To Work an Hour, or All Day?

Photo by Trent Erwin on Unsplash

The parable of the laborers in the vineyard has always been a confusing one for me. If I had worked all day on a project and then someone came in at the very end, just to help with the finishing touches, I would not be happy to find out they were getting payed the same as me. I mean, who did most of the work? I did. Shouldn't I deserve more than the guy who only gave an hour of his time?

Sure enough I'm not the only one who thinks this way. In fact, that's exactly what happened in the parable Christ gives in Matthew 20:1–15. It starts with an owner of a vineyard going out in the morning to find workers. He agrees with them that their wage for the day will be a penny—the normal wage for that time. These workers agree, relieved that they have found work to keep food on the table.

Then, the vineyard owner goes out again, sees that there are still people looking for work, and decides to hire them as well. He doesn't tell them how much they will be paid, but the laborers go anyway because anything was better than nothing. He does that three more times, even going out with just one more hour before the working day is over:

6 And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?

7 They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.

I'm sure these men didn't even hope to get a third of a days wage. But even an hour's wage might give them enough to feed their children dinner.

The fact that every laborer receives the same wage—a full day's—that's what seemed unfair to me. Until this past week. It was only then that I finally understood what Elder Holland spoke about five years ago in his talk "The Laborers in the Vineyard,"

What I didn't realize before was the context of the times. It was common that each family only got by from day to day, and if they didn't find work one day, they didn't know where their next meal would  come from.

With this in mind, those first workers would have been relieved when they were chosen to labor in the vineyard. They got to go the whole day knowing that their family's next few meals were paid for.

Those that were hired at the very last, they spent the whole day worrying and stressing about how they were going to take care of their family. What would they say at the end of the day when they come home with nothing? They probably did everything they could to try and find work, but no one wanted them. And so they were left idle, with no hope.

So really, who was suffering more? Sure the first laborers had to bear "the burden and heat of the day," but their suffering was only physical. They at least had peace of mind. But the last laborers, their suffering was pure mental anxiety. They had no direction, no purpose to their day.

No wonder the owner of the vineyard had so much mercy on them. He felt their suffering and was willing to give them an equal share of hope. And that's what the true Master of the Vineyard does with all of us. No matter when we come with a desire to serve Him, He will hire us, and He will reward us with the same reward: eternal life.

We are all laborers, looking for a way to provide hope to our families. And no matter when we do discover Christ and His work, we will all be accepted with equal love.

Mother, Thy Faith Will Make Thee Whole

Photo by Dawid Sobolewski on Unsplash

Being a mother—this has always terrified me. The discomfort and pain, the lack of sleep, the complete surrender of personal desires... That doesn't sound very appealing. Not to mention, I feel incredibly under-qualified. If motherhood was a job and I had to turn in a resume, there would be no reason for Heavenly Father to hire me.

And yet, he will anyway. Me, an under-qualified candidate who has always dreaded the idea of having children.

Someday, I'll be a mother. Weird.

But this post isn't for me. I write this for all of those young mothers that I know. The mothers that I see trying so hard to raise their children and still stay on their feet. They all look so strong! These new mothers take the pain and the fatigue with such grace. Yet, I know it can't be easy.

If they are anything like I would be, they don't feel qualified for the work they are doing. It must be overwhelming and just plain exhausting.

If I were to send these amazing mothers anywhere, it would be to Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's talk, "Because She Is a Mother." When I become a mother myself, I think I might listen to this every day. It's that powerful and reassuring.

The part that stood out to me this time around was the very end, when Elder Holland compares mothers to the woman in Matthew 9:20-22 who had the faith to be healed, but did not feel worthy enough to approach the Savior directly. I had never thought about it before, but this woman is so similar to the mothers I know: She did everything in her power to find the cure to her disease, hiring doctor after doctor, taking medicine after medicine. I'm sure that she prayed to Heavenly Father for help during those 12 years of sickness. Any mother will do the same, doing everything in her power to raise her children the best she can.

And just like with the woman in the Bible, the answer comes in Christ. He is the healer, both physically and spiritually. If you think about it, mothers really do experience miracles every day—how else would they be able to keep going with little sleep and no time for themselves? That, to me, sounds like a miracle in which the body is literally being healed. So too can mothers, like the woman in the Bible, be spiritually healed as well.

