I Didn't See That Sign!!!

About a month or so ago I was headed to visit my daughter Becca in McKinney.  When I got to the exit I needed to take it was closed.  I was so frustrated.  It was high traffic time and it was right past this exit that congestion really started.  I would have to wait through traffic to get to the next exit and then head back to the street I needed to be on to get to my destination.  

Realizing there would be delay, I called Bec and told her what had happened that I was so mad that there was not a sign telling me ahead of time that the exit was closed.  She said there was one that she knew of but it was back a way.  I eventually made it to her home.

Curious about the sign she had mentioned, I carefully looked for it on my next trip to her home.  To my surprise, there was not only 1 sign but there were 4 messages letting the drivers know that they would have to take an earlier exit  due to the closed exit at Eldorado Pkwy. In my haste to get to my destination I had totally missed all 4 signs and then I was frustrated blaming my inconvenience on others. 

After I laughed at myself this made me think about my life.  I wondered how many times I had missed signs in my life warning me of something coming up in my life. How many times have I been so busy with where I was going that I didn't carefully pay attention to the messages of the Spirit that would help direct me to take a path that would and will lead me to my destination so that I do not find myself missing my intended target and ultimately being delayed in my journey. 

In a talk given by President Thomas S. Monson titled The Race of Life, he said,

Our Heavenly Father did not launch us on our eternal voyage without providing the means whereby we could receive from Him guidance to ensure our safe return. I speak of prayer. I speak too of the whisperings from that still, small voice; and I do not overlook the holy scriptures, which contain the word of the Lord and the words of the prophets—provided to us to help us successfully cross the finish line.

We are blessed by spiritual early warning signals as a source of protection and direction in our lives. The scriptures are full of stories where people were warned to do something for their protection but we have to be watching and listening for the messages.

I know I have missed signs in my life, but just as I was able to find and take another road to my destination, through the atonement of Jesus Christ, I can still reach my destination when I miss the sign, but, I must be prepared that the journey may be a little more difficult than if I had headed the warning signs in the beginning. 

Watch and Be Ready!!

Sleep Paralysis

 One article I read about sleep paralysis says the could partly be brought on by stress or sleep deprivation. I did read some stories of others, and I am just glad that my episodes are not as scary or involved as theirs. In fact, I am not sure that I can clasify my sleep experience as sleep paralysis based on the stories of others, but when I read the science of it, then I think it may be similar if not it.  Just a place between awake and REM.

Sleeping has never been something I am good at.  I have always thought for me it is a "learned" behavior.  Within the last year I have started having night jerks.  As I am drifting asleep, my body misinterprets the signal of falling asleep as "falling" so my body reacts and jerks.  I go through this most nights and the vary from few to many, small to huge.  To add to that I now have those wonderful "hot flashes" that plague me throughout the night.  No matter how I try to not respond to the flashes, I have to get the covers off of me as quickly as I can.  I fall back asleep then wake up cold and pull the covers back on.

Today I wasn't feeling very well and had to go lay down.  I have not slept well at all the last few nights so I figured I just needed some sleep.  I went and laid down and before I knew it, it began.

I would begin dreaming.  I was me, in bed, then episodes would begin, the dreaming began, the paralysis began.  I was there, as I was, but the events around me weren't real and I knew it.  My mind was dreaming, yet I was conscience enough to know it wasn't real and I couldn't move.  I was able to wake my self up, but the tiredness sucked me back in over and over again.  I would be laying there in bed, while someone came to visit, dad would come and talk to me, bring me the mail, the friend would lay down with me, etc.  I couldn't move and my mind knew it was not real.  While it doesn't seem scary, it was.  Now this was different than most times because they are usually not dream friendly.

The first time I remember experiencing this was when I was young.  At these times I always thought there "were" demons around me.  Later, in life the scary part was more that I couldn't move.  The dream around these times are not as memorable, but I can say that I really would be okay if I never had another dream paralysis.  I am just glad I was able to wake myself up during these last times.  I would like to have gone back to sleep but the fear you have just wants it to end and I could tell my body was not relaxing and was fighting against the episodes.

I hope I can sleep tonight.  :)

How Do Muscles Get Bigger and Stronger?

The other day I was thinking about trials and challenges that we all face in this life. As I contemplated this subject, the idea that a trial is not wasted if we allow it to help us grow spiritually rang true to my heart. I personally do not like adversity and affliction, but I do wonder what I would be like today without some of those growing experiences.

 Thinking about this I recalled some information that I learned about physical stress on the body. The relationship of building our body and building our spirits use the same concepts. As we experience those things in life that are hard, we grow.  We become bigger and better.   

