I Heard a Rumor

Last night while working an event I was approached by a coworker who wished to share with me a rumor she heard about me in the office.  I do not really like rumors and I started wracking my brain thinking about what people could possibly be talking about. She said it may not be true and did not wish to offend me, and then proceeded to whisper under her breath, "Marissa, are you a Mormon?". I had no problem saying "Yes!". The rest of the conversation went like this...

Co-worker(with puzzled look): "Mormon...Like Sister Wives?"
Me: "No, nothing like that,"
Co-Worker: "But those people are Mormon"
Me: "No they actually are not, though many people think that. Would you like to hear about the differences?"
Co-Worker: "Yeah tell me, I dont know very much."
I gave her a basic outline on what I believe.
Co-Worker: "So you are basically just Christian then? Because I am Catholic and what you told me was different but it wasn't that different"
Me: "Yes, yes we are" (Happy to hear a catholic admit that a Mormon is a Christian)
Co-Worker: "Cool, I've never met a Mormon before so this is really fun" (although I am pretty positive she has met a Mormon before, and sweet she thinks I'm fun)

I got a bit of a laugh out of the entire situation. Then today, when I got to work, there was a new girl training for one of the financial positions. And guess what, she's a MORMON too! My catholic co-worker was in awe. She went from knowing no Mormons (as she believes) to 2 Mormons in only 2 days.  We are going to take over the office!  The only problem is, she went to the U so we can't be friends. Darn.

It still rained on Noah

Last week was wonderful... weather wise. It was nice and cool and there was even a little bit of rain. I was a little bit upset when I went out to 80 degrees again today (although I know my friends experiencing snow would not agree that this was a disappointing thing to have). But other than the weather, it was a very rough week. One particularly rough day as I was driving home from work reflecting on all that had happened that day, I started to tear up, and then I started to pray. I like praying on my way home from work. Sure its completely unconventional, and no, I cant bow my head and close my eyes or fold my arms, but I have 30 minutes of silence where I can express my feelings and listen for answers. I have been struggling with why's lately. Why is a question I know I should not ask because I need to just have the faith to accept the trials that come my way and learn from them, but I often wonder what I am doing or have done (in other words is this punishment) to bring particular hardships on myself. As I was praying and thinking about this, the rain started to come down pretty hard. The fact that the weather matched my mood was making me even more depressed. I finally got off the freeway and started to drive up the hill toward my home. As I approached the top of the hill, traffic slowed down. It was a little bit odd for there to be traffic on this particular stretch of road so of course my mood did not improve (and now you all think that I am just super moody). But when I finally got over the top of the hill, I saw what all the fuss was about. Straight ahead was the largest, brightest, most beautiful rainbow I have ever seen. And intertwined in the first beautiful rainbow, was a smaller, slightly duller but no less beautiful second rainbow. People were pulling over to take photos, and I imagine everyone was in awe just like I was. I started to think about rainbows and what they mean. And then it occurred to me. Noah was a very righteous man who was so loved by our Heavenly Father, but the floods still happened to him. He did not avoid the rain, but he had the tools and the faith to be safe and remain dry and comfortable throughout the storm. So maybe my trials are not a result of something I did, but I can still be faithful and find a way to remain safe and comfortable (or more at peace) throughout the storm. I felt instantly lighter and so much better. And this probably isn't the truth, but I think that rainbow must have been placed there just for me to see. What are some of the rainbows in your life?