After the Leap

The confirmation comes after the leap

This week marks my two year anniversary of concluding my service as a full time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  I have been thinking about what the mission taught me about leaps--the BIG ones and the little ones--in life.

The mission was a BIG leap for me.  It was never something that I planned or wanted to do.  I decided to be a missionary because I felt the Spirit prompting me to do it.  Describing a prompting of the Spirit is kind of like describing how love feels.  It's hard to describe with anything tangible.  It's simply a feeling inside.

In all honesty, it was scary to pause my life in the U.S. for 18 months based on a feeling.  That's part of the reason why the mission was a big leap. 

I had a sweet experience six months after starting my mission that taught me that the confirmation comes after the leap.  I'll explain what I mean by confirmation, but let me share about the experience first.  My brother wrote me and explained that he had sat next to a man on a public transit bus who happened to work for the missionary department of the LDS church. My brother mentioned that I was on a mission in Peru, as well as our parents.  To my brother's surprise, the man responded that he remember the day when I was assigned my mission call.  He recounted that it had been discussed that my parents already had a call to serve in Peru.  The church leaders who were discussing my call also knew that I already had a visa to come to Peru with my parents.

One of my unspoken concerns that I carried during those first six months of my mission was that I was asked to serve in Peru simply because that was the easiest option with regards to a visa.  What my brother's bus friend explained resolved those concerns.  He shared, "Even though your sister's parents were already going to Peru and she had a visa, that wasn't the reason she wasn't asked to serve in Peru.  The men who assigned her call felt inspired that Heavenly Father wanted her to go to Cuzco, Peru."  

This was a confirmation or an assurance to me that I was in the right place in terms of my physical location.  It was also a confirmation that I was doing the right thing with my life because Heavenly Father had been instrumental in the process of helping me get there. 

So when did this confirmation come?  It came after the leap.  That's how it usually is in life.  Sometimes we take BIG leaps or small ones and the confirmation doesn't come until some time later.  It might even be years later.  That can be frustrating, but it is blessing for us because it gives us the opportunity to show Heavenly Father our faith.

God's Signatures

Yesterday, I went to a meeting at church and I was struck by an idea that one of the speakers shared.  She talked about God leaving His signature.

When an artist finishes one of his works, what does he do?  He signs it.  He leaves his mark to show that it's his creation and it's his work.

I started thinking...Does God leave His signature on all His works?  If we could put on special goggles that helped us see the signatures, would we discover God's signature everywhere?  I think the answer is yes!  We would be amazed!

Just think of a tucan with its colorful beak, a snow-covered mountain contrasted against a blue sky, or a new baby.  That new baby developed from two microscopic cells into a living being with a unique fingerprint, diverse interests, and a one-of-a-kind personality.  I imagine God smiling at those beautiful creations and signing His name.

God's creations are not the only place to look for God's signature.  What about life events?  Couldn't His hand be involved in those situations?  For example, my parents saw each other for the first time when they were 14 years old.  After 4 summers, they were still too shy to talk to each other.  In fact, the reason they finally said "hi" was because they were set-up on a blind date after high school graduation.  I envision God smiling down after my parent's first date and signing His name, knowing how important of an event that was.

God's signature is also part of life's seemingly insignificant events.  This last week I bumped into a friend who is taking the same technology class as me be but at a different time.  I had been struggling with a software problem and had not thought to ask my friend for help.  When I ran into her, it clicked that I should ask her for help and she had all the answers that I needed.  God knew that I needed some extra help and that's just what He gave me, as He signed His name on that event.

I invite you to put on your "goggles" this week to see God's signature.  Where do you see it?  When do you see it?

Hope you have a great week!

Foot-Pops and Fairy Tales

Some time earlier this year, I cried to my mom that I felt like my bubble had been "popped."  I explained that I felt like my naive view of life as a fairy tale had been crushed. 

I was like Mia from Princess Diaries (one of only two movies that I can quote entirely) when she cries to her mom after her first kiss fiasco, "My foot didn't even pop!" (Remember that Mia's fairy tale dream was a "foot-pop and kiss.")  I'd heard it before but my mom's response really struck home at that moment: "You have to make your fairy tale."

How can fairy tales be made?  I don't know all the answers.  I'd love to hear what you have to share.

Something that I believe can help tremendously is laughing.  Sister Hinckley, wife of the 15th president of the LDS church, puts it best.  "The only way to get through life is to laugh your way through.  You either have to laugh or cry.  I prefer to laugh.  Crying gives me a headache."  (I know, it's ironic to discuss laughing after writing about a teary moment.  I don't profess perfection.)