Physically:

 A few months ago I decided I wanted to increase my distance as I walked so I hit the road and did 5 miles every day for a week.  I had not been walking consistently as I had been doing in the past but felt like I was capable of walking this distance every day.  Towards the end of the week I began to have pain in my knees, but I was determined and pushed forward.  Unfortunately, that was not a good decision.  As I got up on the 6^th day to walk, I couldn’t even stand.  The pain in my knees was incredible.  So I looked down at my knees and the inner side of each one was black and blue.  I had definitely torn something.  So for two days, I had to crawl around the house (crutches were too uncomfortable for me).

I was very interested in understanding what had happened that caused my knees to let me down.  I guess I let them down is the real truth because I came to understand I had over worked them.  I needed to work up to the 5 miles to give my knees time to adjust and build strength. I had created a habit of walking daily, but had lapse in this routine when I took on the 5 mile goal.

Having this happen began me wanting to understand more about the muscles in our bodies. I wanted to focus on the science of how the human body actually works. How do our muscles get bigger and stronger? After searching diligently for the answers I finally found what I was looking for. 

The first and key element required for our muscles to get bigger or stronger is stress. Physiologist Walter Cannon came up with the term ‘homeostasis’ to explain the way in which our body does its best to always stay within a comfortable operating range where our cells can function optimally. The concept is that while external forces can sometimes bring about drastic changes in our body, it always reverts to a default position. Your heart rate is a good example of homeostasis as it beats constantly within a set range under ordinary conditions, but that rate can either go up or down depending on what type of activity you are doing. In spite of these fluctuations, as long as you are healthy, your heart rate will always return to its regular resting rate. Stress is a key reason for your body to change

As negative a connotation that the word ‘stress’ carries for us today, the reality is that it is an extremely important stimulus in our daily lives as it allows us to adapt to our surrounding environment. Without stress, we wouldn’t exist and in many ways it can be a very positive thing as it is how the body acts to remove or minimize the effect of a stressful stimulus. A common example of stress at work is a callus. If you wear shoes that are a bit too tight and it rubs repeatedly against a part of your foot, if the action isn’t so strong as to form a blister (the exhaustion phase) As long as the action is not strong enough to create a blister (exhaustion stage) over time the layers of skin that rub against the inside of your shoe will begin to harden. The skin will continue to get thicker and harder until a callus is formed. The callus then, serves as a way your body protects the deeper layers of skin tissue from being destroyed by the action of rubbing against your shoe. In essence adaptation works to minimize the effect of stress on the body.

 Using the bicep muscles as an example we can better understand. Your biceps are responsible for any movement involving elbow flexion such as a biceps curl. Now your body, over the years is already adapted to the weight of your arm and the regular activities that you do on a daily basis, so you could do lots of biceps curls with no weight and your arms would not get bigger or stronger. You’d get tired, the way you would by performing any kind of calisthenics, but your muscles wouldn’t increase in strength. In order for your muscles to get bigger and stronger, you would have to apply overload. To overload means that the muscle experiences a load above and beyond what it previously adapted to in order to trigger the sequence of a new adaptation.

Now there is more to this.  If you continue the process with the same weight, your body forms a new adaption and to continue to build, you now need to increase the demands on that muscle.  

The other side of this is overuse. If the action is too great and the organism is unable to adapt to the stress, it results in the exhaustion phase, where on a cellular level instead of a building (or anabolic) action, there is a destructive action (catabolic). This, in terms of exercise stress, is what is called overtraining and is defined as a physical, behavioral, and sometimes emotional condition that occurs when the volume and intensity of your exercise exceeds your body’s capacity to recover. You stop making progress and in many cases find yourself getting weaker more fatigued and generally less motivated as time goes on.  Overtraining can also lower your immune system and increase the incidence of injury 

Spiritually:

I have a lot to say about this and the relationship between building our physical muscles and our spiritually muscles but in my studies, I came across a blogger that said it so much better than I could. I found myself writing the same things so it seem well to just include that message here.  It was worth reading and illustrates my point well.  I don’t think they touched on the growth we get from adversity and opposition, but if you have looked back on your life hopefully you can see the blessing and growth that has come from those tribulations and how we make it through the hard times because of the spiritual muscles that have been built prior to each new experience. (There are several great analogies to draw from the physical and the spiritual that are not included here. Maybe you will find some on your own.)

http://ldsessays.blogspot.com/2011/03/spiritual-muscle.html

The Spiritual Muscle

The conversion process to the restored gospel can be a thrilling and riveting spiritual journey.  For each individual it is different, but for each individual they have at times felt the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.  These experiences are testimony builders, and they initially seem to propel us from one spiritual event to the next.  Our prayers become sincere, our actions become genuine, and even our regular church attendance if wrought with spiritual insights.

