Trial and Error

I'm learning so much lately. For a long time now, I believed I learned a lot as a teenager, and only a little as an adult. I thought that I was growing slowly and had to try HARD to get an actual "life experience" once in a while.

"Distance makes the heart go fonder."

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

"No pain, no gain."

None of those really meant much to me. Tonight I heard this one in a movie, "I wish there was a cookbook for life, you know? With recipes telling us exactly what to do."

"...It's the recipes you create, yourself, that are the best."

Some people that have eaten meals created by my hand know that the good ones came from the freezer or a box! I have prepared some successful dishes from start to finish, but they were never perfect on the first try. I may have some successful moments as a mother, but I was nowhere near perfection in the beginning, nor am I now. Still, I learn what works and what doesn't by trial and error, just like my mystery casseroles or experimental pork chops.

I love the life I have been given, and I'm lucky to have been in it long enough to know which choices bring happiness and which ones bring on the "tough days." I also know what I want, the problem is knowing which ingredients will achieve those results. Being the youngest member of my family, I think I gained a lot simply by observing my parents and four older siblings. I learned how to deal with death, depression, practice and being good at sports and musical instruments, no practice and failing at sports and musical instruments... I learned how the gospel of Jesus Christ applied in some way in every aspect of my life can turn a hum drum appetizer into an irresistibly delicious entree. In these times, we have every life lesson and skill in books - we have billions of recipes in tons of cookbooks recorded over decades.

Sometimes I know we could avoid errors by following the recipe laid out for specific problems we face in our families or society in the scriptures or history books, but sometimes we choose to experiment instead.

I guess keeping a journal is like writing down the ingredients and the consequences you tasted afterwards.

Well, without dumping all my mistakes on everyone, just know I'm doing my best, I'm learning my recipes by guidance from the Master Chef and also by trial and error. I love all my friends and family, past and present, who help contribute to my concoctions.

Thank you