Attending the temple hasn't been easy since we became parents. I know I have mentioned it before, the closest temple to us is two hours away. That means we have to leave Bubba with someone else for a minimum of six hours on a Saturday and that wasn't possible when Bubba was nursing. And it is still really hard to do now, because of some attachment issues we have been slowly working through.
I knew that I wanted to participate in an Endowment Session before baby #2 makes its arrival. Andy and I talked and decided to see if some friends who lived close to the temple might be able to watch Bubba for a few hours so we could attend the temple. Unfortunately, they were not going to be around. We decided the next best thing to do would be for all of us (Andy, Bubba and I) to get up early and drive up to the temple. I would go in and do a session and Andy would watch Bubba. When I finished, we would evaluate how Bubba was doing and determine if Andy could go in and do some temple work as well.
Things didn't go quite as planned. For the first time in his entire life, Bubba slept in. It was a miracle! Andy and I were able to catch up on some sleep too, it was really nice!
We eventually made it to the temple and I was able to go in and do a session. I had gone into the temple with some things weighing on my mind and on my heart and I left feeling calm and at peace-- the temple always seems to do that for me.
One of the things I really noticed this time when I was in the temple was the artwork. There were multiple photos of a pregnant Mary. I couldn't help but marvel that she would travel by donkey given how far along she was in her pregnancy. I can only imagine how uncomfortable she must have been.
The picture that struck me the most was one of Christ and he was holding a white sheep. I stopped in my tracks and just stood and started at that painting for a few moments and was nearly brought to tears. For many years I have thought of myself as the black sheep because of gossip and rumors that had been spread about me by an extended family member. Each time I would see a picture of Christ holding a black sheep I would think to myself, "Yep, that's me. Alone and outcast. Unloved and unwanted." In this moment though, I felt so strongly that Christ loves me and He doesn't think of me as "the black sheep". It was an answer to my prayers.
When I went outside to check in with Andy, we both knew that it was time to leave. We stopped at Deseret Book so I could pick up some garments for after baby comes. We also picked up the new David Archuleta Christmas CD-- it's really really good! I'm not normally a person who listens to Christmas music before Thanksgiving, but I have been listening to this CD on repeat.
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| Playing at the park with Dad while Mom was at the temple. |
We also stopped at our favorite Asian store to grab a few things. They had a great deal on their persimmons, we came home with a bunch of them.
I'm so grateful that Andy was willing to watch Bubba so I could go to the temple. I'm grateful that I left with some answers to my prayers and feelings of peace. I'm so glad that Bubba did as well as he did in the car and while I was in the temple.