As life continues on, there seems to be a time when the spiritual insights begin to dwindle, and the actions of activity in the church become nothing more than actions.  There are times when we ask ourselves, questions in regarding our spirituality and where it might have gone – and for some, such questions even raise inquiries about the reality of the initial events at their conversion.  

They seem to be doing the same acts that they were doing before, but now without the same results.  They are reading their scriptures, praying, attending the temple regularly, and serving in their calling as faithfully as expected.  And yet, the same feelings that were there in the past are nowhere to be seen.  I have had people confide in me and ask, “Where did the spirit go?”

Many missionaries see this very same thing in their rankings.  When a new missionary is sent into the Missionary Training Center, they are spiritually primed.  They are then sent out to the field, and they begin to have experience after experience which testifies to them the reality of their mission.  They begin to feel the spirit constantly, and they rejoice in the converting power – not just to new members of the church but to themselves.  

But what takes place next is inevitable.  There comes a point where the missionary wakes up, goes to Zone Conference, and questions why he no longer feels that rush, that spirit, and that confirmation every day that he once felt so strongly.  This happens to every missionary in the field, and arguably to every member of the church.

Allow me to propose a hypothetical solution to this question.  I call this hypothetical because it is only theory, but the logic has potential.  And by no means do I currently propose that this is doctrine or theology – but maybe just an applicable explanation.

Let’s draw from three events in the life of Joseph Smith.

First, imagine the Sacred Grove, 1820 – the fourteen year old boy having the theophany which would change the understanding of God and man thereafter.  According to his own record at the close of this remarkable event, the next thing he remembers is regaining consciousness in the Grove.  He remember waking up on the ground, having been absolutely (as far as I can assume) physically drained from the experience.  

Second, a few years later that same boy, is visited by an angel in the night – three times.  At the conclusion of these “interviews” the boy goes about his daily duties.  Sometime in the morning, his father notices that he is physically exhausted and directs to boy to go home.  On his way home he is so exhausted, apparently more so than just by having a late night – he passes out as he tries to cross a fence.  

Third, in the upper room of a building in Kirkland, Ohio, the prophet is surround by his colleagues in the school of the prophets – when a remarkable vision is opened to Joseph and Sidney Rigdon.  The accounts of this event are remarkable, and depict both of them sharing in the same experience which we later would call Section 76 of the Doctrine and Covenants.  At the conclusion of this event, the Prophet Joseph Smith would jump out of his seat – thrilled with the experience; while Sidney Rigdon would remain in his seat, ill and physically warn out.  This is the moment, when the Prophet, noticing Sidney’s physical reactions states, “Never mind him, he is not as used to it as I am.”

These three experiences reveal something about the impact the spirit can have on our bodies, and that is that it can have a physical impact. 

When people talk about feeling the spirit that is exactly what they are referring to, feeling the spirit.  Grant it, there are many circumstances and many people, who experience the spirit in a different way, but for the most part even the most novice participant in spiritual things can say that they feel something - that there is a physical response to the influence and impact of the Holy Spirit.  

For those who are not as used to it as others, this feeling can create excitement.  It creates a sense of awareness in part of our souls (body and spirit) that we formerly were not aware was even present or possible.  We feel something where we didn’t feel something before and it makes us learn that we are more alive than we ever imagined before.  And there are times when this knowledge, in and of itself, can give use a feeling of joy – joy that there is more to life than we previously anticipated.

But there, as always, is something more to this lesson.  There is more to it than just identifying that the spirit has a physical effect upon our bodies.  As with anything physical, there is a point where the action can still take place, but the reaction goes unnoticed.  We can grow accustom to such feelings, and they no longer noticeably affect us as before.

Take into consideration the use of caffeine (the author acknowledges the crude correlation that is about to take place, but requests the open mind of the reader to learn the principle).  When someone consumes caffeine for the first time there is a surge of energy, a physical response, and a reaction that hadn’t been felt before.  As consumption becomes regular, the noticeable effects diminish over time.  Dependence is created, and the consumer no longer feels the same affects as they did before.  In this circumstance it is not that the caffeine is not being consumed, and the reactions are not taking place – the body grows insensitive to the common place chemical reactions within the body.  This usually means that the only things that will become physically noticed in this circumstance is either the increase in the consumption amount (to heighten the response) or the decrease in consumption (to reveal just how dependent the consumer really is on the ingredient).

This is a viable explanation of what might happen with the spirit.  As we gain more regular, common, and frequent contact with the spirit – we physically grow accustom to it.  We no longer respond as we once did having become dependent upon it.  In these circumstances it is not that we are not feeling the spirit, we are only feeling the same amount of spirit that we usually feel; and the only thing that may change how we feel is either an increase of the spirit, or a decrease of the spirit to reveal to us exactly how dependent upon it we have become and exactly how much it really as with us all along.

