My Parable of the Flower

I finally sent this story to the editor of the Ensign, one of the magazines for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We'll see if they ever publish it. Let me know what you think!

Parable of the Flower

By SarahLynn Zavoral

I once had the opportunity to work with people from all walks of life that seemed very different from my own. As I sought the Lord’s will to know how I could serve and work with them, I had a very clear dream. The message I took from it is one I will never forget.

In the dream, I found myself with a group of friends touring a museum. The guide led us into a courtyard where a vase of unusual looking flowers sat on a table. With some solace, the guide informed us that these flowers were special. “When you smell this flower,” he whispered, “it can tell whether you love it or not.”

What a peculiar thing for a flower to do, we thought. With a bit of cynicism toward the guide, a man from our group marched up to the flowers. He stooped down and took a hasty sniff. “I can’t smell a thing,” he announced. “What a wasteful flower, it doesn’t even smell.” Immediately, the flower began to wilt, to which the man became more annoyed. “What a stupid flower! It can’t even last a few moments of someone smelling it!”

Quietly, another man from the group stepped toward the flower that had just wilted before our eyes. He embraced it and gently held it to his nose. “Wow, this flower has the most beautiful fragrance!” Immediately, the flower opened its bud. “And look!” the gentleman cried. “It’s starting to grow again!” He sniffed again and assured us that it smelled wonderful. The flower continued to grow from its wilted state.

Others in the group, including myself, rushed to get a closer look. The flower was magnificent! As life was restored to the flower, colors of the sunset bathed its intricate petals. Pollen wisped throughout the bouquet, and water pearls seemed to rise out of the buds. The fragrance was like fresh honey suckle, and with every graceful whiff that we took from it, the flower grew more beautiful and more fragrant. Soon, its beauty was more remarkable than we had ever seen!

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the first man who smelled the flower. He was alone in a dark corner with one of the flowers from the vase. Unlike the ones I had smelled, all life from his flower was dried up. As he furiously beat at the flower I could hear him say, “What a worthless piece of nature. I don’t understand how everyone is so impressed with you and can love you! You’re no more special than an ugly prairie weed!”

Suddenly, I realized that the insight from the museum guide was true. The flower really could tell who it was loved by, and it responded differently to those who did and didn’t see its worth. I thought to myself, still dreaming, how similar this is with the way we treat people.

The next morning, I knew how I was to work with the people I was serving. I recommitted myself to live the council given to us from our Heavenly Guide in D&C 18:10, “Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God.”

How to Enjoy Marriage

Tomorrow is our two-year wedding anniversary!! We highly recommend being married. In fact, we're surprised that more people aren't getting married these days. Marriage is such a great thing! Already we've experienced a lot of joy from learning and growing together.It was my turn to plan our anniversary celebration, so I took Jeremy to a seafood restaraunt on Newport Beach, and after dinner, he was kidnapped by a Gondola Company. We went on a gondola cruise throughout the port while the sun set. We had baggets, sparkling cider, chease, salami, a gondolier and Italian music. Jeremy was really surprised by it all and actually liked it a lot.
Here's our thoughts on how to enjoy marriage:

• Eat off of the same plate while you watch TV.
• Take pictures of each other. It helps boost his/her self esteem.
• Learn something new to keep impressing your spouse, like playing the piano.
  
• Say "I love you" every time you think it.
  
• Pretend you're in a musical together while you make dinner or get ready for the day.
• Let her wear your clothes.
• Let him watch sports. To make him even happier, pay attention to what's going on, and then you can bring up something about LeBron James just when the time is right.
  
• Sleep as close to each other as possible.
• Occasionally send an email to your spouse about how good looking he/she is.
  
• Order an inexpensive gift like a book to come in the mail for no reason.
• Dance for each other. Make up your own music.
  
• Dance with each other. We find that on the beach is the most fun.
  
• Talk about how much you love Jesus Christ.
  
• While she's working on the computer, quietly walk up to her, give her a passionate kiss, and then quietly walk away--if she let's you.
• Put on something unexpected before he gets home from work.
• Sing the same voice parts to the hymns at church.
• Listen to every detail of her day and then remember it when she brings it up later.
• Watch the sunset together as much as possible.
• Go to bed early. Go to sleep late. ;-)
  

Here's our glam shots to show how HOT we think the other is!

Hermit Crabs, Family Smiles, and Food

I took Katie and Matt to Crystal Cove near Laguna Beach. We got to explore a bunch of tide pools. There were thousands of hermit crabs, hundreds of sea anemones, dozens of sideways walking crabs, several fish and one enormous sea slug. Make sure to click on our slideshow of Katie and Matt's Visit to see all that we did to entertain them.We drove Matt and Katie back to Jeremy's parents house in good ol' Sac Town. It's nice that we don't have to pay one penny for gas because Hormel gave us a company car to use however we want. It's the pimpinest Dodge Charger you've ever seen! My favorite part of the 8 hour drive was having Katie read the play Pygmalion to us. Jeremy says it was his least favorite part. He felt like Katie was yelling in the back seat, but he obviously can't tell the difference between noise and dramatic articulation.

