Opening and Closing Doors

Cold Stone

We did the SLC half marathon together (James was hours ahead of me though!)

I titled this open and closed doors, because that is what I feel like the Lord did for me in order to direct my path in the way He wanted...so that I would meet James and marry him.  There are plenty of things that happened that make me absolutely certain that the Lord was leading me to James. I didn't understand them at the time, but it is very obvious to me now.  Here are a few examples of the Lord's hand both opening and closing doors to me in order for James and I's paths to cross.

The first example was when I wanted to stay at BYU-H for another semester.  The Lord clearly told me not to stay...I needed to go back to Rexburg.  This was a surprise because I felt like the Lord had always kind of let me do my own thing. Previous to this my answers were usually something along the lines of- either decision is good. 

Once I came back to Rexburg from Hawaii I tried out for a new dance team called Dance Alliance. It was a traveling team that went year round and was very time consuming because of all of the performances.   I really wanted to make it so I was way bummed when I was cut during tryouts...especially because there were only like 3 or 4 people who were cut...and the other people they cut were not good dancers at all.  I felt like I was definitely good enough to be on the team.  Anyway though, I look back now, and realize that if I would have been on Dance Alliance, I wouldn't have been able to finish quickly enough to student teach down in SL or graduate when I did. So the Lord was closing one door to me in order to open a better and much more important door in the future.
 
I mentioned earlier (BYU-Hawaii's post) that BYU-I had discontinued my major (PE/health education) during the semester I was off track in Hawaii.  Once school started, I went and talked to the chair of my department.  Because my major was stopped I was forced to change my switch to Health Education, and add a minor.  I chose to add a music education minor.  I was upset, because I thought that the change would put me behind on my graduation schedule.  The chair of the department worked with me a lot however; bending the rules because the school had put me in the difficult situation.  He allowed some of my classes to fulfill requirements for those required in the new major.  After that, I started working on adding a music education minor onto my plate.  That was a LOT of work.  After me trying to figure it out, and finding that I was unable to get them to extend any deadlines or bend any rules for me, the Lord stepped in and pulled a few strings for me, which allowed me to join certain classes and fulfill the school's requirements to graduate.  Well, a long story made short, switching majors miraculously sped me up in school.  It allowed me to be able to student teach at least one semester sooner than I would have been able to had I been allowed to keep my same major.  So again, after much pleading and persuading, and of course, help from the Lord, I was able to finish all of my classes in the winter and summer semesters of '08.  Because of the switch in major, I was able to student teach in the Fall of '08 and therefore, meet James...another door opened

Here is one more example to show that the Lord was leading me down Salt Lake to student teach... So, the education department at BYUI allows you to chose where you want to go for student teaching.  Initially, I chose Vegas because I thought it would be a fun experience.  My mom eventually talked me out of it though, because it is so far away, and I didn't have a great working car, etc. etc.  I decided I would go to Salt Lake instead.  However, after thinking about my financial situation, I realized that it would be much smarter for me to just live at home and student teach in Pocatello.  If I did that, I wouldn't have to pay rent or food, so I wouldn't be completely broke at the end of the semester.  I really went with that idea; and my mom found 3 or 4 teachers in Pocatello who were happy to let me student teach under them.  

Now here is the weird part where the Lord stepped in.  I told the people over student teaching at BYUI that I wanted to go to Pocatello instead of SL.  However, the directors over student teaching had this weird rule that the only students who were allowed to student teach in a 'local' area (Pocatello was considered 'local' in this instance) were those who were married and had a family.  They claimed that there wern't enough schools in the area to have every BYUI education student stay in South Eastern Idaho to student teach.  After we told them that there were a handful of teachers who my mom knew who were willing to let me student teach for them, they claimed that they would be stepping on ISU's toes if I went to Poky.  My mom was really put off by this- she and my dad both called and talked to the student teaching directors at BYUI, and they finally had a big meeting about it, and still decided not to let me go to Pocatello to student teach...even though there was absolutely no reason to not let me stay.  During this whole 'battle' though, something (no-the Spirit) was telling me that I would be going to Salt Lake. Hence, the door to Pocatello was closed, the door to Salt Lake stood wide open and waiting.

The next experience was when I was trying to decide where to live in Salt Lake.  I had been planning on staying with Evy and Doug, but right before I moved down, on a whim, I changed my mind, and decided to stay in the student housing that BYUI provided, even though it was way overpriced...I calculated it, and it was over $500 a month for a shared room!  What a rip off!... 
...But this put me in a position where I could meet people that James would know, and eventually meet him. It was also nice because I lived right by Dave and Katuska, so I got to see them and the kids a lot.

During the first month or so of living in Salt Lake-even before meeting James, I had a very real spiritual experience where I knew that I would be getting married the next summer.  I thought it was odd and almost embarassing to know something like that, especially because I didn't even have a boyfriend.  Needless to say, I discovered first-had, that the spirit doesn't follow our society's social guidelines.  This experience I had made me realize that what it says in the scriptures is true...that at times the spirit really does reveal things that are to come D&C 76:8.

James and I met on the ultimate frizbee field.  We were on the same team for an all day tournament that our friend, Amy Merritt, (my apt. supervisor) had set up.  Even though I'd agreed to be on the team, I wasn't even planing to go, because our ward was doing a camp out the night before in Heber.  However, it was really cold at the camp out, so I decided I didn't want to spend the night, and caught a ride home from a friend. 

After the tournament, James asked for my number.  I gave it to him (and was so excited that he got my number), but I was sitting in another guys car at the time, who kind of liked me. So I was put in an akward position, and didn't want to sound too excited that he was getting my number.  James took that as, I didn't want him to have my number.  So later on that day, James text me to see how my ankle was doing (because I'd sprained it during the last game of the tournament), and I didn't respond, because at the time my phone didn't receive texts.  So he didn't call me and I was sad, because it was the first guy that I was actually excited about since moving down to Salt Lake.
 
Well, we ended up running into each other a few weeks later at a group frisbee night this was in (September of 2008), and started dating here and there.  It was on and off, and on and off for a long time...it got more serious around winter time, but it seemed like it was on and off until we actually got engaged and married the next July.

Ice skating at the Gallavant Center

Melting Pot