Mortality

Yesterday I woke up with my left eye swollen shut.  If something is going to cause me trouble it is my left eye.  (And I am so nice to it!)  If eyes could get the bubonic plague, my left eye would already have had it.  I run out of left eye contacts months before I run out of right eye contacts.  If I have a contact problem, it is always in my left eye. 

I had the thought, "If I could have one wish, it would be for a new left eye."  Because it is the worst.

Then I amended my wish. If I could have one wish it would be for my children to never be disappointed, because that is the worst.  Then I considered a whole bunch of things I would fix in my life if I could.

I realized maybe mortality was the problem.

When Mark was a toddler and wreaking absolute havoc in my life, my mom said, "Your trouble is that you think Mark should just sit in the corner with his arms folded."

Well, yeah.

But I appreciated the lesson.  Mark was Mark.  I had to learn to cope.

And life is life. Without all the bumps, bruises, disappointments and hassles (and swollen eyes), it wouldn't be life.

I collect quotes like some people collect life-like dolls (who are those people?).  This is one of my favorites.  I first heard it by President Gordon B. Hinckley but he was quoting Jenkins Lloyd Jones:

Anyone who imagines that bliss ... is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he has been robbed.  [The fact is] most putts don’t drop. Most beef is tough. Most children grow up to be just people. Most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration. Most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. … Life is like an old-time rail journey—delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride.

I also love this:

Expecting a trouble-free life because you are a good person is like expecting the bull not to charge you because you are a vegetarian.

Jeffrey R. Holland

So I'll forge on.  I won't expect bliss.  I won't expect a trouble-free life.  I will be grateful for the ride (and for antibiotics).