It was Grandpa Davidson's birthday this past week, so we had a party. Don't worry, Jeremy took the opportunity to market as many free Hormel products as he could. The grub from Hormel included natural choice ham, beef wrangler's hotdogs, and for Sunday dinner with the Zavorals, Loyd's shredded beef sandwiches and snack trays.

I love being with family! The Davidson's always make me laugh so much. Not to mention they are great examples of staying strong in the gospel. Grandpa had a bunch of scar wounds from his latest fishing trip. I love how he is still really active, following in Grandma June's footsteps. Next to this picture of Grandpa's battlewound he wanted this caption: "The fish got away." He got injured while trying to get the fish in from the line!
We had a fun time visiting with the Zavoral family, too. Judy made the yummiest angel food cakes ever! This is us with Grandma Ginny, a real trooper.

Are you Type A or Type X?

"Get ready for a momentary intoxication of THRILL!" This is what we heard for a solid hour and forty minutes as we shuffled in line to ride the newest roller coaster at 6 flags Magic Mountain: X2. Make no mistake. This ride was designed for type X extremists with a completely vertical 200 ft drop, 76 mph turns, rotating seats, real fire flames and deafening music.

I was terrified to go on it. When I was young, I loved roller coasters. Heck, I've even been sky diving! But for some reason I've become a total nut case about riding roller coasters. It might be a combination of 1) too much stress with anticipating the first gigantic drop and 2) fear of breaking my jaw from screaming too loud. Silly fear, you might say, but I have my reasons.

So after the stress from the Goliath, Viper, Batman, and Riddler's Revenge, I was ready to throw in the towel. But Katie and Matt, our little sister and brother who are visiting us this week (what a blast it has been so far!) found a sign for X2.

The ride experience begins when you first step in line. As we zig-zagged our way to the loading zone, we were entertained by giant plasma TV's showing people doing crazy things--type X things. All the latest music was being played and we were surrounded by tattoos, abnormally huge earlobes, and skin-tight zebra pants. I suppose these were the true characteristics of those who are type X, as the posters throughout the line kept telling us.

Every now and then, we could here the ominous click, click, click, as the X2 slowly cranked its way to the top of its deathly drop. The threats became more unbearable as we got into the loading chamber. Mysterious voices were sneaking through the loud speakers: "X2......Is everybody in?... It is surely about to begin.....X2......" I was petrified. Why did people want to do this? Matt did his best to console me, but I had too many worries. What if I got brain damage from all the twists and turns? What if I was too skinny for the ride's straps? (I almost fell out of the Tower of Terror when I was 13 because there was 6 inches between me and the lap bar)

Everybody loved the ride. I, well, I didn't really have an opinion because my eyes were sealed shut for the entire thing. I survived, and that's what mattered. It's weird, though. I couldn't even tell when the giant drop was. Blind people must get really bored by roller coasters.

Of course, Matt, Katie and Jeremy wanted to go on it again. I figured it wouldn't be too bad. If I didn't die with my eyes closed, it would probably be just as safe with my eyes open. We stood in line for another hour and fifty minutes. Tired of all the Type X advertisements and movie clips, we passed the time by playing Guess My Number. Katie and Matt are really good at that game!

Whoah. With my eyes open it was a whole different experience. Scary. Thrilling. Confusing. Hot when the flames shot out. Noisy. A lot like flying.

But I still like sky diving better. It's funny, really, because sky diving seems more type X than a roller coaster, right? Wrong. Sky diving is less scary because there are no mysteries about what's going to happen. You know that for the whole time you are going nowhere but down.

So I guess sky diving equals type A and roller coasters equals type X. I'm proud to be type A. What are you?

The Woes of Being Unemployed

Well, Jeremy is doing great with his career, but I've basically been shooting the breeze out here for the last two months. Yeah, I've got my Sing Me English project, a new calling at church, and a bunch of goals to keep me occupied. But without a job, things have been pretty solitary-- and at times depressing-- for me. Needless to say, it is a little weird being a stay at home mom without actually being a mom. My biggest decision lately has been whether I should watch TV or read a book before I go to the pool. I do a lot of blogging, email, bill paying and cleaning. (I never realized how much laundry two people can create in a week!)

Although not having accountability to anyone was a luxury the first week or two, I'm getting antsy to have a real job. But not just any job, I want to be doing what I am passionate about, what I spent 5 years in college for. I want to be bringing joy to children with music and the arts. I feel the same way I did last summer: stuck...waiting...until we're in a more permanent position.

I'm going to be a substitute teacher once school starts. It should be interesting to get a taste of education in CA. But it's VERY frustrating knowing that I will only be here in HB for 6 months. The next destination is also temporary before we will finally make it to Minnesota permanently. It feels like it will be forever before I can be a real teacher again.

I've got to trust the Lord that this fast track career plan for Jeremy will pay off in the long run. Right now, it's a good test of my faith and patience. Most of the time I feel like I'm not doing anything to improve others' lives, and that is SO frustrating. I know I have a lot to offer the world and that there is so much I can be learning out there, but it's harder to do that when we're only somewhere temporarily. Often, I find myself dwelling on this past year of teaching and wishing that I could still be with those students. They were so wonderful! When this happens, I have to tell myself to look forward. If I was able to create great experiences during my 3 months in Minnesota last summer, then with the Lord's help, I can have twice as much joy serving here. The challenge is finding such opportunities where I can get paid at the same time!