10 Small Defining Moments

Today's 10 on Tuesday topic is to reflect on moments--not large ones like marriage or childbirth--that have helped define you in some way. I find this particularly challenging because it's far easier to think of the big pivotal moments than the small. So, here it goes...

1. Winning the 6th grade science fair-because it taught me how to put hard work and effort into something and give it my all. It gave me the confidence that I had the ability to do something on my own.

2. A letter from my Young Women's leader that she mailed me after she moved to Texas and I was still a senior in high school. It was a simple note of kindness that showed me she cared. It meant a lot to me then, but now as I think back to the fact that she had 6 kids and had moved across the country and took the time to write and mail a note to a teenage girl, it is even more profound.

3. When I moved to Arizona I felt completely alone and far away from my family and everything that was familiar. I had recently gone through very stressful circumstances and after a few months in a new, overwhelmingly large ward, was called to serve in a Young Women's Presidency. I remember the President picking me up for our first meeting (literally the first time we met), and when she opened the door for me to hop in her suburban being overcome with a feeling of love and hope. I saw the Lord's hand in my life and was extremely grateful for the opportunity to serve and live there and for the blessing of close friendships.

4. A delicious dinner being prepared and delivered to my family during a time of need. Also, being able to take dinner to someone else who may need it.

5. The first time I was given the opportunity to do a professional interior design project, I thought I was going to vomit and couldn't sleep, but I'm grateful someone gave me a chance.

6. The powerful role of prayer in my life. When we first moved to Arizona, Carter was in second grade and a few weeks after school had started it was his first day there. He would come home from school lonely, crying and saying he would have to sit alone during recess or walk around by himself. As a mother, this was heartwrenching to hear. One morning as I was about to take him to school, he was sobbing, so I suggested we say a prayer for comfort and that he may meet some new friends. That afternoon when I picked him up, he ran to the car with a big grin and announced, "Mom, the prayer worked! I made a new friend!"

7. I recently fell off a ladder and hurt my foot pretty significantly. I was unable to walk and my boys stepped in, cleaned up the kitchen, and took over household duties. Hearing their chatter, and the sounds of dishes and silverware clanking together as they loaded and unloaded the dishwasher was awesome. It was amazing seeing what they were able and willing to do.

8. Reading Marjorie Pay Hinckley's book Letters which was a compilation of letters she had written as a young mother and throughout her life. It was so motivational, inspirational, and humorous. That book has blessed my life and made me feel good for 'trying' and want to try harder.

9. Kind observations from my husband or children. Their opinions matter most to me. Nothing means quite as much as when I am doing well in their eyes and they take a moment to tell me something sweet.

10. Hearing birds chirping or water rushing in a stream. Seeing blossoms appear on the trees. Experiencing a heavy rainfall and seeing a rainbow peer through the clouds. Seeing someone cuddle their brand new baby. This may sound corny, but these small moments in nature strengthen my testimony of God and give me peace. They help me slow down, appreciate the world around me, and recognize that there is a bigger plan.