Stay Calm and Count to 500

Kenz turned off Friends and said "ready to go to the gym?"

I let out a disgusted grunt and she began counting "1..2...3.."

Not wanting to get out of my comfy bed I continued "...4...5...6..."

She picked it up where I left off "...7...8...9..."

Then a light bulb flicked on in my head "can we count to 500 before we go to the gym?" I half begged.

And the counting continued.

We each took turns saying three numbers at a time.

You would not believe how hard it is to count to 500 and how much it will make you giggle.

It was a tongue twister and I found myself repeating the same number a few times, which resulted in more laughter.

Yes, I know how to count I promise, I go to college you know.

As we were counting I wondered if our roommates could hear us and what they were thinking.

My thoughts then trailed off to a weird place... I started thinking "Hey we should do this every day and time ourselves. Yeah. That would be fun!!"

Needless to say, the gym wasn't as bad today because I kept thinking about counting to 500 and how enlightening it was.

I'm just glad Kenzie is as crazy as me.

I've been very blessed to have her as my roommate.

Speaking of blessed... I'm going to let my heart explode on this page.

I hope that is ok.

Thanks!

Last night the winds raged and stole every ounce of sleep from my eyes.

I woke up {ha not! you can't wake up when you never fell asleep} and the day started out real poopy.

I got my math test back... BLAH!

I failed my agriculture quiz {don't worry mamma my grades are doing well still}

and I got lost trying to go to my communications meeting, BIG miscommunication there.

 I was bummed out!

Then two things happen today that changed everything.

One it rained and two in institute we talked about trials.

Those are the VERY things my blog is named after.

Dane in the rainstorm of life.

The first time I thought about starting this blog was a time of great adversity.

I was going through so much and I thought if I could set aside a happy place in my life I could find peace.

I wanted to write about trials and how they are beneficial.

I thought "well gee if I have to go through this heck hole then I should help others so they don't have to do it alone."

NO ONE and I mean NO ONE should ever go through life feeling alone.

Oh that thought kills me.

If you ever feel alone you aren't.

There is a God and he loves you so much, and if you don't know if there is a God just try to talk to Him and you will come to know for yourself.

Why do I love the rain so much?

It's a metaphor for me.

The rain represents trials.

Now ponder this, rain gives life to the earth.

It turns withered plants {your faith} green.

It can drown your dreams or it can lift your soul and wash it clean.

The outcome is completely up to you.

When there is no way around the stormy day choose to dance in the rain.

I don't know if that makes sense but it's how I feel.

The rain is Gods promise to me that he is there for me through every step in my life.

I walked peacefully to institute with a smile on my face and a prayer in my heart.

The topic for discussion today was "Trials of Faith."

I was overwhelmed with such peace as everyone participated in the class discussion.

I learned so much and I will try to sum things up and share it with you.

I learned that trials never stop, they will continue through out life.

That may seem daunting at first but in reality it is such a blessing.

Think about it, you haven't become the best you can be through your easy experiences, your true character has been shaped by the struggles.

The struggles make you strong and beautiful.

I know mine have.

I know that I am so much more compassionate because of what I have been through.

I love people so much more than I ever could if life was easy for me.
There is so much hope that is gained through the growth made possible through trials.

The magic of the day didn't end there.

As I was listening to the lesson I had a thought come to my mind.

That thought was: "My calling on this Earth is to show love to people."

You know when you have thoughts and you're like "nahhhh not me." and you brush it off.

Well I was in the process of brushing when I had another thought... write that down.

and so I did.

After my gym work out my sister called me and told me about thegirlwiththewhiteboard.

There is this girl who goes to different cities and writes inspirational messages on a whiteboard.

She talks to multiple people and day and listens to their touching stories and then she turns around and shares them on her blog.

I got off the phone with my sister and looked her up, I read a few posts and cried tears of joy.

There are people out there like me, crazy enough to think that they can make a difference.

I tell you what, those crazy people DO make a difference.

I was inspired so much by this girls project.

I had the impression today "your calling on Earth is to show love to people."

I was overwhelmed by that thought, I didn't know what to make of it or how I would accomplish it

and then my sister called and gave me the miraculous idea of getting to know other peoples stories and learning to love them.

Nothing in this day has been a coincidence.

I am so humbled, Gods hand is truly at work in my life.

My eyes water as I write this and I hope that you have felt something.

I hope that in life you will find a passion and follow it.

This is me trying to follow mine.

Always believe and dream big.

Photo by Angela Smith

and dear reader... I do love you and appreciate the time you take to read my posts.

You are important.