So to all the mothers out there who are feeling a little overworked, "You are doing God's work. You are doing it wonderfully well. He is blessing you and He will bless you even—no, especially—when your days and your nights may be the most challenging. Like the woman who anonymously, meekly, perhaps even with hesitation and some embarrassment, fought her way through the crowd just to touch the hem of the Master's garment, so Christ will say to the women who worry and wonder and sometimes weep over their responsibility as mothers, 'Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole'" (Holland).

Home Sweet Home

It's been almost a week since I arrived back in my good ol' Mountain Home, after a crazy semester at BYU! Already, I've gotten so much done concerning my mission. I am positive that nothing could have been better than having this month in between school and my MTC report date, dedicated to preparing.

Also while I'm here, I am back working at the Base Pool, which keeps me on a schedule and gets me a little extra money (any is a blessing!). I love teaching kids how to swim! It makes my day to see how excited they are to be in the water. :) And it also doesn't hurt that I get to be in the water myself! I've missed swimming so badly, and am pretty surprised at how smooth my strokes feel even after five months with no swimming. But how am I going to survive a whole year and a half?? I'll be jumping in the first pool I find once I'm back haha

Today I got to see my awesome little nephew Kru, and I felt like a million bucks with how excited he was to see me. My favorite thing would have to be him yelling "I love you" over and over as I'm leaving for work, and then later as he was heading out the door, he comes running back to me asking for a hug. I give him a big bear hug and let go, but he hangs on :) I love him!

Weirdest thing that happened this past week:
My friend Nora and I are checking all the fluids in my car, and as we are in the garage getting some coolant, we hear the sound of glass falling/crunching. I look over at the window, and stare at it with shock written all over my face. The window was broken! How did that happen? We never even heard a crash!

I walk around to the outside just to see what could have broken it when I see Nora, who had gone to investigate on the inside, staring at the ground. She slowly said, "Christina? You might want to come see this..."

In my mind I'm freaking out about how maybe the car was damaged or something, but as I come around the corner, I end up in the same bewildered position that Nora had been.

There, lying on the ground in the midst of broken glass, was a headless squirrel. No blood, no gore. Just a squirrel without a head.

And that's the end of the story. Or at least it leaves you in the same predicament we were. How in the world did that squirrel come flying through the window, when did it, and why did it have no head??!

Sadly, our detective skills were inadequate, and we never were able to figure it out. The good news to the story was that the missionaries were able to come over and board up our window, and we happened to have a board EXACTly the right size.

Mariah's Gift - Book Page Necklace

I have so much to say! It's no good when you don't blog for a whole week, especially when it's the first week of a semester! Now I've got to relate all the interesting things that happened! But really, there's only one that I'm going to post about right now, and that is my present to Mariah!

It's been quite a while since I first posted that I was making it, but I couldn't post what the present was until I had given it to her, in order to not spoil the surprise. And then I had a busy week of school, so I'm just barely getting around to it.

I made a necklace for her, after reading another person's how to. Here's the site so you can make your own! Mandipidy - Book Page Necklace

All you need is a 30-inch long chain, some pages of a book (or printouts), pearl beads, jump rings, and a clasp. Also some Modge Podge for the finish of the paper cutouts, and a lighter if you want to burn the edges like I did. Make sure that when you get the jump rings, they aren't the coiled ones, because those do NOT work (I speak from experience). 

This is a picture of my finished project:

I am so proud of myself for making this. And the reason both I and Mariah love it so much is because I made it special to her. For example, the pages that I chose are things that are a part of her life. There is: German, Italian, Music, The Hobbit, Marvel, the Book of Mormon, and a dictionary definition that pertains to her. It's awesome! So when she wears it, it isn't just a stylish accessory, but it symbolizes pieces of her heart.

If I were to do anything differently, I would put the same picture on both sides of the circle cut outs, so that when it flips around you can't tell. It's a hassle having to make sure they are always flipped the right way.

So if you need a gift idea, this is a great one! You can do a bracelet version too, or maybe even earrings.Just experiment with it and make it special to the giftee.