Whenever I need a laugh (and sometimes my roommates catch me laughing to myself which is funny itself), I think of a goofy saying on a cartoon drawing of an old lady that my friend's mom always had hanging in the window of their family's blue astro van:  "When life hands you lemons, stuff them in your bra."  It's funny to me because it's so random, and my friend's mom is a woman with a unique sense of humor.  Maybe you don't think it's funny at all, but what saying or picture makes you laugh?  Can you picture it?

I'll share one more saying that makes my mom and I laugh (instead of cry), especially in the face of intimidating or challenging situations.  Our saying is "It's time for me to put on my big-girl panties!"  I have no idea how we came up with that saying, but it always makes us smile.

Tribute to My Mom

Today is my beautiful mother's birthday.  She is the perfect mom for me.  Oh how I love her!  Every time I reflect, I think of a new list of values and lessons that she has taught me.  Today I want to highlight three lessons that I have been thinking about recently.  My mom has taught me...

To Beautify  
"Your work is to beautify the face of the earth until it shall become as the Garden of Eden (Brigham Young). 

This is one of her favorite quotes, and she lives her life by it.  If her car is in the garage but she's not in the house, it's a given--she's outside gardening.  My mom is not afraid to get her hands dirty and work up a sweat in order to beautify the land around us.  I'm grateful for the love my mother has instilled in me for this earth and its potential to bring forth flowers and fruits.

She's not only taught me to beautify the land.  Something that she's often repeated to me is "It's important to take care of yourself, even after you get married."  That doesn't mean there's no room for unhealthy foods (we love our oatmeal chocolate chip cookies) or that the Blunck women get their make-up on every day.  The point is to accentuate the beauty that God has given His children.

I love coming home because I always know there will be changes to discover.  My mom is always working to beautify our home.  I'm a "home body," and much of it has to do with the feeling that my mom has fostered in our home by decorating it and making it inviting.



To Listen
My dad jokes with my sister and I about our ability to call while my parents were on their mission within 2 or 3 minutes of when they walked through the door after a trip to visit their missionaries.  My response is "well, the odds are pretty good if you call 13 times within an hour."  My sister and I always knew the day and roughly the time when they would be returning, and we couldn't wait to tell Mom everything.  We knew (and we still know) that she cared about all that we had to share.  That assurance came from 20+ years of experience talking to her and recognizing that she'd heard it all.

My mom and I have a little story (that involves a swear word and an apostle's book) behind one of our favorite phrases: "I'm having a human moment."  It's a phrase that I usually say when I'm feeling teary.  What it means is something like I know everything is going to work out.  I know I need to trust God. I'm grateful to know that you'll listen and won't try to give me a list of answers.  I'm grateful that you don't think less of me because I'm having a hard time and I struggle.  Listening opens doors for people to share their human side, their true feelings, and to find strength.  My mom has helped me understand that.



To Grow
Having grown up during the 1970s when women's careers were really starting to be pushed, being a stay-at-home mom was hard for my mom to embrace.  She talks about how challenging it was for her to find fulfillment in that role.  What I take away and value is that she grew.  She didn't reject the idea because it was hard for her.  She worked to love her children and as she did that, she slowly began to recognize that her greatest work was within our family. 

I loved getting my mom's letters while she was on her mission (and I was on my mission) because I could see her growing.  (It's interesting to realize as a child that your parents are still growing :D)  Leaving her home and family for 3 years to go to a third world country where everyone spoke a different language was hard, but she didn't quit.  She worked to learn Spanish, she embraced the Peruvian people, she loved her missionaries, and she studied the scriptures in order to learn more about Christ.  She had "human moments" and sometimes yearned to return home.  What matters is that the attitude that won-out was her willingnes to embrace growth.  One of our family mottos is "We can do hard things."  That motto was coined during my parent's mission and it has everything to do with growth.      




Oh how I love my mother.  May we all look to our mothers and see what lessons they have taught us.  None of them will be perfect women, but there is much good to see in them.

It's Time

After having my mission letters posted on this blog, I decided after my mission not to post anything more.  I didn't want to start blogging but then not be consistent.  I've revisited that decision several times because I love to write and reflect.  My journals are full, and I've written plenty of letters to my future spouse.  For some reason I feel it's time now to start posting a few thoughts.  


I've always been endeared to the people who are "open books."  It's probably because being that way is not one of my strengths.  There are a lot of things that I feel and think about which are still too tender and fresh to write about publicly.  I can't make any promises that I'll always be consistent or I'll always have something amazing to share, but I hope you will enjoy reading my posts from time to time.