When A Plan Comes Together

Don't you just love it? I know I do.

Not that my plans today were particularly great, but they all happened. I finished my exams, cooked myself the dinner I've been wanting since Monday and saw No Country For Old Men (and no one talked! Huge pet peeve. Maybe I'll explain it in a later post.) Anyway, I'll maintain an acceptable GPA, probably sleep very well tonight and check another one off my "movies to see" list. It's the simple things, right? SIGH...

Maybe this post was boring. But at least it's over.

You're the best.

Escuela

Believe me, I resisted posting anything about school during finals week as long as I could but I think BYU is such an unusual institution that I had to say something about it.

I don't know when, but I have to believe that at some point in my life people will stop giving me what I want just because I say it's important to me. I never want this to happen and, I should add, that I never feel like I have twisted anyones arm to get what I want. However, especially where school is concerned, it has been my experience that if I go say - "Excuse me, dear sir or madam, I need a higher grade on this because presently it will reflect poorly on me. Can I please have one?"- it works. I have received two critical grades this semester that I did not earn, in different classes, simply by asking. I hope this doesn't come off boastful. I promise, I'm as confused as you.

I'm glad I am at school at BYU. I chalk this unwarranted generosity up to the teachers being invested in teaching something beyond the curriculum. A very LDS sentiment. "David- I just read your email. I believe in mercy. Megan please add 12 points to his score. - Dr. Dollahite" That 12 points took me from a failing grade to a B. Unreal.

I recommend talking to your teachers. Maybe even start out by saying "Hey, you know what? I'd really like an A in this class. What can we do about that?" It seems to do the trick.

Good luck on your finals. You're the best.

Would you rather?

Would you rather write a paper on the morality of socialism for me or give me your paycheck for the first five years of your career?

Take your pick.

This is not hypothetical.

You're the best.

The Best Song Ever Written

As close as I can figure it, a better song has not been written than "When The Ship Comes In" by Bob Dylan. At least I've never heard one. It's off "The Times They Are A-Changin'" and it hits just as hard every time I hear it.

It is, to me, about the second coming of Christ and somehow resonates with the deepest part of me that believes he will be my rock and my salvation. The part of me that needs someone to fill in the huge, embarrassing gaps. The part of me that simply can't fight anymore.

I believe when that time comes, Christ will be there to peacefully and unflinchingly end the torment that Satan has inflicted upon God's children. And it fills me with profound gratitude to know that there is someone so much stronger than me who wants me around enough to fight for me. The world has a way of picking on you and mercilessly highlighting your limitations. Christ will return full of mercy and will welcome all who seek him. I know of nothing in my whole life that feels more true than this. I wish you were here to see my sincerity. I hope it comes through in my words even half as well as it does in the words from this song.

These are the lyrics:

Oh the time will come up
When the winds will stop
And the breeze will cease to be breathin'.
Like the stillness in the wind
'Fore the hurricane begins,
The hour when the ship comes in.

Oh the seas will split
And the ship will hit
And the sands on the shoreline will be shaking.
Then the tide will sound
And the wind will pound
And the morning will be breaking.

Oh the fishes will laugh
As they swim out of the path
And the seagulls they'll be smiling.
And the rocks on the sand
Will proudly stand,
The hour that the ship comes in.

And the words that are used
For to get the ship confused
Will not be understood as they're spoken.
For the chains of the sea
Will have busted in the night
And will be buried at the bottom of the ocean.

A song will lift
As the mainsail shifts
And the boat drifts on to the shoreline.
And the sun will respect
Every face on the deck,
The hour that the ship comes in.

Then the sands will roll
Out a carpet of gold
For your weary toes to be a-touchin'.
And the ship's wise men
Will remind you once again
That the whole wide world is watchin'.

Oh the foes will rise
With the sleep still in their eyes
And they'll jerk from their beds and think they're dreamin'.
But they'll pinch themselves and squeal
And know that it's for real,
The hour when the ship comes in.

Then they'll raise their hands,
Sayin' we'll meet all your demands,
But we'll shout from the bow your days are numbered.
And like Pharaoh's tribe,
They'll be drownded in the tide,
And like Goliath, they'll be conquered.

I know that my redeemer lives. That he loves us.
And that he will come again.

Merry Christmas, friends. You're the best.