Best Scrabble Game You've Ever Seen

Today was the last day with my family... and now I'm back in Provo!

We played scrabble today.. and it was the best game of scrabble I have ever played (with a real board and no dictionary). Usually it always seems to be three letter words, and its really hard to get to the edge of the board. But this time the whole last half of the fame was crazy difficult because we were already to the edge. Here's a picture of the finished game. There are some pretty good words on there.

Pretty much as soon as I got back I went on a date sledding. It was a blast! I wiped out my first two times down the hill, because I was on a bent sled so it always went right-- right into all the disrupted snow of course. But after that it was great! The park was a sledding paradise, with hills all around, plenty of room for everybody.

Now I'm hanging out with my best friends, Apt 107! These guys were the first friends I made last semester in Centennial Apts. where I can just head over to the place anytime. I love chillin' here!

As the last day to be able to just enjoy the day without school worries, I spent it well!

I'm no Chess Player

I am terrible at chess. That is all.

I guess I'll tell you about my sad games, both against my mom. First of all, whenever I play with her, it takes forever because she thinks about every turn for five minutes. So the first game, I would do other things between each turn and then she wouldn't remember to tell me that I was in check. Then, after I've already gone ahead with my plan that required two moves in a row with the same piece, she tells me "Oh, you're in check!" So then I have to move my king rather than continue with my other move, which results in my queen being killed. This happened multiple times, all with special pieces.

I was then put in check-mate, when I should have been check-mating her.

The second game we both had the same strategy, which was defensive. For the first half of the game, neither of us got anywhere. It ended with her having her king, bishop, knight, and pawn while I had my king, queen, and pawn. I then made a dumb move that got my queen killed, so I gave up.

What I learned from this experience. Never challenge anyone to a game of chess, because I would probably not win.

However, I would like to play more often so I can get some practice.

Bolivia - I'm Going There Someday

Another chill day with the family. I just spent at least two hours with my dad looking at different places in Bolivia on Google Earth. It was really great to hear his stories and see the places he was talking about at the same time.

My father is from a little town called Tupiza, right in between some mountains. It's literally impossible to expand because it's squeezed in there as it is. The whole geology of it is very interesting (I actually did gain something from taking that class last semester!) and I am interested to know how it happened. My dad pointed out that there two strips of red mountain, and in between them is normal, so what event caused those rocks to change? Somehow the mountains were petrified into solid rock, in small strips. I may just go to my former Geology professor and ask him, because it looks really interesting!

I seriously want to go there though. Like now, ASAP. But I just have no way! I'm going to have to wait at least three years before I could even think of taking a trip down there, and by then I could be married, so that would put a flaw in any plans.. But gah, I need to go visit and meet that half of my family! I feel so disconnected with them, like they aren't really my family, just some people who I hear stories about sometimes.

It will happen. Just you wait, in five years or so, I'll be blogging about my experiences with my family in the third-world country of Bolivia-- my heritage.

Music, Music, Music

Today wasn't a crazy eventful day, just one of those good, relaxing ones! I was able to do some of a puzzle, play games with my little cousin Diana, watch a movie, and continue going through my music to see what I have and don't have.

Music is something that has been a big part of my life, but not in the way that most people who say that mean. I wasn't and am still not someone who listens to music all the time, and would die if I didn't have my headphones. When I was younger, my mom didn't allow me to listen to the radio at all, or even any music that wasn't religious. Anytime I tried to listen in my room, she (with ears like a dolphin) would call out, "Christina! Turn it off!"

So my childhood music was playing the piano, church music, flute in band, and some violin which didn't last very long. If you ask me about a popular song in the 90s, I probably won't know it.

However, the last couple years I've been able to actually pay attention to popular music, and over the past years I've finally found favorite artists and styles. I love being able to hear a song and know who it's by!

Currently, I'm trying to explore new artists and feel what kind of genre I like best. Whenever people ask me what my favorite genre is, I reply that I don't really have one. I always say that I just like songs I can sing to. One friend replied that you could sing to any song-- however, that's not true! What I mean by saying that statement is this: to me, the lyrics are the most important part of a song. I want to be able to hear them, understand them, and connect with them. And when I do, I will want to sing along! So it has to be something reasonable-sounding when it's sung. NOT screaming or husky voices.. None of that. And I'm not a huge fan of long instrumental solos either, at least in popular music. 

