I have been looking forward to going to the temple for, like, the whole two weeks we had this planned! I was so ready to sit on the pews overlooking the baptismal font and just have the answers I need come flying at me and I would suddenly receive my life's answers. Ok, well, I am a bit overzealous in some things. In fact, the whole night was pretty opposite of what I had hoped would happen, but in a good way.
On our way to the temple, I fell asleep for a solid 5 minutes in which I do not remember even closing my eyes, and apparently, my head was bobbing up and down, swaying with the movements of the car. At dinner, my mom reenacted it and I was dying of laughter. When we got to the temple, I found that the baptistry was nearly empty, so I was ushered through the confirmations and baptisms in record time. I was hoping to spend like 2 hours in there and it felt like 20 minutes! But, man, was it a great 20 minutes. I didn't suddenly receive the answer as to where I need to go next year or feel a great overwhelming of the Spirit, but I knew I had the Spirit with me, giving me peace and comfort to my mind. I find myself getting into such fits of anxiety trying to logically decide what my life plan will be. I talk myself into a decision and become totally set on it, then I get all twisted up again and am back to square 1. As I thought about this great premonition that I wanted so badly, I received something even better: A big, fat, "PATIENCE JULIA!" I don't need an answer this second. Heck, I'm only 18 years old. It's only April 24th. I'm fine. "You're fine". I was calmed and I was in the service of my God. What more do I need?
As we sat in the waiting room, we decided to get the full temple-experience and got some pie in the cafeteria before heading to go out to dinner. I chose an Indian restaurant next door to the awesome teriyaki place that we had originally decided on, but, my hankering for some good naan and cumin led me through the doors of India's Gate. After placing our order of spinach naan, ginger chicken curry and basmati rice with lamb, we were told by our waiter that we ordered what the Indian's order, not the typically popular dishes. My mom and I were tickled pink. That is a MAJOR compliment to us foodies. Well, as we ate what we could and talked about my undecided life over dinner, we slowly began talking to our waiter more and more. His sense of humor was hilarious and his voice was so quiet, I could hardly hear what he was saying some of the time. I did not get his name, but according to him, he is the main server there 90% of the time they are open. He is a 26-year old Nepal native studying Business Management and Computer Software at Bellevue Community College. He visited his family of 4 older siblings and both parents in Nepal last year since his move to Bellevue in 2012. He is grateful for the diverse cultural understandings that he has obtained here in America as well as Switzerland and back home. His goal is to work for a big company like T-Mobile or Microsoft after gaining the necessary work experience to make it to the big leagues. He prefers to eat goat over lamb because that is what he grew up eating and apparently it is cheaper to raise five kids in Nepal than it is here. Makes sense. Then, after discussing cooking methods, chai tea recipes, contract workers, and school courses, he said, "I just trust in God. A lot of people believe in luck but I know it is all God." Learning some of his life story and watching him work hard for what he wants and trusting completely in God as he lives half a world away from his family was so moving to me. He has almost 10 years on me and yet he is doing what he loves and is putting his complete trust in the Lord. While he may not be at the top of the ladder in a job or living the dream quite yet, he is doing exactly what he is supposed to, no matter how long it takes.
What I learned from his statement was that I am still young and I still have a lot of work ahead of me if I want to get to my goal. This next step in my life is NOT permanent and it is not my destination, it's a stepping stone that I can always hop off of, on to another if need be. Hearing the way our waiter talked and watching him try to find the English equivalent of what he was thinking was not only heart-warming but it goes to show that the Lord knows who to put in your path at just the right time. I second my mom's statement when she said "I want to wrap him up for Christmas and take him home." Well, we are definitely going back to the temple soon so we will definitely be back through India's Gate soon. I even told him to order our food for us next time. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment