Analogies of the new presidency

This morning, as usual I got up early to exercise, not so much because I wanted to, but because I knew I so needed it. Because I have discovered that for me, more than any other benefit, it helps to reduce my stress levels. And this morning when I went out, there was the first snow on the hilltops. I am dreading the snow this year, after the wicked winter that ended just six short months ago. I saw the beginning signs of winter as an analogy to the new president. A dusting in the higher elevations, but with no real way to know how severe things will be. My fears are of what and how many new policies will be enacted. Will they happen quickly and brutally, like a huge cold front on the weather radar that quickly and steadily dumps a foot or two of snow? Or will they sneak up slowly, and will we waken one cold dark morning to see that the landscape of the country has been changed completely from what we had known, while we slept?

Another analogy that I saw was in the (relative) speed that I ran yesterday. It was cold and dark and rainy, and I knew I would only run one mile, because of everything else that I needed to accomplish that morning. So I started off quickly, instead of jogging my slow warm-up mile. When I checked the time, I realized that I had taken off almost 30 seconds from my previous best time. This morning, I knew I needed to do a much longer workout, since I am a stress eater and I had totally binged on brownies last night, because you and I and half of the country were stressed out watching the election results. So I decided that I needed to run 3 miles today. How could I do that and maintain the pace that I had run yesterday? And the thought came to me, that I had both lengthened my stride and quickened my pace. Pretty simple, right? But this thought reminded me of what our Prophet, President Kimball, had always admonished of us, to lengthen our stride in doing the Lord's work. Now we need to both lengthen our stride and quicken our pace. And as I prayed this morning, the thought came to me that we can still be blessed with what we need, that our family can still rise up from the huge meltdown puddle that we have landed in. We can still be blessed according to our faithfulness. That He won't forget us as individuals, even as he gives us trials and allows us to make mistakes, it strengthens us for the journey ahead. We just have to make our stride a little longer, and our pace a little quicker.