30 years later....

I wrote a letter today.... it was about decisions.  It was about how a decision today can have powerful downstream implications tomorrow, or 30 years later.

30 years or so ago, I made a decision to participate in the Hill Cumorah Pageant when I was 18.  That experience awakened many spiritual feelings and emotions that reminded me of who I was and how I might direct my life.  It inspired me to make another decision to serve as a volunteer missionary for my Church.  For 2 years I dove into the culture and language of Portugal.  Mostly I embraced the people.  They found my heart and it has never let them go.

30 years later, I am having sweet emotional and spiritual conversations with those dear friends and acquaintances.  They were special then, they are gold now.

30 years later,  my son is accepted to be on the work crew for the Hill Cumorah Pageant.  He is there as a missionary for 1 month. No cell phones, no phone calls home, only written word.   I wonder each day he is gone, "will he have a spiritual experience as I did?"  "Will he have similar spiritual springboard moments?"  "Will he crawl into "their" eyes as he shares his feelings about the gospel of Jesus Christ with the audience before each performance?"  "Will he be inspired and edified in a way that will leave him never the same again....forever?"

30 years later, he comes home and we receive him with great enthusiasm..... my wondering continues... how will I find out?  Will he tell?   30 minutes into the conversation he begins sharing all the miracle stories that occurred.  I look at him, very closely as he talks... he is different... I can tell.  Something has happened.  Something very quiet, something very deep, something very personal....yes, Heaven has touched him in a way that I understand.  He is wiser, and more mature, he has grown and is ready.... I can almost feel the spiritual battle armor he has been fitted with.... ready for what life has next for him.....   I feel the lump rise in my throat.  I am so grateful that this experience left its mark on him..... Yes, 30 years later, that simple "yes" to the invitation, "Want to go be in the Pageant?" has found a way to bring so much deeper meaning that I could ever have imagined.

30 years later, what will  Braden talk about with his kids?  I hope Hill Cumorah comes to mind as it did me... that the same Spirit he felt there will be right smack there when he needs it as he shares his stories with them... they will spark the imagination, they will be curious.... maybe they will go and he finds himself with the nervous anticipation of wondering if they too will experience what he did....

30 years later, I ponder other decisions I have made... They have all led to where I am right now, in this moment.  All of them have shaped me, they are like little letters I have written myself, helping me to move left, to move right, to stop, to pause, but mostly to fall forward with a perfect brightness of hope and faith.  I take them all, good, bad and ugly--they are all mine, I made them and they have defined me.  They are precious to me, they are my book of life.  I see the downstream implications of them now, reflected in the lives of my kids, just as I resemble the outcomes of my parents' decisions.

I can only imagine the stories your decisions could tell.... I can't wait to see what mine will tell..... 30 years later.

PS: if you want to see what Braden did click here:  Hill Cumorah Setup