My current job gives me a lot of time to get to know songs. I'm custodian working night shift, 10:30pm - 1:30am, and I clean the racquetball courts. Now these courts are awesome for singing in because they make everything about eight times louder. It's fantastic!So I get to belt my music nonstop for three hours without any distractions. That's one reason I'm still working there.

My favorite artists, the ones I can listen to everyday at work, are currently

• Regina Spektor
• Ingrid Michaelson
• A Fine Frenzy

Yes, they are all female artists.. I'm working on getting more male voices in my musical collection.

Because not many people are familiar with A Fine Frenzy, here's a sample of her work. This was the song that first struck me, resulting in my devotion:

One other type of music that I really enjoy listening to is soundtracks from movies. My cousin Mariah was the one that got me addicted on these the past year, as she is a music whiz and loves all that stuff. At first I was just infatuated with the Lord of the Rings soundtrack, but now I've been listening to any and all soundtracks! Some other good ones (though nothing can top LOTR) are Stardust, How to Train Your Dragon, and Pirates of the Caribbean.

I'm excited to be able to learn more great songs and artists, and appreciate this form of art even more than I have in the past. I'd love for you to tell me, what are you interested in and why?

Good Day

I finished my present to Mariah!! It looks and is awesome. Honestly, I'm jealous that she's going to own it. :P I will post pics once she gets it, so you can see how cool I am! lol But really, it took FOREVER, my poor fingers feel like they just played the guitar for hours, and my hand was cramping way before I was finished. I have no idea how people get so good and doing stuff like that: crafts, tables, cars, etc. I mess up so many times before I finally get it right, it would not be a good idea for me to try to make anything big.
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I also finally (hopefully) finished my medical section of my mission papers!! Joy to the world! I have been going back and forth nonstop this past week, at least once a day, often twice to three times. Mainly just because the doctor's office forgot something, then I did, then I had to get more stuff done, then more forgetting, etc. It was crazy! But it's done! The dentist and doctor are ready to send off their paperwork.
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I just watched this movie about the Mexico/America border called American Flyer. It brought back a lot of the stuff that I talked about in my last class-- Latin American Humanities. It's really neat to see that classes can make a difference in life. I was just looking through a dollar-movie rack and because it was about something I had just barely studied, I got the movie. It was pretty sad to see what their lives are like, but it taught a lot about what really goes on over there. Another good one that doesn't show as much of the violence is Under the Same Moon. Both of these are great movies worth watching if you care about your neighbors. They just want the freedom that we have, and I wish we could give it to them.

Science and Religion Work Together

Gingerbread, frosting, gingerbread, and more frosting. My mind feels like it's going to melt into nothing. Although I'm unable to say that I finished my house, I did get the actual frame set up, and tomorrow is just for decorating!

One important item of business-- I'll have you know that the dates on most of my posts are one day behind, because I have a habit of posting at one or two in the morning. I am going to try and post before 12, but we'll see how that goes. :)

What I really want to talk about tonight is the AWESOME talk I had with my dad. We were able to talk about gospel and science related things, without it ending in someone huffing off. 

My dad is not a member of the church (of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), while I've mentioned before that my mom is a very stalwart member--and both of them are very stubborn. So naturally, they get into pretty heated conversations/arguments about the gospel. I often would sit for hours just listening to them go back and forth. This may be the reason I was so quiet when I was younger. I'm just not the type to cut in when others are speaking; I let people say what they are going to say, because I hate being cut off myself. But when there's people other than me, I often don't have room to add anything.

However, today the missionaries came and asked my father if he had ever read the Book of Mormon. He replied that he hadn't read it straight through, but had compared it to the Bible years ago. This is when I had the idea of what I wanted for my Christmas present, as well as my birthday (exactly three months from Christmas). After the missionaries were gone I proposed my wish: "For my Christmas present, I want you to begin reading the Book of Mormon, and for my Birthday I want you to finish it." I also requested that he not compare it to anything else, as I know this would take the Spirit away, so that he can just read it for what it is. He agreed! 

