To a sorrowful soul...

This post is dedicated to a friend who has just lost her mother. The ache of her whole soul, I cannot imagine. The pain she feels can be soothed by the touch of the Master, but will never be fully gone in this earthly life. So what comfort could I possibly offer? I am going to give it a try, but I am relying heavily upon the words of Elder Jeffery R. Holland. I can't find this talk yet online, but it was given at the CES fireside of September 2008.

During conference today we looked up the meaning to the word "vicissitude". It means- "a change, especially a complete change, of condition or circumstances, as of fortune". My friend is experiencing a vicissitude of life right now. Her life has changed forever. Elder Holland taught that some hardships have to happen. He reminded us of just how hopeless life would be with these hardships were it not for the atonement of Jesus Christ. Then, he taught about one of the great lessons that comes from the prophet Joseph Smith's time in Liberty Jail. He compared Liberty Jail to a "prison temple". Prison temple? Can the two words possibly be put side by side? Could anything sacred and holy possibly have occurred in such a horrific atmosphere? Yes! Sections 121-123 of the "Doctrine and Covenants" show us beauty and majesty of comforting words, and the merciful manifestation of God's loving response. Elder Holland said that you can have sacred, revelatory experiences even in the most horrific of circumstances. "Man's extremity is God's opportunity."

The last verse of section 123 says- "...cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed". Sometimes in times of trial when we are stretched to what we think is beyond our capacity to bare, all we can do is stand still and wait to see His arm to be revealed.

My friend would probably rather not have this "opportunity" to learn from God, and can't imagine doing anything cheerful right now. But, I know that above all else, no matter what condition our hearts might be in (broken or whole), God will give us his reassuring love unceasingly...and we will feel it more easily if we will stand still and wait to see His arm to be revealed.

Much love and hugs my friend....

Trying something new...

Well I did it. I swallowed my pride and went to a doctor yesterday. Not just any doctor, a spine specialist. Dr. Yaniv gave me some good one-on-one time and for the next three weeks I am going to try physical therapy. I will start on Tuesday. Dr. Yaniv thinks that it is discal (sp?), but because I don't have a lot of nerve pain, she doesn't think it is ruptured, just bulging. I am going to the chiropractor today to pick up my x-rays. I was feeling kind of guilty about just quitting my adjustments, but then I thought- hey, I don't need to feel bad that they didn't fix me. Doesn't mean I am a bad patient, and it doesn't mean they are bad doctors. Chiropractic adjustments just aren't going to fix this particular problem. I have to admit I am pretty excited to get physical therapy, it is going to be fun to be able to learn some real life clinical stuff!

Ramadan Iftar

Allah hu akbar!

Last night I attended my first Ramadan Iftar. Ramadan is the month when Muslim's fast from dawn to dusk. An Iftar is the meal to break the fast at sunset. We listened to a presentation on the basics of the Muslim religion. Then the call to prayer was made and water and dates were passed out to break the fast. (Okay mom, I admit, dates are pretty good) We then watched them pray. I had never witnessed a Muslim pray and I was truely touched. It was very moving. We then had a very yummy dinner. Samosas and naan anyone?

I got to wear my pakistani outfit that normally just hangs in my closet. I love getting dressed up.

The prayers that are prayed 5 times a day are called Salah. Salah comes from a verb that means "to connect". I like that view of prayer, it really should be my connection with God.

When the speaker gave his presentation, it was easy to notice that every time he mentioned a prophet like Muhammad or Abraham, or Jesus, he respectfully followed it with something like "Peace be upon him" or "May Allah bless him".

I also have my own copy of the Qur'an. (Nadia and Natasha- I respectfully put it on my shelf, not on the floor like many of my books.)

Kudafis!

Ken Lee, Tulibu Dibu Douchoo

Today was the first day I had fun in my Intro to PT class. We learned about wheelchairs and how to transport patients in them. Half us were "drivers" and the other half were "wheel-chair users" (w/c bound is not politically correct). I was a patient first. My partner wheeled me into (or is it onto?) the elevator and then outside. We took turns learning how to use the tipper to roll down a ramp, how to properly roll up a ramp, how to roll off a curb, and how to go in and out of doors. The funniest part was watching people come down the ramp. The look on people's faces as they were tipped backwards and wondering if their partner would drop them was priceless. Lots of fear! I think secretly it was an attempt to trick us in to team building trust exercises. You know, do you trust your friend to catch you as you fall backwards? Good times!

I took my first exam in my Functional Anatomy class. It wasn't so bad. I'll find out the truth on Wednesday. When my professor passed out the exam I told him- "BRING IT!" I think I am setting the pattern like I did in Anatomy- finishing the test first. I am just a fast test taker I guess. I try not to give myself too much time to second guess myself. There is a girl in my class with testing anxiety. I brought my laptop to play some soft music, and I talked her through some of the relaxation/meditation that I use in Body Flow. We found a quiet room and spend 8 minutes doing that before the test. I hope it helped. She seemed calmer.

During a break later in the afternoon we were all entirely too serious and quiet, so I pulled out my laptop and shared some clips on You Tube. There is a hilarious video of a Bulgarian girl singing what she thinks is English words to Mariah Carey's "Without You". She has no idea what the real words are. For example, the line "I can't live, if living is without you". What does the Bulgarian "speaking English" say? "Ken lee, tulibu dibu douchoo". At the end the judges (this was the Bulgarian version of American Idol) ask her what language that was. Her reply? "English." Dad and I watched this clip this past weekend and laughed so hard. If you need a good laugh, go to youtube.com and type in Ken Lee. Or, ask me and I'll belt out her version of this song myself! And if that is not enough, you can also look at another clip called "El Principe Gitano, In the Ghetto".

Don't forget to laugh and smile this week!