It's Saturday morning. Hen has taken the day off from work to do some school work, so he leaves around 8 to head to campus. The house is an absolute mess. I have not had any energy lately to stay on top of things. I think the Lord knew I needed my mind to be free of distractions and so gave me the energy to put my house in order before heading to the temple. I am always less stressed when my house isn't a mess. I spent the next 4 hours doing dishes, vacuuming, laundry, cleaning out fridge and freezer etc. At noon I needed to go pickup groceries, I wanted to get the car washed, and grab some quick lunch before I had to race back home, put groceries away, eat and finish getting ready for my first shift at the temple.
Miracle 1- Decided to get my car washed and normally on a Saturday, all three lanes are always full and it takes a min of 15 minutes of waiting to get to your turn. Today there wasn't a single car there and I went straight through.
Miracle 2- Went to pick up my clicklist groceries at Smiths. Again on a Saturday, at noon, and there wasn't a soul there. My groceries were loaded in less than 5 minutes.
Miracle 3- Went to grab some food and the line at all the surrounding places had a line full of cars, but this one only had one car in front of me.
Somehow make it home with enough time to finish everything I need and even pass Henry on the way out of the driveway to head to the temple to be there at 1:45. And seriously I can't stress how every single minute from noon on had been accounted for, there was no extra time.
Miracle 4- this is the biggest one of them all. I was driving faster than I should have when I got to the golf course on Bountiful Blvd. 40 mph in a 30 mph zone to be exact as I came up over the hill to have a motorcycle officer with a speed gun pointed directly at me. Obviously I slowed down immediately, but no way in time for him to not have clocked me going 40. I was like ok, here we go, there is no way he isn't pulling me over. And honestly that isn't like me to be speeding through a residential area, I think it was a combination of excitement and nervousness to not be late that I was driving faster than usual. I had accepted my fate, passed the cop and expected to see those red lights in my mirror. But they never came. I am not sure why he didn't pull me over, he was definitely in the right to, but must just not have been meant to be.
I pull up to the temple and there were tons of cars parked around the perimeter. I was really surprised. As of now in Phase II, youth are able to baptisms, but the only other ordinances being performed are for individuals doing their own work. What I failed to realize is that it is June and wedding season, so there were quite a few weddings going on. I parked in the lower parking lot as I had been instructed to and walked through the lower level down to the baptistry to take the elevator up the recommend desk. As I walked through the baptistry waiting area, there were youth spread out everywhere. It made my heart so happy to see them there. And the feeling that things were starting to get back to normal.
I got on the elevator with two other sisters and asked them what floor? They both looked at me blankly. I said sorry, it was a joke, there is only one choice.
As I entered the foyer and recommend desk area there were people everywhere. What a wonderful sight!
I proceeded through after my recommend scan was successful (I wasn't going to make that mistake twice) then headed down the hall and down the stairs to the cafeteria area, then was directed back to the locker rooms.
I was assigned a locker and immediately was meeting and visiting other sisters on my shift. Their smiles and the light in their eyes was so kind and welcoming! I changed into my temple whites and had my picture taken. I received my name tag and felt so official. It was really real. I was now a temple worker. We then had training for 2 hours with the temple presidents wife and then I had the opportunity to do an endowment session. It was so wonderful! The spirit I felt with the sisters in our time training was overwhelming. As I sat there in the prep room learning how to help others feel the love of our Savior in the temple, I felt so much love myself. I realized how much the Savior and our Heavenly Father were in the details of not only my whole life to prepare me for this new chapter, but that day. While I know it is probably silly to someone those items that were miracles to me, I have learned, in my life, that there are no coincidences. Everything has a purpose, no matter how small.
The temple presidents wife said that people who are making appointments in phase 3 are clear out to November and December and that already 10,000 appointments had been made. I couldn't help but feel so blessed to get to now be spending 4 hours a week in the temple and not have to make an appointment to do so. So many people will be waiting months and months and months just to do one name and now I get to be here every week.
I learned in this training that I will be assigned a different floor each month. One month I may be assigned to the bottom floor which is the Baptistry. Then the next month I may assigned to main floor to help with clothing, or locker rooms, or initiatories. And another month I could be assigned to the top floor for assisting with the endowment sessions. I am excited it will be setup this way. That way I can try to master one floor before moving onto another. I have also learned that there is so much to learn!
When you are patron going through for yourself or by proxy, you don't realize the organized ant farm that is the temple. There is so much to learn but what is most important is helping the patrons to have the best experience possible! A smile goes a long way, kindness goes a long way, quiet reverence goes a long way! And there is no reason to rush anything. There is time. The Lord doesn't rush our progress and gives us all the time we need to progress. Likewise we must be patient and do the same for those visiting the temple. I have to admit I take a bit after my Dad and like things to run smoothly and efficiently. This will be an area I need to work on to slow down and realize everything will happen as it needs to.
I was so grateful to get to do an endowment session and felt such a peace to serve a Sister who had passed, with her work. As I entered the celestial room I found my favorite chair by the window. It is my favorite chair, because it is the chair Henry proposed to me while I sat in 13 years earlier. We had gone on a date to the temple to do sealings late one night in May I think. After the sealings we went into the celestial room. He sat down in the chair next to me. After some time, he proceeded down onto one knee, asked me "Will you marry me?" and without even giving me a second to respond, put a ring on my finger and sat back down in his chair.
Sitting in this chair always brings me back to that sweet memory and makes me think back to that time. I would never have thought at that time that 13 years later we would be living in North Salt Lake, and both be working in the temple at our young ages of 37 and almost 40. I always thought temple workers were for kids getting ready to go on missions or empty nesters and retirees.
Sitting in "my chair" today, I was calm, I was at peace. As overwhelming as everything would be to learn, I didn't worry about that. My humble prayer was of gratitude for getting me here after over a year and preparing me for this next adventure in my life among other things and for rain that we so desperately need.
I stayed in the peace and quiet and beauty of the Celestial room until everyone except for me and one other sister were there alone. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. It felt like I was visiting Heaven. The stress of life and world felt so far away. Some of my favorite hymns played on repeat in my mind as I pondered scriptures I had read and the life of our Savior.
I was so grateful Hen was home with the dogs, so I could just stay as long as I needed. I stayed in that room for atleast 40 minutes before leaving around 6:45. It is always so hard to leave that room. I always take one last glance backward as I walk out the door. I made my way back down to the new locker rooms I would be using from now on. The path was becoming more familiar.
One of my favorite things about the temple are the smiles of all of the temple workers. They are so calming and comforting. They bring such a special spirit that can be felt by all. As you pass each one you are uplifted.
One of the stories shared in our training was that of a 4 year old boy who came to the temple to be sealed to his parents. When asked what was his favorite part, he said all the kind grandmas in their white nightgowns. That is my new goal, to be one of those kind grandmas in their nightgowns so that all who come here can feel the love the Savior has for them.
I am looking forward to next week when I get to go again. What a wonderful new adventure and blessing!
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