Following

I know only a few people who blog. An ex girlfriend named Jamie who sometimes comments on my postings. Then there is Preston's wife. Preston is a gentleman that I work with. I have only met his wife and seen her a few times, but I know she must be great because of how happy she makes Preston. He has been working at the same hotel as me for maybe 3 years, 2 for sure? Him and his wife were married and I wondered why they didn't have any children. I asked him if they were planning on it and from the way he made is sound they were in no hurry. They are the cutest couple and I was excited when I heard that they were pregnant. Well, if you click on his blog (Payne) and just read the latest post you will learn what happened. His wife wasn't due to have the baby until like December 15th or something like that. There son was born October 12th two months premature! It was sad to hear, but the baby is now home and is doing well.
It is sad to hear stories like that. After having a healthy baby boy it hurts me to think of people who have problems with their pregnancies. My step sister had a miscarriage, my best friend's sister had a miscarriage. An uncle and his girlfriend who would babysit me when they were minors were married. He wasn't really an uncle, my mom's boyfriend's cousin. Him and his girlfriend have married since then and have a little girl. He is a bowler and I talked to him while Sheri was in term with Triton. Come to find out that they had 4 or 5 miscarriages! That is just so sad. My best friend and his wife are unable to have children. I feel for them and wish that they never had to know such pain. Preston's story is a bad one at first, but obviously turned out for the good.
Jamie was a girlfriend from high school. We dated on and off for 4 years until her return missionary (whom she married) came home from serving a full time mission. I can't remember where he went, I think it was stateside. He is a good guy and they have three children of their own. Sheri and I have done a couple of things with them in the past, but not since having children.
I used to go to movies all of the time, and now that Triton "the hinderer" is here we hardly ever go.
Anyway, Jamie was the one who introduced me to the gospel. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I had never gone to church previous to attending with her. She and her family never pushed it on me either, which was a blessing. I imagine if they would have I might have never have learned the truth. I am the only on in my family that is a member. I believe my mom's side were all baptized, but nothing ever solidified for them. My grandma on my mother's side is a member and she knows that it is true, but she let's the worldly things interfere with her progression. I myself was baptized when I was a junior in high school. I believe in the church and know that it is true, but I myself have had trouble simply going to church. I am not prefect, but I know that I would be temple worthy if I simply attended church.
It makes me sad that I don't know how to introduce the church to people. I never went on a mission because I was a convert and felt that I didn't know enough to go on a mission. I wanted to really bad, but never did.
One of my mom's old boyfriends who has been having an extremely tough time with his life has had some people from the church befriend him. They live near him and have had him in their home for dinner once or twice. He admires their willingness to help him in any way possible. I talked with him about this and learned that he might take part in the missionary discussions. I don't think that he has because satan (sorry I don't like to capitalize his name) has of course distracted him. The first night after he went to dinner at these people's home he was excited and wanted to learn about the church because they told him the story of Joseph Smith. This is the sad part of the story, he asked me why I never shared this story with him! It struck me pretty hard and I pray to become a better person and a friend to not just him, but to anyone who knows me. A lot of people, friends and family look up to me because they know I don't drink, they know that I don't smoke, they know that I don't do drugs. They know I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and they respect that. This same friend that is having a tough time in his life right now said the best thing to me one day. Him not knowing anything about the church confronted me when I joked about ordering a beer one night bowling. Everyone there knew that I would never drink, and I shouldn't have joked about it, but he still took it upon him self to threaten me. He said he would slap me silly or something to that effect if he ever caught me drinking. I was probably 24 at the time of him saying this! Thus, it wasn't my age to the reasoning of his reaction to my joke. My work schedule is going to be changing at the beginning of the year and I hope to go with him to these people's home while he partakes in the missionary discussions.
It saddens me that I cannot be a better example to those around me and pray to change that. It saddens me that I know about the one true church on this earth and I am too afraid to share it. I am grateful for Jamie and her family. Their family is the reason that I was interested in hearing about the church. They were great examples to me. Sure I was adolescent and impressionable, but after many years later my love for their whole family has grown stronger. I never see them anymore, but the admiration that we have for each other is still there. I know that I can call Jamie's father and ask him for anything and he would do whatever he could to help. He is one of my most favorite people in the world. I wish that someone would feel the same about me someday, but I know that I have to be willing to share my testimony with them about the church.