In the Dark of the Night

Have you ever heard that song?  You know, the one from Anastasia?  Rasputin is the star singer? Anyway, it's funny and the actual song has nothing to do with what I am writing about but the title remains fitting.

There are a few --  just a few -- examples of heroes in what members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints declare as scripture that act during the late evening.  OK, so I am sure there are other examples too in the scriptures that I won't highlight right now but here are a few I find fascinating:

1. The Savior prays late into the night the evening of his capture prior to his trial and crucifixion.  He invites other heroes to join him in acting  late into the night through prayer - but they fall short and fall asleep. 
2. Teancum "steals privily" into the tent of an enemy during the midnight hour to end -- or at least postpone -- an invading army from breaching home lands.  Everyone in his own army is asleep and everyone in the invading army is also asleep when this act occurs.  He did this at the end of a long day of brutal physical combat.  I can only imagine how tired he must have been. 
3. Captain Moroni goes to examine enemy movements in a fallen city once the night falls.  Still during the night, after a long march his own troops made, he require that they build ladders and cords and to sneak into the enemy infiltrated city while they sleep.  When the enemy awoke, they were so scared, they all ran away, and Moroni recaptured the city without a single person in his army dying.  

 I wanted to share a little story from someone who gets it.  Someone who would do something just like those heroes mentioned above. Let me give you one example from his life that illustrates this. Lets call him Jerry.   I was driving home with him one night.  It was late at night and I had an early class the next morning.  I was exhausted from the day's efforts.  Jerry told me he needed some help jumping his friend's car.  She had left it in a nearby town after the battery died when she was getting gas on her way to work that morning.  I told him I needed to go home but that  I would help him if he could get the keys from this girl right then and we could go right away.  He tried to reach her, and found out she was busy spending time with some family because they had just had a death in the family. The poor girl must have had one heck of a day.  They were about an hour drive away.  Jerry took me home and he told me he would just wake up in the morning and go jump the car.  

However, the next morning I found out after Jerry dropped me, he waited for a few more hours till he could obtain the girls keys and then he and another friend went out suuuuper late at night/morning to get the car back in working order.  

Now, I was exhausted that day.  I could hardly face going to help her if we even had the keys around midnight.  But lets think about Jerry.  And also his friend?? What in the world.  What saints, right?  Waiting up, getting the work done that needed to be done in a timely fashion.  They are heroes.  Exhausted, stressed, also needing to wake up early, but they still got it done.  The next morning the girl was so grateful. She didn't know how she was going to get to work that morning and I am sure she couldn't face figuring it out that night before she went to bed after spending a long time with her grieving family members.  

The world is filled with a lot of good. I want everyone to realize that.  Bad things happen, people make bad choices sure, but the world is FILLED WITH GOOD.  It's about time you open your eyes to see it.  And if you can't do that then open your heart and DO IT yourself.  

Better than Hakuna Matata?

I woke up this morning and I honestly did not think that I would be doing any significant secretive service today. I just started another semester of college this week, and between my 16.5 credits and 2 part-time jobs I have been stressed and frazzled trying to get everything done that I needed to.  But that is exactly why I love DAGTW.

 "He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it."

Let me tell you what I mean: 

I have been preeeetty stressed today. I have been putting off an assignment that I have been needing to do for the professor who employs me for a very long time.  I just hadn't gotten around to it yet.  So I left one of my classes early so I could spend the rest of my evening quietly hidden deep in my favorite and private study nook on campus.  

I left work at 1pm and everything went just as planned.  I had a great workout.  A little bit of a crossfit workout.  Nothing better. Actually  maybe a girlfriend would also be that nice but since I can't keep those around too long I'll stick with my bike and shoes for now.  (yeah, we broke up last night).  

- ANYWAY - 

I had been studying for more than 30 minutes when my phone rang.  It was from a nice girl I home taught in my previous ward.  She was stranded and needed a ride. I accepted and thought, "perfect, this counts as a good turn right?"  I thought for sure I would feel great about myself for serving and helping this friend of mine.  And I did feel great.  But it was not until I was driving my car talking with this girl that I realized I could do more.  I love serving, it is so fulfilling. People need help. A LOT. I need help A LOT.  This is how I get help, by doing things for others. And if I thought I had a terrible day, surely there were other students just like me who are feeling all the same pressures.  

With this, I remembered a classmate of mine - we have the same major and he is in most of my same classes this semester.  It's a good thing I like him because we sure do see a lot of each other. Today he was not himself.  He was absent from our presentation this morning and was late to our afternoon class.  At this later shift, he was absent minded and unfocused.  You could literally see the stress oozing out of him. OK not literally, I mean figuratively -- which I guess now is literally synonym of figuratively?  Bottom line: poor kid.  So, of course I could do something.  So I'm at the campus grocery store right now writing this in preparation to buy ingredients for a fruit salad.  And by ingredients I mean fruit.  Maybe I can write little phrases of praise to him on the fruit.  That would be kinda fun.  Hopefully it doesn't make the fruit taste like Sharpie though haha. 

I hope this inspires my friend to do something for someone.  Because honestly, that is the way to drop the stress.  "Forget yourself and go to work."  And right now that work is serving others.  So if any of you reading this, (all 1 of you), if you are as stressed as I am or my co-worker was today, if you want to get better, don't wait around for some ninja to anonymously bring you fruit.  Go and do something for someone else.  it'll work.  All your worries --- yeah forget about them.  They will go.  It's even better than Hanuka Matata.  

later skaters.