen too far, too often, or too hard.  I've experienced his healing power again this week, and I am back on top.  Yes, the power or repentance is real!
-Elder Blackburn