The Good

Ben is learning sign language through a popular video series called "Signing Times."  The videos were created as a response a mother had when she found out her one-year-old baby girl was deaf. In one of her songs on the video it talks about: Starting out with dreams then having fear overtake her (I'm assuming when she found out her little girl was deaf) and then looking to her hands and her "fear slipped away." The chorus goes onto say "So maybe we won't find easy, but Baby we've found the good." As the song continues images of a father and mother holding one another than playing with their child who is severely handicap roll on the screen. These types of hard times are ones that "never get better."  My heart aches when I think of how difficult it must be for some people who live with or love someone who has a lifetime disability or a lifetime trial. They will never have it "easy" -- but is that what it is about? Finding the easiest path?  One without heartbreak, one without sadness and even at times anger?

Listening to this song I can't help to wonder - how many people relate to the message the composer is sharing here "So maybe we won't find easy, but Baby we've found the good?" How many people relate to what it feels like to have found the "why or how" beyond their trial...that something that makes you more powerful- or in other words "more good."

Don't get me wrong-- heartbreak, sadness and anger of themselves do not automatically breed "good"-- it only has the potential to.  In the song the author had to look to her hands and move forward.  Then only later did her fear slip away and her "...hands(sign language) did so much more" for so many more people- than just her daughter.

My challenge is for those in the sound of this blog post to look deeper.  To feel deeper. Anger, sadness, and heartbreak don't have to make us worse... it can make us better.  Let the hard move you to do better-- let the pain push you to greater compassion, greater forgiveness...and not greater fear or anger or sadness, and I promise by doing this you'll find the good.

End of the season

Well, its not really the end of the summer, summer ended about a month ago, but its about to get cold out and then we'll be doing inside stuff for a while.  I suppose in a way thats sort of like my life right now.  Although, in my case I had to move the party inside about three and a half years ago.  Having said all that I would like to remind everybody that I was born in December and I got married in December.  There are some real blessings to be had, even in the dark, cold times of the year.  Plus spring always follows winter so there is always hope on the horizon.  I will just continue plugging forward.  Spring will come no matter how long or hard the winter is.

Now that I have gotten that off my chest I think I will talk about some happier things that have happened at the end of the season.  One was a hike near Provo that I took with my wife and my Mom's side of the family including my Grandpa.  It was a lot of fun, and, thankfully, all down hill.  Little Benjamin might grow up to love hiking, but right now he can't sleep to well in the backpack so I think we'll have to keep our hikes short for his sake.  Despite his displeasure with the last mile or so of the hike I think he and the rest of us enjoyed the trip quite a bit.

Another good thing that has happened recently is the engagement of my little sister Sarah.  We are both very happy for her and hope the best for her and her fiance Paul.  

The last thing I'll write about is Benjamin's birthday.  He turned one almost a month ago.  It doesn't seem that long ago, but I guess it is.  In any case we had a party for him which included a delicious elephant cake.  He also got a number of toys to play with and I think he came off pretty well.  I am glad, however, that this sort of thing only has to be done once a year.  Ben's first year video is on youtube. Visit it if you'e like.  It does not have the original music my wife included with the video--but we added something youtube was ok with.