STRIKE!

 OUT!!

We are Terrible at bowling. Horrible. No good. Very bad.

Which made for a fun day.

(We hadn't gone bowling in many years...but these lanes were calling to us).

(This is a great bowling alley - at the Y).

Oh we had a few spares in there and even a few strikes but for the most part it was a fun way to send the ball down the gutter, or perhaps hit a few pins at a time. 

Nathan and Smash both hit pins from gutter balls.  I have never seen that happen before. Those balls were in the gutter most of the lane and with some miraculous stroke the balls jumped up at the end and took out some pins!  When it happened to Nathan, I was amazed and remarked that I had never seen such a thing but then it happened to Smash too!  They must throw those balls with a lot of force and a good hook on the end.

 

While watching that happen, the simple thought occurred to me - you never know what will happen in the end. 

What seems to be a lost cause may not be that. 

I know I am talking about bowling here and that doesn't necessarily translate well into every day life and circumstances.

But I believe there is something to the idea that if you desire a particular outcome and you give it all you have,

there may be enough positive force (even towards the end of a journey) to alter the course and therefore the outcome.

Now, that doesn't apply to others; we are all in charge of our own journey and destination.

(Just as the hook and force of Nathan's ball would not be able to knock down someone else's pins).

But a good example may have a positive effect on those who come after us.

Sometimes we feel that our choices have determined our destiny - which they do, but we do have the power within us to change.

We can change our attitudes, our desires, our choices at any given time.

And when we choose to change, we are determining something new for ourselves.

We are beings that are meant to change, to grow, to learn and therefore succeed. (We also choose what we believe to be success).

I love this quote from the general conference talk given by Dallin H. Oaks last April.

"Desires dictate our priorities, priorities shape our choices, and choices determine our actions. The desires we act on determine our changing, our achieving, and our becoming."

So true.

All of that from bowling balls and gutters? 

Yes. I recognize I have a lot of growing and changing to do.

:)

 

Oh, and we had such a good time at bowling terribly, we did it again. 

We thought we were getting better so we were certain the next game would be GREAT!

I had to bowl with my left hand at times - and I think I perform better with the left.

But not better enough.  I was still terrible.

The boys did about the same.

Only Megan improved on the second game. (In fact, I think she won the second game).

:)

*Emily was working, we were waiting for her so we could go to dinner - so maybe Emily would have been our spectacular bowler?  We will have to find out some time.

*Nathan had the funniest little hop with his wind-up.  Can't wait to see that again.

Comments

[Jonathan]

It was so FUN!!! And we had a little special olympics bowler come by and she gave me some very good advice!

Mar, I love your life's lessons!

JD

[Megan]

I was really super fun!!! :) We should do it again sometime ;)

[Karen]

Ditto to Uncle Jonathan's comment. Your life lessons are always great, and leave me with something to think about.

Speaking of which, Tyler and I are currently reading one of Dallin H. Oaks' books, Life's Lessons Learned, and it is really wonderful. I think you would enjoy it. We are reading a chapter a night, and since they are pretty short chapters, it gives us time to talk about what we are reading, and we've had some pretty good conversations come out of them.

Love you!