Word travels quickly in a small town. Now I think my hometown has a population of about 2 million people. I don't think that necessarily equates to 'small town' mentality, but my apartment complex up here at school really does have a small-town feel to it. On top of that, we're all LDS. And I think the only place where word would travel faster than in a small town is in a Mormon ward. But if you combine the two---a Mormon ward inside a small town atmosphere---I'm pretty sure word travels faster than the speed of light.
On the one hand, it's pretty weird to stumble my way out to the mailbox with Stephanie in order to get some walking in for the day, and have all these people 'Oh my gosh--how are you feeling?' 'Can I do anything?' 'How's it going?' I'm not one for putting my personal business out there for the world at large. And having the whole apartment complex know about my recent ER trip is pretty personal. But at the same time, I do feel very loved and supported.
I feel like I'm pretty good at matching faces with names. I can remember faces pretty well and generally have a pretty good grasp at all of that. But I have been absolutely blown away at how many COMPLETE STRANGERS have been texting me and stopping by to check in on me as I recover on our couch. I love my apartment complex here at school: it's a pretty tightknit community and it's very easy to strike up a conversation with someone in the laundry room. We really do have neighbors rather than just strangers living across the parking lot. I've known for a long time that I love the community here...but my oh my I had no idea what that all really meant.
Don't get me wrong--it's been incredible to see how Christlike these people are. I just feel bad because I either can't remember how I know them (say no to drugs, kids), or I just have honestly never met these people before. Either way, I can't really thank them as well as I would like to!
Last night, my roommates Stephanie and Caity were enjoying the warmer weather and doing homework out on our front porch after they went to the gym. I was curled up on the couch on my makeshift bed attempting to get through an episode of "The Middle". The window was open and I heard some male voice outside ask my roommates how I was doing. They told him I was doing well and said I was in on the couch if he wanted to come talk. I was expecting an FHE brother or someone from the ward...but the guy who walked in the house I didn't recognize at ALL.
"Hey Sydney! How are you feeling? Appendicitis? That is NUTS--I mean you could've DIED! Are you doing better?"
I mean, what do you say to that?
"Well...thank you kind sir... Yes, I'm doing quite fabulously despite my stomach being stitched together... Um...who are you?!?!"
I didn't want to be rude! So I just smiled and answered the questions as politely as I could without actually using any pronouns or overly detailed descriptions of our friendship. I have a new respect for amnesia patients. It was WEIRD. I sat there in silence as he went over and started talking to my roommate Hannah about some project that they had in business or accounting or marketing or one of those classes. I don't remember the exact details because I was frantically trying to figure out how this guy knew me. Well-dressed, dark-haired, charitable...that describes almost every guy up here at BYU-I. I sat there in silence for a little bit. Looking back on it, I'd like to think that I was being polite and well-mannered as my mind was reeling...but I'm pretty sure I was just staring at the guy.
"Hey wait.... You're the guy who drove me to the ER on Sunday, huh? That was you...right?"
I probably should work on my transitions. I think I interrupted him and Hannah discussing homework and it probably wasn't my most tactful moment, but I was pretty excited to have finally solved The Case of the Mystery Guy. He grinned and agreed that yes, he was my chauffeur and I got a chance to thank him for driving me. So that at least was good from all of this, even though I felt like a total crazy person because of it.
I woke up this morning to like 3 text messages each from an unknown number wishing me luck and to feel better. Who are these people and how did they get my number? Not a clue. But it has been amazing to receive such an outpouring of love over the past 24 hours.
I have more people than I could ever possibly remember to thank
offering to help me out in any way possible. "Let me know if you need
anything, ok?" Ok... I will. But I can't really think of anything that I
can be helped with. The biggest blessing for me today was my roommate
Caity helping me wash my hair in our sink. I didn't want to get my stitches wet, but I really really really wanted to so I didn't get my stitches
wet. She paused her homework to do that. She didn't need to--but she
did. It was very simple, but meant so much to have her help me like that.
I appreciated it.
