You Never Know Where It'll Be

Lately I've been trying to make some big changes in my life. #1 Fitness/Health and #2 -- though maybe it should be #1 is my spiritual health. I really feel like if I want other areas in my life to improve, I need to make sure I'm doing my part spiritually, so all things can align correctly. I've tried to be better about reading my scriptures, about saying personal -- thoughtful and sincere -- prayers. I try to keep the Savior in my thoughts as much as I can remember. I'm working on it.

On Wednesday, I had to go down to a Downtown San Jose office. I was there for quite some time doing paperwork, getting finger printed, etc. Samantha came with me....and she was quite the attraction. One woman approached me asked how old Sammy was. We got in a more in-depth discussion. I shared with her Sammy's story, Callie's adoption, etc. I briefly mentioned that we were living in Utah at the time. She asked what part. "Provo. We were at Brigham Young University." I asked about her life. She proceeded to tell me about some horrible things that are happening for her, and then she said, "I need to go back to church." I boldly said, "You do. There's no question about it." I didn't know where she went to church, what her religion was, but I do know that as we try to bring ourselves closer to God, it's an improvement in our life. We will be blessed for the small steps we take towards finding the truth and turning to Him. She then told me that her daughter's father had just left her because he didn't want her to take the daughter to the Mormon church. (Woa, did you follow that sentence?)

"Oh, so you're LDS?"
"Yeah, but I haven't been inside a building for over 25 years."
"Well, you need to go back, especially if you've been thinking about it lately, you need to act on it. Come to church with me Sunday."
"Ok."
"Here's my name and number. Give me yours so I can give you a call."

Of course I found out that she lived close by and all that. This was an interesting experience for me for a couple reasons. One, I've never been so bold. Even when I was a missionary and met someone for the first time, I don't remember making statements like "you need to go back to church" and "come to church with me Sunday." I normally invited people "will you come to church?" or "will you read the Book of Mormon?" But Wednesday, I felt so comfortable flat-out saying these things.

I was also reminded that the Lord is involved in our lives. I'm not sure if this lady will end up coming to church with us on Sunday. I'll certainly call her, but I don't know what will happen. Maybe she'll be busy. Or maybe she's not quite ready to make that jump. I don't know. But, how much of a coincidence is it that as she's been actively thinking about how the gospel is lacking in her life, and the steps she needs to make in order to come back to where she would like to be...and then she meets me at an office downtown? How cool is that for her? And for me, I got to thinking...you never know where it'll be when you need to give some of your deepest feelings in a 5 minute conversation. I really felt like the Spirit was there guiding me what to say. It was a really cool experience.

Funny thing is, that trip I made to the office was completely useless in terms of the "work" I needed to get done that day. I ended up having to leave and come all the way back home to get different paperwork and then go back up and spend a couple more hours there. But I think it was a time well spent nonetheless.