Flowers Return to England! Senior Couples & Musing in a Down Period

" . . . peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment."  Doctrine and Covenants 121:7

We visited Knutsford to do some training of a new missionary couple, plus have a farewell lunch for our departing office senior couple.  They drove us over to a churchyard where these beautiful Crocuses were blooming.  It was a wonderful surprise to see so many, since we had seen only a few poking out of the ground by the temple in Chorley.

There always have to be some who aren't willing to follow the crowd.  They stick out beautifully in their own uniqueness.

The contrast with the moss on the headstones is lovely.

Delicate and dainty Snowdrops

Beautiful brickwork

Old bicycles hanging from the ceiling in the place we ate.  A little train hides behind the 1869 "Eagle Boneshaker" name plate.  (Name of a bike?)

The little train would take off every once in a while and go all around the top of the ceiling and back to its station.

This novel idea that would be fun to duplicate at home in the living room--ha, ha!

All the senior couples gathered in a row.

Downtown Knutsford has narrow streets where the sidewalks almost disappear in some areas where you end up walking more like on the curb of the road.

Musing:  I dreamed the other night that Elder Blain put a "for sale" sign on me.  I actually wondered why it wasn't a "free to the first taker," sign instead.  We all have those days in the ups and downs of life when we don't act as nice or feel as energetic and positive as we'd like and don't want to go out into the world and do the things expected of us.  Sometimes I selfishly think it would be nice to be a hermit where there are no demands on me whatsoever and life is fairly simple.  In verbalizing this hermit idea to Elder Blain, leave it to him to come up with something he was reading at the time that specifically addresses this topic (is there a conspiracy against me out there?).  He read it out loud to me (in a non-judgmental way) where it said the Lord has no use for a hermit, since he or she contributes nothing to make the world a better place).  Guess that it true, but I could be a temporary hermit just to regroup and get a proper perspective and motivation back.

My personal trials and afflictions come in many forms, similar to the challenges others face.  Some have to do with worrisome things happening at home related to children or grandchildren.  Others have to do with adjusting to change and challenges of a new assignment, or just my own anxious nature and tendency to become overwhelmed until I can see how to break a task down to smaller manageable pieces.  In any case, I'm sure I'm not easy to live with or to understand.  It is a blessing to have a husband, children, and friends with forgiving natures.

Today, at a baptism, we watched President Dieter F. Uchtdorf's address, "Of Things That Matter Most," which was given at General Conference in Oct. 2010 (this talk can be watched or read on lds.org).  In this talk, he suggests, "If life and its rushed pace and many stresses have made it difficult for you to feel like rejoicing, then perhaps now is a good time to refocus on what matters most."

President Uchtdorf says, "Some people can't get along with themselves.  They criticize and belittle themselves all day long until they begin to hate themselves."  He says we all need to take the time to connect with ourselves and to learn to see ourselves as precious children of our Heavenly Father who have great worth and much to give in this world.  I think we can easily lose sight of that when we are caught up in day-to-day trials and challenges.

I am only one . . .