All in all, Day 1 of recovery is going well. Got up and walked
around outside for a bit. If I had any classes in one of the buildings
closest to my apartment, I'd probably start going to class. But they're
all located really far up the hill on the second or third floor...and I
don't think I'm up for any hiking of that kind just yet. I feel pretty good--everybody keeps asking me that. While I'm hanging out on the couch, I feel totally fine---I mean, maybe like I did 1 too many sit-ups the other day--but nothing excruciatingly painful. So when I'm lying on the couch and watching each of my roommate trickle out to go to class, I can't help but feel a little guilty. From that position on the couch, I feel like I should be up and going about my daily life too. It's only once I sit up and start moving around the apartment that my body is like "Ahem, excuse me--remember how we were just inflated with air and sliced open and poked and prodded and cut and then stitched back together?" Ah yes...that just happened. And then I slink back to the couch feeling weak and defeated.
So far, my abdomen/stomach/tummy/appendix-region hasn't even been the most painful. I've had the most pain in my right shoulder. Weird, right? Apparently it's totally normal after this kind of surgery though. The surgeons inflate your stomach so they can get in there and 'laproscopically' (again, no idea how to spell that) do their thing and take out your appendix...but then there's no way to just deflate all of that gas out of you. So it bubbles around and pushes on all your other internal organs and eventually rises up to your right shoulder and settles there, painfully, until it decides to work its way out of your system. The nurses all said it's pretty typical stuff. It just feels like I slept on my shoulder wrong or that there's a big knot up there... But go figure! I get my appendix out and my shoulder is in the most pain. It's a strange, strange world. In the words of my dear Aunt Cynthia: "They pump you full of air and then don't even bother to burp your poor unconscious body?" Uhh nope. Guess not.
Each of my professors have been incredible to work with. All have told
me not to worry about anything until next week and have been willing to
let me make up tests and presentations when I get back into the swing of
things next week. Will I have my hands full next week? Oh absolutely.
But everyone has been so kind and flexible. It's taken a lot of stress
off of me and allowed me to really take it easy guilt-free.
I've been very, very blessed with fantastic family members, roommates, ward family members, neighbors, classmates, teachers, bosses... All of you guys: you all rock! I love you all! You're just the best :)
I felt like I had more to say in this post... I guess I don't. I guess that's what happens when you blog 2 days in a row and there's still not a whole lot to say....
I'm very well-taken care of and have been shown more love and support than I could ever possibly thank everyone for. But for now...I think it's time for a nap.
Showing posts with label Christian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christian. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Saturday, March 30, 2013
FDRL213 Week 4 Unit 1: Be Thou An Example of the Believers
"In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;" "But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works."--1 Timothy 2:9-10
Paul's emphasis on dress standards are much different than the standards that are popular in today's world. He emphasizes modesty and sobriety, not going too extravagantly fancy or worldly. Our good works help us profess our true godliness and Paul advises us to focus more on our deeds than our appearance. While in these verses he is speaking directly to women, his words apply to all members of the church. As we learn in both verse 18 as well as verse 36 in section 61 of Doctrine and Covenants, "what I [the Lord] say unto one I say unto all". Men should take Paul's counsel on dress standards.
We learn in the church that are bodies are sacred and place a lot of emphasis on respecting our bodies. As we read in Moses 6:9, we have been created in the literal image of God--our bodies were created to look like He does. In Mosiah 2:37, King Benjamin warns his people about disobeying the Spirit. The Spirit of the Lord does not dwell in unclean or unholy temples. So if we are choosing to do evil rather than doing what we know to be right, we cannot have the Spirit with us because we are ourselves. Our bodies are the temple for the Spirit to reside in. In Alma 41:2, we come to understand that when we are resurrected, we believe our soul will be restored to our bodies. From these three verses, we understand more about why we need to respect our bodies: we're created in the image of God, our bodies are temples for the Spirit to reside in, and at the Resurrection we will need our bodies to be reunited with our souls. Once we understand why we believe our bodies are so important, we don't want to exploit them or dress in ways that showcases our bodies to be less than holy. Alma 1:32 lists 'wearing costly apparel' as one key indicator that separated those who didn't belong to the church from those that did. If we believe in Christ, our actions and all that we do in our lives should reflect that belief. That includes the way that we dress.