We continued talking about beliefs, which led to a discussion about how science and religion can be paired. My father agreed that these two do work together. My biggest problem with society in general is that Science is one thing and Religion is another, and we think that one disproves the other.

However, this is not true! God is Science. Science is not proving that things happen by chance, but rather proving that such intricate designs must have a designer. 

As "smart" as mother nature is, she's not a being and could not have naturally made such a huge immensity of complex organisms and elements.

I took Geology this last semester, and learned about things that I honestly didn't even think necessary to know, and yet they still existed. Each and every little detail matters in our universe. This world is so complicated of a subject, because of just how specific things have to be in order to make a world such as ours. Specificity is not natural. As my professor always said, mother nature is lazy and always takes the easiest way. There's no way "she" pays attention to detail. There's got to be Someone that does. 

Evolution was brought up after my father was trying to tell me his belief about the difference between facts and truth. I don't understand his reasoning perfectly, but I did glean something which I agree with: fact and truth are not the same thing. Fact has been scientifically proven, knowledge that the human race has accumulated. Truth, however, is what is-- always has been and always will be. The facts that we have today are only a small pinpoint of the truth. According to these definitions, anything having to do with faith cannot be called a fact, but it can be truth.

Evolution is a complicated issue, because it has scientific proof, and yet a lot of theory as well. It has been proven that species can evolve. Anyone who knows anything would not be able to say otherwise. However, it hasn't been proven-- and will never be-- how evolution started, how the world was created, or anything about the creation. This is where faith comes in. We can look at all of the scientifically proven facts, and still there is so much we don't know. The only way humanity can live with not knowing is to trust in God. Trust that he knew what he was doing, and he was in charge. 

As far as how we were created, that's another thing where you've got to have faith. Some religious people cannot accept that we came from something resembling an ape/monkey, choosing to take the Bible's creation story literally. And yet, how many instances did God, both in Old and New Testaments, speak symbolically? I would vouch that there's more symbolism than literal statements. What's to say that homo sapiens did not evolve until God deemed they were ready for his spirit children to enter them? 

I would like to point a couple things out from Genesis 2.

1. "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground"
   First of all, if we're okay with coming from the dust, what's wrong with evolving from a creature? But that's not the point I want to make. When it says dust of the ground, I'm reminded of the fact that the very first living organism technically came from the dust of the ground. So even through evolution, everything came from dust.
2. "And breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."
   This was my dad's acknowledgment-- the soul is the only thing that would make humans different from the previous homo sapiens. The soul is something that only God could have given us, and he chose when to.
3. In the garden, "the tree of knowledge of good and evil."
   This implies that Adam and Eve did not previously know good and evil. They were like children. But where did they come from? Yes, they could have been placed there by God, but why not have been born from a homo-sapien family? Thus they were born into a family that had the mental capacity more or less of children. And then they were given understanding after partaking of the tree, the true beginning of the human race and God's children. 

I'm not telling you what to believe, I'm just telling you what I believe and why. Once again, I'll just say that facts are few while opinions are many, but truth is everlasting. It's your job to use faith to find it. :)

End of the World, But I've Got Gingerbread

After getting on Facebook, I was reminded about fifty times that tomorrow (today) may possibly be the end of the world and I should say something interesting or revealing before we are all gone. But honestly, today was just a GOOD day, without any effort. If the world did end, I would be completely satisfied with the last day I had on earth.

But seeing as how the whole Mayan calendar predicting the end is a load of complete nonsense, I'll go ahead and assume that I'll be around for December 22. 

Besides, I need tomorrow, so I can finish my gingerbread house! 

I started one today... and it's not a mangy little graham cracker one. Oh no, this is going to be a full on gingerbread house, like I've only built once before. My mom was cool enough to save some pages from a very, very old magazine that had designs for gingerbread houses-- and pretty cool ones too. Take a look at the date. --->

But man, I never even realized how hard it is to make a gingerbread house! There's so many steps before you even get to the baking part, that I just want to throw the whole thing out and just get some graham crackers! I'm about halfway done with the building process, so hopefully I will be able to show the finished product by Saturday! 

