Rocky road

During the park trip (below) with Aunt Les and Sara, the girls ended up with some special rocks - and instructions. They were to bring the new treasures home and wash them. Big Sis hoped they'd sparkle when clean. So, both girls ran next door to the little water fountain and gave the rocks a bath ... turns out, they just look dark when wet and then dry again. Not so sparkly. Big wasn't too disappointed though - she noticed the natural beauty in each clean rock.

Speaking of rocks ... we've had a bit of a rocky road lately. I certainly wouldn't ask for these boulders to be placed on our life's trail - but I'm thankful for them, in a way. I'm learning a lot about adversity, and why we all face it. I'm learning that it doesn't matter what adversity we face, it's our reaction to it that makes up our life story. I'm learning a little more about me - and that with Heavenly Father's help, I can handle more than I would have guessed.

During the Young Women's General Broadcast on Saturday, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf said something like, "Adversity teaches us things we could not learn otherwise; and brings depth of character we could achieve in no other way." I've witnessed depths of character in my family members deeper than I could imagine possible ... and hopefully, I'm gaining a bit too. One thing I know is: adversity is a great teacher.