The Watch Spring

I got a new watch recently (yeah, I know what you're thinking, okay?) and I've been wearing it everywhere. It's gunmetal gray and it's ridiculously sick. After wearing it around for a few days, it started it feel a little too loose around the wrist. No big deal, I thought, I'll just adjust the band.

I went out to the garage and grabbed a small screwdriver set and started to remove one of the links. After putting it back on it felt a lot better... But it just wasn't perfect! You see, I'm kind of a perfectionist and a little bit OCD about somethings. This would bother me.

There's a place on the clasp that has a small spring rod that can be adjusted to make the watch just a bit smaller if necessary. Adjust this, and it would be perfect! I pushed in the spring and slowly tried to ease it out and... BOING! Gone. I heard it bounce on my work bench, hit the far wall, and fall down into the abyss that is the corner of my garage where random stuff gets stored. GONE.

I immediately went over and started searching through the stuff that was in the corner. It wasn't that stuff that was the problem, though. There was so much sawdust and dirt that had accumulated there that it was impossible to find this tiny spring. I was just completely sick to my stomach. Of course it doesn't come with an extra spring. I was so frustrated.

Then I realized I should just say a prayer! I said a quick prayer, went back to the corner, and started rummaging around again expecting the spring to just be there in plain sight... No. I searched and searched and couldn't find it. Fail.

I stood in front of the work bench and just without thinking got onto my knees again and this time offered a true heartfelt prayer for help finding the spring. I knew it was just a little piece of coiled metal that didn't mean anything eternal, but in the moment, it was a big deal and I needed help. After I finished my prayer, I opened my eyes and saw the spring on the ground at my knees, in plain sight like I'd expected the first time.

So here's the thing, I found the spring at my feet where I was working on my watch. I know for a fact that I heard it bounce across the bench and into the corner of the garage. I heard it! And yet, it was there at my feet. I'm so grateful for the power of prayer and the opportunity to LEARN from it. And I'm so grateful that our Heavenly Father cares enough about His children that even a tiny coiled piece of metal can be important.

The Missing Transformer

We were out shopping one night and Jeremy really wanted to get a toy from the toy store. He chose a Transformer and he really loves it! He plays with it all the time and loves transforming it from jet to robot and back again. Well, one day he lost it. We were pretty sure that it was in the house somewhere, but after looking everywhere for it, it wasn't to be found. Needless to say, he was pretty sad about it.

Fast forward a couple of days and it's now Monday night and I'm looking for a good Family Home Evening lesson. You always want FHE to be good and uplifting, especially for your kids. I was really thinking hard and then I had this great idea...

I talked to Jeremy about prayer and how we can ask Heavenly Father for help, especially when we need help or something is lost that needs to be found. I brought up the missing transformer and I told Jeremy as sincerely as I could that if he prayed to find his missing transformer, Heavenly Father would help us find it.

Jeremy folded his arms and said a prayer and asked Heavenly Father to help him find his transformer. After he was done, he looked at me as if to say: "Okay, where is it?" That's when the panic set in and I thought: "This better work... Please let this work..." I shouldn't have doubted. I got up, walked directly over to the couch, and lifted the cushion... I'd already looked there. Several of us had looked there. Yet, there was the missing transformer.

I'm so grateful for answered prayers. I feel so frustrated with myself when I begin to doubt or lose faith. I have NO reason to... This is just one more example in my life of the countless answered prayers I've received. I just need to be stronger and stop letting my mortal reasoning limit the power of faith. Of course Heavenly Father wouldn't let this opportunity to teach my son the power of prayer go without manifesting a miracle. I had felt inspired by the desire to teach my little boy about our loving Heavenly Father and He truly was there for us. He's always there. Mark 9:23-24

Another Answered Prayer

A few days after my near death experience at the hands of the elderly, I'm back at work again, this time in Logan. I drove by Maddox Restaurant on the way there and I couldn't get those succulent rolls and raspberry butter out of my mind. By 1:00, I was starving and still had some work to do at the house I was at and couldn't leave. I walked outside to get something out of the van and just as I was thinking about how much I'd love to have something to eat, I opened my mouth to yawn and a bug flew into it. Gulp. So there ya go, answered prayer. Just goes to show that the Lord knows the thoughts in our minds, the desires in our hearts, and always provides a way...

(I tried to find a good picture for this post, but my search for images "bug in mouth," "eating a bug," and "bug flies in mouth" made me more disgusted than inspired. Trust me, nothing good came out of that image search. Yuck.)

Colby's New Gig

This was the start to an awesome weekend! I was at work on Friday and had just pulled up to the house I was working on when my friend, Colby, called. I answered, asked immediately to call him back, and hung up because my boss was waiting for me. Once I got a free minute I called him back and felt so bad that I'd put him off because... he got the job he was trying for! This was a huge deal because it really seemed like an uphill battle for him to get the job. Colby and I have gone through quite a bit this last year and I was so happy for him to get the job. Not only is it higher pay and a better situation, but it now gives him weekends off and allows him to come to Church again with his wife. We all prayed really hard for this and it's always so amazing and uplifting to "get what you ask for." It's more than that, though. It's that what we were all praying for was in accordance with what the Lord had in store for them too. We had to exercise a lot of faith and patience, but it paid off. Congrats, man. I'm so stoked for you! Oh, and it's extra steezy because he now works for Red Bull. Maybe we could get a sponsorship deal... ;)