Blessings Through a Trial

There I sat in the basement of our Arizona home on a typical warm evening. I was camped on the couch in front of the TV after another long day at school. I felt relaxed and my mind was blank, until I heard my father yell something from upstairs.

“Family meeting in five minutes,” yelled my dad.

“Why? Family night was yesterday,” I thought.

What could this urgent family meeting possibly be about? Did my parents plan a fun family vacation for this summer? Or was the news not so good? I tried to spend as much of the five minutes still on the couch, but I was overcome with curiosity and could not relax anymore. After those five minutes had passed, I slowly made my way up the stairs, as I tried to pinpoint what the subject of the meeting would be. I arrived at the top of the stairs to find the rest of my family assembled in the living room.

“We were waiting for you,” my younger sister said in a sarcastic tone. I took my place on our leather couch as my father got up to address our family.

“As you guys know, we have been talking for awhile about possibly moving to Utah.”

“Is he serious?” I thought. That idea had been put to rest for awhile. The idea had been brought up before, but I did not think we would actually move to Utah.

My father continued, “Both of your grandparents have not been doing very well health wise, and they may not be on the earth for too much longer. I have prayed many times about what we should do, and I really feel moving closer to family would be the right thing to do.”

I looked around to find my mother in tears and began to ponder to myself.

He really expects us to just get up and leave? Arizona had been our home for the past 12 years! I was almost 16 years old and was nearing the end of my sophomore year in high school. I had many good friends and had built great relationships with many of them over the years. We were in a fantastic ward, and I really did not want anything to change.

As the day of our departure drew nearer, my attitude seemed to change. Maybe moving wouldn’t be so bad? The idea of having to make new friends and attending a different high school did not excite me, but hopefully it wouldn’t be too difficult. The school year ended, the summer had arrived, and I made my final goodbyes to my friends in Arizona.

The morning of June 21, 2007 came too soon as we finished loading the moving truck and prepared to leave for good. I will always remember when my family knelt in prayer for one last time in the living room of our Arizona home. My parents were both in tears, but the Spirit was there, and that is really when it came to me that moving closer to family was the right thing to do. We arrived at our new home late that night and my new life in Utah had begun.

That summer seemed to go by faster than a gazelle being chased by a hungry bear. School was here once again, and I still had not made very many friends. I was reminded of my freshman year as I aimlessly walked through the halls trying to find my classes. I hated the feelings of loneliness and emptiness I felt in each class as I sat with nobody to talk to. It was a smaller school and it seemed like everyone else knew each other. It felt like everyone was watching me as I wandered through the lunchroom trying to find a place to sit and eat my lunch. Thankfully, the feelings of uneasiness did not last long after I was able to find a job as a referee and umpire for youth sports. After my first day on the job, one my fellow employees, who was female and around 20 years old, approached me.

“Can I have your number?” she asked.

I gave her a blank stare and thought, “I think you are a little old for me?” She quickly realized what I was thinking and said, "Oh it’s not for me, it’s for my sister!” We both shared a laugh, and I ended up hanging out with her sister that night. She has become one of my best friends, and it’s a friendship I will cherish forever. As the weeks passed by, I made more and more friends and became more comfortable with each day of school.

While finding friends was important to me, spending time with family was the main reason my family moved to Utah. While living in Arizona, we visited my grandparents only two or three times a year. Now that Rexburg, Idaho is only three hours away (rather than fifteen), we have been able to visit them a lot more. I love the smell of my grandma’s homemade cookies and the wonderful taste of her famous French toast. I also look forward to games of soccer, baseball, or football in the back yard with my cousins. Grandma’s house is not all fun and games though; living on a farm is hard work. Every morning we get up early, load bales of hay onto the back of my grandpa’s red truck, and then drive though the muddy roads and out to the pastures to feed the cows. The cold wind in the early morning, along with the smell of fresh cow pies was never my favorite smell, but working with my grandpa was always enjoyable. Working on the farm really has brought our family closer together. Our family has grown a lot closer over the past few years through the simple chores that we have completed on my grandpa’s farm.

Unfortunately, cancer has taken the lives of all my grandparents since my family moved to Utah. Grandma and grandpa’s house will never be the same, but what a blessing it was to visit them a lot more over the past few years.