July 4th is my favorite holiday. I love the festivities, parades & fireworks, barbecues, and all sorts of laughter that happens. But most of all, I love it because it is a holiday that you can spend outside in the beautiful sunshine with everyone. I was so grateful to spend the day with my Nauvoo family and sing, dance, laugh, and eat delicious hamburgers (shout out to the Meyers!). My favorite moment of the day was when we gathered around a tall oak tree on Main St. to practice Youth Of Zion. Twilight was settling in, you could hear the distant thunder of fireworks, and the fireflies were resplendent. Because I'm not in YOZ, I got to have a free moment where I could soak in the beauty of Nauvoo and the splendors of a special day. Sister Jorgensen and I let loose and ran through a small grove of trees and caught fireflies in our hands. That short time of freedom and innocent laughter brought me happiness I cannot describe. So often do we forget to be simple, and just enjoy life! Even in the Nauvoo bubble where missionaries wear pioneer clothes we can get caught up in a hectic schedule and forget to breathe in our surroundings and love life. This was taken out of a journal entry on June 17:
Oh how beautiful, the glory of God. We witnessed His love for us in the form of the most stunning sunset I have ever laid eyes on. The majesty that was painted around Nauvoo testified of the glory and power of our Lord. As I beheld my surroundings and the beautiful, colorful canvas that filled the sky, I felt of the love the Lord has for me...I had been searching to find peace, but didn't realize I was blessed with the ability to find the beauty in all things and feel of Gods love that way. I've spent so much of my time walking with my head down. Instead of worrying about not tripping over my feet, I need to look up and feel the love.
This week, as our schedule gets absolutely crazy, my goal is to find peace in my beautiful surroundings. What better way is there to recognize the love of God than to soak in the beauty of His creations.
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