Fast Sunday

This morning was rough.  We drove back from Boise yesterday evening, and got home at about bedtime.  Except we hadn't eaten dinner, and we needed the girls to take Saturday night showers.  Luckily we got to change the clocks courtesy of Daylight Saving Time, otherwise we would have been in a real mess.  Anyway, the point is, we went to bed late, we had a time change, and everyone woke up grumpy.

As if the lack of sleep wasn't enough to create the mood, it's Fast Sunday.  I'm gonna be honest: fasting is really hard for me.  I have a difficult time going for long stretches without food, and as much as I'd like to say I feel a great spiritual benefit, lots of times I just don't.  I probably shouldn't admit that, but there it is.  Mostly I fast out of obedience.  Now, I don't do well with the fasting, but Julia turns into a little beast.  The hanger (hungry anger) is strong with this one.  So to add that fun factor into an already tired kid was a recipe for disaster.  Julia spent most of her time before church yelling at Ella, crying, yelling at me, and throwing a fit.  She's 9.  9-year-olds throwing tantrums look a little ridiculous.

So it was a rough morning.

The fun continued at church, where Ella refused to share the fun and games she packed with Julia, claiming they were hers and she needed them all to herself at all times.  I think Clark was beginning to wonder if we should just go home, because the day was turning out to be a wash.

But then we got to the testimony portion of the meeting.

I was enjoying the spirit of the meeting, soaking in the stories and wisdom shared by members of the congregation.  I've been having a hard time adjusting to this ward, and today was one of those days where I had a lot more compassion and understanding for those around me.  And then Julia, my grump-master of the day, headed up.  I was kind of worried she was going to say something about how hard it was to love her sister.  But instead she shared the sweetest testimony of the day.  She started out by saying, "I'm not very big, and my testimony might not be very big either."  Heart. Melted.  She proceeded to explain that we should never doubt Jesus Christ.  He is the creator of the world, He was resurrected from the tomb, He lived a perfect life, and we should never doubt Him.  That was basically it, but her sincerity was astounding.  She sounded like an adult, to be honest.  None of her phrasing was scripted or copied, it was all Julia, and it was beautiful. I don't know where this kid came from, but I am in awe of her spirit, of her knowledge of spiritual things, of her mind and her heart.  I can't take any credit for this incredible human, but it makes my mother heart feel joy and gratitude and hope that perhaps we are doing something right in allowing her to grow and learn and develop into the amazing person she is.

Despite its rough beginning, today turned out to be pretty great.