Lesson Learned from Clay Balls

A man was exploring caves by the Seashore. In one of the caves he found a canvas bag with a bunch of hardened clay balls. It was like someone had rolled clay balls and left them out in the sun to bake. They didn't look like much, but they intrigued the man, so he took the bag out of the cave with him. As he strolled along the beach, he would throw the clay balls one at a time out into the ocean as far as he could.
He thought little about it, until he dropped one of the clay balls and it cracked open on a rock . Inside was a beautiful, precious stone! Excited, the man started breaking open the remaining clay balls. Each contained a similar treasure. He found thousands of dollars worth of jewels in the 20 or so clay balls he had left.
Then it struck him. He had been on the beach a long time. He had thrown maybe 50 or 60 of the clay balls with their hidden treasure into the ocean waves. Instead of thousands of dollars in treasure, he could have taken home tens of thousands, but he had just thrown it away!

It's like that with people. We look at someone, maybe even ourselves, and we see the external clay vessel. It doesn't look like much from the outside. It isn't always beautiful or sparkling, so we discount it. We see that person as less important than someone more beautiful or stylish or well known or wealthy. But we have not taken the time to find the treasure hidden inside that person.

There is a treasure in each and every one of us. If we take the time to get to know that person, and if we ask God to show us that person the way He sees them, then the clay begins to peel away and the brilliant gem begins to shine forth. May we not ome to the end of our lives and find out that we have thrown away a fortune in friendships because the gems were hidden in bits of clay. May we see the people in our world as God sees them.

I am so blessed by the gems of friendship I have with you. Thank you for looking beyond my clay vessel.

APPRECIATE EVERY SINGLE THING YOU HAVE--ESPECIALLY YOUR FRIENDS! LIFE IS TOO SHORT AND FRIENDS ARE TOO FEW!

Tender Mercies...

"We should not underestimate or overlook the power of the Lord’s tender mercies. The simpleness, the sweetness, and the constancy of the tender mercies of the Lord will do much to fortify and protect us in the troubled times in which we do now and will yet live. When words cannot provide the solace we need or express the joy we feel, when it is simply futile to attempt to explain that which is unexplainable, when logic and reason cannot yield adequate understanding about the injustices and inequities of life, when mortal experience and evaluation are insufficient to produce a desired outcome, and when it seems that perhaps we are so totally alone, truly we are blessed by the tender mercies of the Lord and made mighty even unto the power of deliverance."

-- David A. Bednar,"The Tender Mercies of the Lord"

Cedar City

I love Cedar City! I had a great opportunity to return to Cedar last weekend (February 20-22). It was dance placement and scholarship auditions at SUU, so I took one of my students, Camille Anthian, to audition. We headed for Cedar City after ballet class on Friday evening, after stopping to grab some dinner at Subway. We drove straight thru only stopping at Walmart in Cedar to get breakfast food before heading to Kay's, where we were staying. I haven't seen Kay for years, but it was as though we had never been apart. It was very strange pulling into Cedar, I felt as though I had returned home. It was the best, most peaseful feeling.

We got to kay's house about 10:00 PM and ther he was to great us with the sad news that Larry H Miller had passed away. Kay had a performance of Coppelia that night and was still in his make-up... But it was just like old times...
Camille was exhausted, so she crashed and Kay and I sat up and chatted, caught up on the last several years, reminsced about the crazy days. Saturday was auditions for Camille, so I dropped her off at SUU about 9:30, and I ran in to say HI to all of my former professors. It was great to see Shauna and chat with her about life and some of my desires. During auditions I headed over the Christensens, my second favorite store to shop at. My first favorite is H&M. The auditions went amazingly well! I am so happy for Camille! After auditions I walked Camille around the campus, gave her a bit of a tour. What a gorgeous campus. While walking around I ran into a couple of individuals that I worked with while I was working with the Utah Shakespearean Festival. It was gerat to chat with Jill and Scott. After the campus tour, it was time to eat... and where better to go than La Fiesta, my favorite restaurant in Cedar City. I had to introduce Camille to it, especially if she is going to school in Cedar!

Saturday evening Camille and I headed to the Heritage Theater to see Coppelia performed by the Cedar City Junior Ballet, and Kay of course. I was very impressed with the ballet. The Heritage Theater is new the Cedar City and it was a gorgeous theater and huge. There were several in the ballet that I went to school with, so it was great to see them and watch them dance again. There were also several in the audience that graduated with me as well. So it was a great time to have a bit of a reunion. Fun to see where everyone is and has ended up. I also ran into Fred Adams, the founder of the Shakespearean Festival. He is always a joy to talk with.

Sunday, it was time head back to Salt Lake City. I was sad to be leaving Cedar, but Camille had school on Monday and I had work :( Kay had early church and we had to hit the road to get back. Yes, Camille and I are still in our jammies and Kay is ready for church. So off Kay went and we packed the car and hit the road.

I really wanted to just stay there. Life in Cedar feels so much more peaceful and calm.. Oh well. Back to SLC for now. I am heading back to Cedar the weekend of March 7th for a Dance Department Reunion. So Look out Cedar, I am coming back!