Beck.Bo.Brazil

So good news! Sister Beck came to "college town" friday night.. and it was SO good! For those that might not know Sister Julie B. Beck is the General Relief Society President for the church-- she is amazing! So she told us that her topic would simply be answering questions from the audience. I HATE it when they say that because I always feel like we end up hearing stupid irrelevant questions like "What is the daily schedule like for a member of the Relief Society Presidency?" BOO! I want to be spiritually fed, not informed of the time she eats and brushes her teeth.. But OH was I wrong! Even though some of the questions seemed inapplicable to me she always pulled doctrinal concepts and things that EVERYONE could apply in their lives... it was amazing. A couple highlights:

• "Women's leadership role is that of influence."
• "If you are too tired to hear the spirit then you become a target for the adversary.. You'll begin to doubt and fear."
• (when speaking about the visiting teaching)- "A phone call can't: see a tear, give a hug, or see an empty shelf"
• "Don't ever underestimate the power of influence."
• (when asked about Family Home Evening and family scripture study) "Consistency is better than perfection."
• "AS WOMEN WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE RESPONSIBILITY OF HALF OF THE PLAN-- IT CANNOT BE DELEGATED."

She is one amazing person.. 

Saturday afternoon I headed to HomeTown... After I started the first load of laundry I headed over to Bo's. While I was driving over I thought who do I hug first? My best friend that I haven't seen in a month or my friend I haven't seen in 2 years?? ha ha But the second I walked into the house Kla came running to give me a hug :D I can't even express how grateful I am for her! She is SUCH a good friend to me! Then after I hugged her I gave Bo a big hug as well-- It was SO good to see him. His voice was like a crazy blast from the past! Samson came over later and it was just a good little rendezvous! 

Sunday was an interesting day... It was the first time I had seen Brazil since the Mayday concert.. which was like 3 days after the break-up so it'd been a while and I was terrified because I had this vision of seeing him and completely crumbling into a sobbing mess.. no good! I had SO many worries- Should I talk to him? Should I give him a hug? Should I just leave right after so that I don't make a fool of myself? Does his family hate me? How should I act around everyone? WHAT DO I DO? I don't think I've ever prayed so hard throughout a sacrament meeting in my life! I made eye contact with Bo on the stand & the look on his face was like "holy crap! I can sense the tension from here" ha ha-- He gave a great talk tho and it calmed me down a lot-- and after the meeting I took a deep breath and stood to face it all. 

As I walked through the aisle it was just a sea of faces I'd known forever. The last time I'd seen most of them was at Brazil's homecoming.. except this time I had to face it without him by my side. I gave a lot of hugs, but my mind continued to race with questions.. Had he moved on completely? Was it going to be awkward? What were we going to talk about? Would he even talk to me?  But my thoughts were interrupted by a tap from behind me and I turned to see the smiling face of Brazil's youngest sister. She gave me a big hug and comforted me in a way I don't think she'll ever realize. The next person I met as I walked into the foyer was Brazil's dad.. another comforting hug.. I could do this. 

Bo was the next hug and then after a quick chat I headed for Brazil. I was about 3 feet from him when, at the sight of me, he opened his arms and the tension was broken. It felt so good to relax a little for the first time in hours. We chatted for a couple minutes-- just quick updates about life... It was good. He doesn't hate me :)

We all headed to the Bo's luncheon and as I walked to my car, Samson gave me props for keeping class and composure {thank you for your support. You're the best!} The luncheon was SO fun. I finally had the chance to give the Head Nurse a hug and since the ice had been broken on all levels- I could finally enjoy myself. Brazil and I were able to joke around which I loved because it keeps alive the hope that after this is all over we can still maintain our friendship.  As we ate I found myself staring down the table at all of the people I was currently surrounded by.. Kla, Bo, Pete (friend that recently returned from his mission), Brazil, Samson, and Dalton... We were all back together! I realized how grateful I was for the amazing people that the Lord had surrounded me with throughout the most crucial years of my life. This year I'm most grateful for friends. <3