Other highlights of the day: my little nephew Kru came over, I got some bonding time with my mom, and I had a crazy thought! 

Kru

What an adventure that kid brings when he is around! Kru is a 3yr-old little boy who loves what most little boys love. And I got to be with him all day today. First thing we did? Break into the new toys that I found a couple days ago as I was cleaning the house. 

*Sidenote: I don't know about you, but when I play with toys that I used to play with as a littlie, it really brings back the memories, adding a bright spot to my day. 

Kru also helped us finish decorating our tree with ornaments, and was very talented at putting them all on one branch. I ended up having to move quite a few of them, but it was so fun to see his excitement! Once again, here's what out tree now looks like:

Kru also got to make gingerbread cookies with mom and I! We couldn't stop laughing throughout the whole thing, both because of how funny that little kid is and because today was just accident-prone! Seriously every ten minutes something would drop. The best part was that the two played on each other. When we would make a mess, Kru would do something hilarious in response, and then later Kru would also drop something, which would start the laughter again! A viscous cycle, but worth it for the smiles. :D

Mom

Even though she can't help me physically make the gingerbread house, my mom was with me to provide support, help me decipher the directions, and just talk! We ended up having a good conversation, in which I explained to her the fascinating concepts of both communication styles and love languages. Both of these subjects were something that I was a fanatic about last year, when I first discovered them. I was always thinking about them, trying to figure out what I was, what others were, and how this affected me. If you don't know much about either of these, LOOK INTO THEM. I learned so much about humanity in general, my friends, relationships, and most importantly myself. 

Anyway, while having this conversation with my mom, we got onto the topic of what Jesus was. If you knew my mom at all, this would be no surprise; she manages to bring him into any conversation. It's something I admire about her. But this brings me to the last highlight:

Crazy Thought

It's obvious that because Jesus Christ was perfect, he was an assertive communicator. But what about his love language(s)? What is the perfect combination for the 5 languages? At first, I thought that it would be an equal degree for each, but I can't imagine Christ caring the same about receiving gifts as he does quality time. And my mom also pointed out that he would serve, serve, serve. This got me thinking about quality touch. I wonder if this was very high in Christ? There's no way of knowing how he communicated with others, whether he would place his hand on their shoulder, or embrace them as a greeting. And if he did do these things, was it because he knew that's what THEY needed, or was it because HE needed it? 

Who knows? I'm aware I'll never find out in this life, but I like thinking about it all the same. I feel it helps me realize what's most important, both in general and to myself. 

A couple more pictures to add to today's record :)

Kru and mommy makin' gingerbread men

My gingerbread house in the works

It's Started! or should I say Continuing?

Now that the class which started my blog is over, I've decided I may as well keep it up! We'll see how long this new-found desire stays, but for now I shall be posting about whatever the heck I feel like!

I'm not going to have a specific theme, until I've figured out what I want to do with this thing. I like the previous idea of analyzing what I've read or watched, and then telling how I felt and relating it to some deep philosophical idea, BUT I also like the idea of just having a carefree telltale about what goes on in my life! Especially with all the awesome things I have planned for the holidays.. :D So you can look forward to a short excerpt of my Christmas break throughout the coming weeks!

To start off, I'd like you to meet my parents:

This picture (taken today) is a great representation of both of them. My dad, with his surprising sense of humor and my mom as she studiously studies her scriptures. I love them both, and am happy that I get to be with them and just them for the holidays this year!

I know I keep mentioning this, but I am SO excited for the upcoming week. I've got so much planned! You'll be seeing a lot of my awesome activities (assuming I follow through with my plans) as I shall be posting all about 'em!

Before I go, I'd just like to post a picture of our tree that we put up today. Honestly this is mainly so that I can remember when I look back.. because for me, a Christmas tree is a big deal! In my family, we saw quite a few Christmases go by without a tree in our house, and that was something that I really missed having. It's not Christmas without one! So here it is-- our Christmas tree in all its glory, minus the ornaments.

We certainly piled the lights on; there is probably around six or seven strands of lights on it. But I think it's fantastic, especially because my dad helped me with it! There's only one thing better than getting a tree for Christmas, and that's having my dad help me trim it!