....holding out for Nephi.

I am often fascinated to sit and listen to other people's viewpoints on almost anything you can think of. Due to part of my past a question I often find myself asking people is "if you could change a part of your past that you aren't exactly proud of, would you?" I have heard all sorts of stories and reasons to why people would or wouldn't change their history. Of course if I plan on asking people questions I usually already have an answer for myself of how I feel about it. So for those of you who are wondering I will tell you. I am Laurel Celeste Blackham and I love the person I am today. I am by no means perfect, but I know where my feet are planted.

While I am not exactly proud of everything in my past I feel that my mistakes have played a big part in the reason I am so certain of what I want in life. If it were possible for me to be who I am now without having experienced those things then I would change them in a heartbeat, but as far as I'm concerned I needed those things in life to get me where I'm at now. "Challenges come so that we can grow and be prepared for things we are not equipped to handle now. When we face our challenges with faith, prepared to learn, willing to make changes, and if necessary, to let go, we are demanding our power be turned on." -Iyanla Vanzant

My past experiences have made me wonder what makes a good person "good?" While there are many "good" people in my life I would like to tell you about one in particular. It was my first sunday back to church after my weekend in jail. To my dismay my mom was sitting on about the second row from the front due to the fact that the area authority was visiting and his wife was sitting with us. I wasn't sure who knew about where I had just spent my weekend, but all I did know was that I wanted to avoid any confrontation from anyone. As we were singing the closing hymn I leaned over to my little sister and told her that as soon as the prayer was over we were bolting out to the car and leaving. Just like lightning we were up and on our way out as soons as everyone said amen. We had almost made it to the door when I heard someone call out my name from behind me. I turned around and there was Todd Pay, a member in our bishopric. He has always been someone I have considered a great friend and example, but I never thought he would notice that my life wasn't going exactly the way it should. He asked if we could step into the nearest classroom for a moment and talk. Of course I said yes, and we did just that. To this day I still don't know if at the time he knew what I was going through, but I will never forget the look of concern on his face as he asked me if I was doing alright. As I began to tear up so did he. He gave me a simple hug and told me if I ever needed anything he was there to help. What an amazing person who has every quality of a "good" person, and then some.

Speaking of good people I got to ride home with my dad today from up north. It made me happy talking with him. I learned a lot about my aunts and uncles that I never knew before. Being a dad of course he asked me about dating. Usually this is a topic I like to try and avoid. Tonight though he asked me what I want in a future husband. Without a second thought I told him someone like you and someone like my brothers. How blessed I am to have such great and Savior like people in my family. I also couldn't help but think to myself that I want someone like Nephi. I'll let you figure out the rest.

 One day I plan on finding someone as awesome as these guys, but for now I can wait.

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