As stated earlier, this happens every day.  I believe there is someone everyday wondering why they are not feeling the spirit as they once were.  The answer isn’t that there is an absence of the spirit, but an increase in our ability to process the spirit.  This stage is a reflection of just how much the spirit is around us.  

When you question to yourself why you don’t feel the spirit as you once did, the most important question to ask is – what am I not doing?  “Is it I?”

Be honest with yourself, and evaluate what actions and steps you may be neglecting: personal scripture study, family time, temple attendance, sincere participation in the sacrament.  If all of these things are genuinely completed, it may just be that you are surrounded with the presence of the Holy Spirit, you have become dependent upon it, and you have therefore become accustom to it.

When a missionary asks himself, his companion, or his mission president, “Why don’t I feel the same as before?”  Is it that they have just become accustom to living in the light of the gospel?

The example that Joseph Smith gave us was that of the spiritual muscle; something that is impacted through the experiences of the Holy Spirit.  And although it may begin weak at first, it can grow stronger and stronger, brighter and brighter, until the perfect day.  And as with any muscle the more it grows, the less it is impacted with the former exercises.

I Want...by Marjorie Pay Hinckley

 Well said Marjorie...

“I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails.

I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp.

I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbors children.

I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden.

I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder.

I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived.”

― Marjorie Pay Hinckley

An Angel Named Rosemary

"They said this would cover a pie for delivery but they don't fit well.  You have to tape it together"  said the little frail women in the Walmart checkout line just in front of me.  But that would not be all that she would share with me.  As I stood in line thinking about my trials and tribulation and the hurt I had in my life I didn't know a little angel stood in front of me. 

As I responded to this lady, she began to cry.  She said, "I am having a bad day.  I have 2 kinds of cancer, bone and lymph node cancer that is in stage 4."   I tried to comfort her the best I could as we stood there in line.  As she loaded her shopping cart items on the counter to be scanned she told me that she had to go to treatment and lay still for 4 hours and how hard it was for her to do that.    As it became time for her to pay, the lady at the checkout counter asked her how she was doing.  She politely said, "I'm Fine."  I said. "She is not fine.  She is having a very hard day."  The compassionate worker expressed her concerned and at that point my new friend shared her cancer story.

"What is your name", I asked.  "Rosemary,  Rosemary Haddock,  like the fish", she said with a giggle. "Rosemary, I would love to be your friend, can I have your phone number?" I inquired.   "I would love that," she said.  So we exchanged phone numbers and said goodbye with a promise to keep in touch.

The sweet lady at the checkout was so sweet.  She thank me for including her.  She said that Rosemary comes through her line several times a week and always says she is fine.  She said, "Now I can say Hi to Rosemary and let her know I care".

I finished up my shopping and drove home. I couldn't get my mind off of my new friend.  It seemed that she was an angel.  As I began to listen to her, I began to forget myself and feel great compassion for this sweet little lady that stood crying in line as she told me a piece of her story.

As I finished putting away my stuff at home, I pulled out Rosemary's number wrote it down and put it in a safe place. This sweet lady had touched my heart and I felt a great love for her.  "I'm going to call her right now" was my thought so I picked up the phone and called her. 

"Rosemary, this is Donna, the lady you just met at Walmart".  "Yes Donna, I am so glad I met you today.  You are one of my angels", she said.

So for the next hour and some, Rosemary and I visited on the phone.  Rosemary is 83 years old.  Her husband passed away 7 years ago and she misses him dearly.  They had been married 59 years when he passed.  She said they never had a vacation but they went dancing every Saturday night.  They had 3 children and one son comes by to check on her every day.

She continued to tell me about her husband, and how he loved to sing and made a record for her and the other day she was finally able to listen to it.  She told me of her puppy, Peppy, that she takes almost everywhere she goes and how he helps her make it through the day.  She told me of how she loves Jesus and how He has been good to her.  She told me of some trials with her children and grandchildren.  But she says, "I try to always be happy."  She cooks and serves others everyday in someway and though it takes her a very long time, she walks 2 miles everyday.  The cancer treatments have caused her to loose 79 lbs and she is down from a size 20 to a 4 so walking helps her keep going.  She says no matter what, she doesn't miss a day.

Many more things she shared with me.  That lady can talk, but it is like an excited child that wants to tell you everything that excites them.  I am suppose to go to Rosemary's home this week.  She wants me to see her home and listen to the record of her husband singing.  She says she loves to bake and she wants to make me some of her famous rolls.

I felt such great love for Rosemary the moment she looked at me and told me that the pie doesn't really fit in the little plastic container.

I am grateful that for whatever reason Rosemary broke for a moment to cry to a stranger in the Walmart check out line. I think Rosemary is an angel and I look forward to being her friend. I know God sends angels to minister to his children, sometime the angels are already here and he brought one to me that day.