photos by Amy Jo Royall
2012 was filled with events I didn't see coming. Some of them heart-wrenchingly tough, but most of them really, really good. I learned what it feels like to be 100% self absorbed, and I learned what it feels like to be so caught up in caring for somebody that nothing else matters. I prefer the latter. I reflected on the moment when Nolan Blake Smith entered this world, as I watched my Dad exit it. I prefer the former. We took our first family vacation of 3, and later in the year took a family vacation with siblings and nieces and nephews. I prefer them both.
But perhaps what I've learned most of all, upon considering the last 365 days, is that what I prefer, mattereth not. Things will happen during 2013; good things, bad things, ugly things, hard things, sad things, happy things, and I anticipate that some life-changing things will also see us this year. Some of these things I will prefer, others I will not, but the only thing I have a say in is how I handle each one. So that's what I'm hoping for, this next calendar year, to handle things with grace, to swing at each curve ball with all I've got and not worry about striking out, and to approach my Heavenly Father as I come across each new experience.
"Do ye not remember the things which the Lord hath said?--If ye will not harden your hearts, and ask me in faith, believing that ye shall receive, with diligence in keeping my commandments, surely these things shall be made known unto you." --1 Nephi 15:11
