September 16, 2018

I missed you this weekend. 

I went backpacking with Aimar and Javi up to Wall Lake for the night. Chance couldn't come because he had an ACT prep classes and a couple other things going on and of course Javi didn't want to come but I made him. Aimar and I hiked to the top of Bald Mountain and then paddleboarded on Mirror Lake for a while. Then we backpacked with all our gear up to Wall Lake and jumped off the wall a few times. I did dives and Aimar did front and side flips. We cut down 3 dead trees and chopped them into pieces and had a huge bonfire on the side of the lake until 11pm. I had a pretty horrible night's sleep - there was a ton of smoke from nearby forest fires and a lot of wind overnight so I kept waking up every 30 minutes hearing trees crack, voices from other camps, and animals going through our campsite. I was expecting the High Uintas to be super cold though but they weren't. It was probably 55 degrees when we woke up - unlike the 30 degrees we woke up to 2 weeks ago up there. Weird.

Last week we had our usual Ward Salmon BBQ. I bought some new stuff for my new kayak and I went to Provo recreation center on Friday night to learn how to do a combat roll. I practiced for 2 hours but never really got the hang of it. All I got was a ton of water up my nose. I did improve though and just need a lot more practice time in a pool and then more practice time on a river doing it for real and under adverse situations. Rolling in a pool is good for getting the hang of it but the conditions are nothing like what I'm going to be facing on a river with water currents pushing me around every direction.

This week mom and I went to our West Jordan house to replace a broken screen door and then we went to see Dallin and Hannah and their new baby Maverick. Hannah went into labor on Monday night and had Maverick at 1pm on Tuesday. He's a really cute baby and Hannah is recovering well so that's a big blessing to all of us. I was praying for her.

Aimar said something interesting to me last night by the campfire after Javi went to sleep. He said when your soccer coach makes you run hard does it mean he loves you or hates you? It means he loves you because he sees potential in you that hasn't come out yet and he wants you to be the best you can be. The soccer coach who doesn't love his players is the coach that will go easy on his players. I thought that was an interesting viewpoint and it is a lot like how I think about a loving Heavenly Father. If he took away all trials, all hardships, all pain from our lives then how would our spiritual growth happen? How would we mature and become like Him?

I hope people are treating you better and I hope that you're picking up on the language better. This period you are going through is so hard just keep working at it and don't give up. It's times like this when you really learn to rely on the Lord. Sometimes I wonder why He doesn't make life easier for everyone but deep down inside I know that if He did we all wouldn't grow and mature as much and we certainly wouldn't learn to rely on Him which is the source of our strength.

I'll leave you with some words that touched my heart this week when I was thinking of you. Maybe they have touched your heart sometime in the past as well.

Love,

Dad

Be still

Wild and young

Long may your innocence reign

Like shells on the shore

And may your limits be unknown

And may your efforts be your own

If you ever feel you can't take it anymore

Don't break character

You've got a lot of heart

Is this real or just a dream?

Rise up like the sun

Labor till the work is done

Be still

Close your eyes

Soon enough you'll be on your own

Steady and straight

And if they drag you through the mud

It doesn't change what's in your blood

When they knock you down

Don't break character

You've got a lot of heart

Is this real or just a dream?

Rise up like the sun

Labor till the work is done