So I have this friend that I have just been thinking about lately, and I realized how much I want to be like her. Here is a little background on her.
Her name is Laura Seegmiller-Graham. Laura and I met when we lived in Orlando, and have been friends ever since. Actually, there is a group of 8 or 9 of us girls who still keep in touch, and its the best group of people ever. Laura got married over the summer to her husband Michael, and they now live in Orem while she works with troubled teens and goes to school.
There are so many things I admire about Laura, and just feel the need to blog about them. Laura is one of the hardest working people I have ever met. Never once has Laura waited for her life to pick up. Her life has been amazing because she has made it that way. Out of all of us, Laura probably works the most. I remember getting texts from her saying she just finished a 60 hour week at the store she manages, and how she still has to write a paper, etc. Ok, so maybe she is a little crazy, but in an amazing way. She is beautiful. To be honest, I envy her beautiful hair. Someday I will look like her!
But most importantly, I have learned so many things from Laura. Sometimes I feel like she is my mother hen. A few nights ago, I was thinking about Laura and how I should call her and see if she was available to do something. Our friend Kate is preggo and was supposed to have her baby last week, so I was going to go visit her and see if Laura wanted to catch up and come with me. While shopping for some cake-pans, Laura called me and said she had some free time and wanted to catch up with me and my rooomate, Chelsie (also a "Florida Girl"). To make a short story even longer, Kate ended up spending the last few times with her husband that she could before the baby was born, so Laura, Chelsie, my rooommate Meredith and I decided to tighten our belts and head to chili's for old time's sake. Originally it was for some Molten Chocolate Cake....but we all realized how hungry we were once we got there and got a meal too :) It was during this conversation and this evening visit that I realized how much I admired Laura and how much I have learned from her. Here are a few of the important things I learned during that visit:
#. The Lord is what brings us through. If we continually include the Lord in our life, he will absolutely guide us in ways we didn't think possible. Even if its something as small as a math test, or singing in front of class, the Lord is there, and ready to lift us up when we fall. Along with this image, Laura told this story:
A man went to the doctor with his 2 year old son, and found out that his son had a rare disease that would kill him within the next 24 hours. The boy was taken out of his father's arms and quarentined to a room, and nobody was allowed in or out except for the designated nurse. The father kept trying to get into the room to help his son, and the nurses kept pushing him out. Seeing this, the small boy began to call for his dad and cry. The father kept trying to get into the room, but kept being pushed out by the nurses. All he could do was stand with his hands on the glass, looking at his son. His son was crying and wanting to be held, and the father couldn't do anything about it
We are that small boy, crying on the chair. God is out father, and the nurses are the parts of us that are proud and refuse to let the Lord into our lives. So Laura got to thinking, and said that if she were God, or that boy's father, what she would want most is to hold his son. But since he couldn't, the next thing in the world that he would want was for someone else to hold his son, SOMEBODY to comfort and let him know how much he is loved. In this life, we are blessed with people that have been sent by our Father to hold us, and to lift us when we feel alone.
#. The next thing I have learned from Laura is called "First-things-First". It's a pretty simple concept, but as Meredith can testify, it can be very difficult to implement. In this life, we have so many choices to make, and so many people that we can spend our time with. We have responsibilities and obligations and things we want to do and things we don't want to do. However, FIRST THINGS FIRST. School is very important, and should always be on the top part of our priority list, but the people in our lives (our families, our friends, and our loved ones) are just as important, and finding a balance can be the greatest blessing on us. So take that extra time to see if your little brother has a basketball game, or if your neighbor needs a visit. The Lord will guide us in our decisions.
#. The last thing I want to cover is that we need to be willing to pay the price. In marriage, in life, in repentance, we need to be willing to pay the price for us to really learn the lessons we need to learn. Wanting a marriage to work doesn't mean anything if we aren't willing to pay the price. Repentance doesn't work if we truly don't have a change of heart. The only people that knows if we are willing is ourselves and the Lord. Great blessings require great sacrifice, but remember: all things are possible with the Lord.
I love Laura so much. Visiting with her a few nights ago was exactly what I needed, and I feel so incredibly blessed to have her and my other Florida Girlfriends in my life. Women are truly amazing people, and these particularly women will never let me become less than I should be. Thank-you for everything you have been to me Laura. :)
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