Life and Tracks on The Trail

    One morning as I was running, I looked down and saw lots of tracks in the frozen mud and I became intrigued with figuring what type of animal each one was from. The problem was I spent too much energy looking down as I was still running and soon found myself hitting the ground.  As I picked up my pride and slowly went on my way I thought about the calamity around us right now with the COVID-19 pandemic. How it has changed our lives in just a few short weeks. Many times, I  have wished I did not have so many things on my plate, activities on my schedule or thought about what it would be like to live a little simpler life. It is not at all how I envisioned it, but POOF my wish was granted.  Now isolation, quarantined and social distancing become the words that are used to describe our lives.  

     Sure this whole thing is still scary and we need to follow the council we have been given to stop the spread of the virus, but we need to not let it consume us.  It is really hard to not join the crowd in panic when it in our faces. I have caught myself in those moments lately, hence the reason I now have a box full of flush-able wipes. Other than that panic moment, I have tried to remind myself to breathe, think realistically and most importantly keep the faith.

     After the recent earthquake in Utah, I found myself thinking about the statue of Moroni standing on top of the Salt Lake Temple with no trumpet and thought maybe this is a sign to drop the unnecessary things in our life, slow down and put extra effort in standing strong during these uncertain and as recently, literally shaky times.  It is also proof  if we stand firm and steadfast, we can be shaken and still be unmovable.  It is a time for reflection to look at who are we becoming and who will we be when we emerge from this.  

Such times invite us to look into our soul and see if we like what we see there.”

 —Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

 A few days later, I crossed that same frozen muddy trail that I had fallen down on.  I stopped to look up, enjoy the sunshine and thanked my Heavenly Father for the many blessings in my life.  Then slowly walked a short distance and took the time to notice the details in the animal tracks instead of running past them. A lot of them had become faded by bicycle tires (still pretty cool though).  

I thought of my body lying there on that frozen mud because I had been so caught up in what was going on around me. I pondered how important it is to be aware of our surrounding and what is going on around us, but to not let it bring us down. Even though we need to be cautious and careful we can find joy in life just as it is.  In due time we will be back to our busy lives, but right is the time to slow down, keep the faith, stand strong and find the good things in all of this.  Just like those tracks in the mud, I suddenly had faith that in time this pandemic will also fade. 

Stay Safe and Healthy!

XOXO

Tiffanee

 A couple of my favorite animal tracks I found.