Later on in 1 Timothy, Paul is discussing the apostasy that will happen in the latter-day times. Some of the evidences of this apostasy that he mentions are:
The above verse was used to as a theme for the youth of the church when I was a laurel and has been one of my favorite verses ever since. Paul is very clear: no one should scoff at your beliefs because of your age. I know several close friends who have felt very inadequate as they have gone to serve their missions. If we have strong faith in Christ at a young age, that is all the more reason to be joyful and is nothing to feel ashamed about. We should be proud of our beliefs and feel confident as we live a life that others can see and follow our example.
Paul is very blunt when it comes to money and the love of money. Many people have fallen away from the truth because they have been too distracted and preoccupied trying to get more money. We are born with no money to our name and we will have no money when we die. The love of money can be very dangerous to our eternal salvation. We must be careful to be moderate and strive more for the things of the Lord rather than for financial gain. Paul gives good guidelines that we can check to see where we stand when it comes to the desire for money. We must trust more in God than we do in money and we must be willing to help those in need as often as we are able. Good works will do more good for us in the eternal scheme of things than a fat wallet will.
Paul's emphasis on dress standards are much different than the standards that are popular in today's world. He emphasizes modesty and sobriety, not going too extravagantly fancy or worldly. Our good works help us profess our true godliness and Paul advises us to focus more on our deeds than our appearance. While in these verses he is speaking directly to women, his words apply to all members of the church. As we learn in both verse 18 as well as verse 36 in section 61 of Doctrine and Covenants, "what I [the Lord] say unto one I say unto all". Men should take Paul's counsel on dress standards.
We learn in the church that are bodies are sacred and place a lot of emphasis on respecting our bodies. As we read in Moses 6:9, we have been created in the literal image of God--our bodies were created to look like He does. In Mosiah 2:37, King Benjamin warns his people about disobeying the Spirit. The Spirit of the Lord does not dwell in unclean or unholy temples. So if we are choosing to do evil rather than doing what we know to be right, we cannot have the Spirit with us because we are ourselves. Our bodies are the temple for the Spirit to reside in. In Alma 41:2, we come to understand that when we are resurrected, we believe our soul will be restored to our bodies. From these three verses, we understand more about why we need to respect our bodies: we're created in the image of God, our bodies are temples for the Spirit to reside in, and at the Resurrection we will need our bodies to be reunited with our souls. Once we understand why we believe our bodies are so important, we don't want to exploit them or dress in ways that showcases our bodies to be less than holy. Alma 1:32 lists 'wearing costly apparel' as one key indicator that separated those who didn't belong to the church from those that did. If we believe in Christ, our actions and all that we do in our lives should reflect that belief. That includes the way that we dress.
Later on in 1 Timothy, Paul is discussing the apostasy that will happen in the latter-day times. Some of the evidences of this apostasy that he mentions are:
- Listening to 'seducing spirits'
- Listening to the 'doctrine of the devil'
- Being hypocritical
- Spreading lies
- Very intense feelings of guilt
- Choosing not to get married
The above verse was used to as a theme for the youth of the church when I was a laurel and has been one of my favorite verses ever since. Paul is very clear: no one should scoff at your beliefs because of your age. I know several close friends who have felt very inadequate as they have gone to serve their missions. If we have strong faith in Christ at a young age, that is all the more reason to be joyful and is nothing to feel ashamed about. We should be proud of our beliefs and feel confident as we live a life that others can see and follow our example.
Paul is very blunt when it comes to money and the love of money. Many people have fallen away from the truth because they have been too distracted and preoccupied trying to get more money. We are born with no money to our name and we will have no money when we die. The love of money can be very dangerous to our eternal salvation. We must be careful to be moderate and strive more for the things of the Lord rather than for financial gain. Paul gives good guidelines that we can check to see where we stand when it comes to the desire for money. We must trust more in God than we do in money and we must be willing to help those in need as often as we are able. Good works will do more good for us in the eternal scheme of things than a fat wallet will.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)