Brownie Pan. :)

The other night I had a sugar craving at midnight that landed me in the kitchen making brownies. :) When they were finished, I was dishing them up, and the different kids who had mysteriously woken from their deep slumbers were telling me whether or not they wanted a corner, side, or middle piece. Well, when you have a family of 9, the brownies disappear pretty quickly. Finally, there was just one brownie left--a corner one. My little sister asked if I wanted it, and I told her no. I don't like the corner pieces. She does, so she took it. That is where my thinking began. Each member of my family likes a different brownie. That is what makes each of them happy and what gets rid of the entire pan. I mean, if we all only liked the middle pieces, someone would either always be unsatisfied, or there would always be a layer around the edge that didn't get eaten. It takes all sorts of people to make the world go round, to make an entire pan of brownies disappear. It takes a wide range of personalities to make a family function and learn from each other. Lately, I have been worried that my major isn't really going to get me anywhere big and successful in life. My mom, who usually sheds light on the situations that need shedding light on, reminded me that I didn't have to be big and successful to make a difference. The world takes all different sorts of people to make things work. If we were all big and successful, no one would be! There would be no motivation to work harder and progress. Even if I never become some big name cellist, I will be content with just working as hard as I feel I can and maybe teaching future big name cellists. I guess I'm content with being the person in the world and my family who likes the middle brownie. It's okay not to have some huge, important career or dream. My dreams are to get married, be a mom, teach cello students, and play in the OTS someday, and that is enough. Everyone else can finish off the rest of the pan. :)

cour-age.

So, that first step off of the cliff when you are repelling is the worst, right? The push to jump off of that high dive...putting that first piece of sushi in your mouth, looking through the bottom of a glass elevator, etc. I was thinking today on my long drive home from one of the best weekends I've had in a long time. All it takes to sever your fears of unknown and new things is 5 seconds of insane courage. It takes breathing out and pushing yourself off of that cliff, letting gravity pull you from the high dive, plugging your nose and shoving that seaweed, rice, and raw fish into your mouth (I love sushi, for the record). I think that courage isn't bravery and strength, but rather the trust that it is going to be okay in the end. My trusty friend dictionary.com defines courage in this way : cour-age. noun. 1. The quality of mind of spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc, without fear.  The quality of mind or spirit...what a beautiful way to describe it. You have to have a strong quality of mind and spirit. You have to calm your fears in your mind and remember calm your spirit and know that God has a way planned for you. Now, I am not saying that trying a piece of sushi for the first time is going to change your life in some huge way or anything, but trying that strengthened your mind and spirit. It gave you a little more will power. Courage. Try it today. Do something new. Trust that He is going to help you out. :)