the clean up set

this has been quite a month.

as the four readers of this blog know. :-)

a few weeks ago a friend of ours gave a talk. he is a surfer and he talked about a clean up set. this is a set of waves that are a bit further out and if you don't keep an eye on them, can come in and clean up the line of surfers. really wipe them out. at the same time, if you are watching carefully and paddle really hard you can get out to the clean up set and catch a really good ride. one that most of the others have missed.

i have thought about this for the past few days and i have thought about the times when i paddled out for the clean up set and what kind of a ride it was. the times i have had to really work with one of my children, or on a part of my marriage, or a certain aspect of my testimony or in a church calling. the end result was very peaceful and satisfying. although the process was sometimes very stressful and daunting i know that the times i haven't paddled out ferociously for the clean up set and got wiped out, i have regretted those choices. i feel like harry and dawn have made an excellent effort and caught the clean up set. they have had a few pretty intense months and they have worked hard to make sure that they caught the wave, and didn't let it wipe them out. i appreciate their example to work hard and to turn a trial into a good learning experience.

-Bonny