Change is Good

I've had an opportunity to reflect on some things recently, and one of those things that I have been thinking about lately is change. Change is usually a scary word that invites feelings of fear of the unknown, uncertainty about the future, and so forth. This last week and these past weeks have been a lesson to me that change is not bad, and is often a very good thing. While this list of recent changes seems to be very simple and almost unimportant, I view this events in a different perspective that goes much deeper.

Weather

This picture is not a mistake. This is what the sky looks like this morning, and my purpose in sharing this is not to rub it in. For about the past three weeks or so, nearly every morning the valley has been covered in fog. Not the nice little fog that burns off by 10 but the kind that sticks around all day and never lets the sun out. It was kinda depressing but maybe thats just because I'm a spoiled california boy that likes his sun in the winter. Recently the fog has been gone and we have been having some sunshine around here, which makes a world of difference. So thats a good change.

Apple Tree

This is sadly what is left of the Granny Smith apple tree in the backyard. Dad, Eric McCray, and myself spent saturday morning and part of the afternoon cutting it down, and then removing the stump. While it is very sad to not have this delicious tree anymore, it was very clear that the entire tree was diseased and would not be the productive tree that it has been in the past.

Another thought came from the roots, themselves. While the actual task of digging a trench and cutting the roots was no easy task, I was rather surprised that it wasn't harder to rip the tree out of the ground. We left the trunk and a limb on the tree so we had some leverage, and the tree came out much easier than I thought it would or should. There was no taproot. No singular, strong root that was at the core of the supporting root system. Again, this observation goes deeper than taking down a tree.

Temple

I guess I'll end my unnecessarily long post on this item. Yesterday the three YSA branches went to the Sacramento temple. The Oakland temple is undergoing renovations and cleanings and such so our normal temple wasn't available for our monthly temple trip. Thankfully the Turlock branch arranged for us to go to Sacramento to do baptisms. This was my first time doing baptisms there, and it was a very enjoyable experience. It was a new temple, and a different experience than what I was used to. Afterwards I was able to snap a couple of pictures, including this one. Not a great shot, but still helps me remember the feelings of that evening.

So change isn't a bad thing, and is often a necessary and a great thing. Its a wonderful thing to know that our lives are being led by a benevolent Father that wants us to become like Him, and has provided a mortal existence for us to start that journey. I've had some recent insights on being led, and they are a continuing reminder that I am just a mere child and have yet to understand a great many things. I'm not worried, and I look forward to the future and the wonderful ( and not so wonderful) changes that await me.