When Brooke and I got married the sealer told us to go to the temple often as a couple. Seeing how we lived just a few blocks from the Salt Lake City Temple we thought it would be a great goal to go weekly. Pretty lofty goal if you consider what we had going on. Let me explain:
My average day consisted of school from 7:10 AM to Noon Monday through Friday. I worked Tuesday through Saturday from 2:00 PM to 10:30 PM. I would get home around 11 PM, do some homework, maybe grab a bite to eat before heading to bed to start it all over again the next day. With this in mind the only time temple attendance was possible would be Saturday morning before I had to go to work. Temples are closed on Sundays and Mondays. It would have been great if they were open Monday since all I had that day was school. We couldn't during the 2 hour slot I had between school and work from noon to 2 because I had about a 30 minute commute to work each day. Each day I would rush home from school, eat a quick lunch and if I had time do some homework before changing and heading off to endure the traffic of I-15. My company had a strict attendance policy, no more than one minute and fifty nine seconds late would be permissible.
Back to the goal: Brooke and I were doing great for the first few months we didn't miss a week. Then for some reason I can't remember why, but we weren't able to make it to the temple on our designated Saturday morning one week. Not knowing how we could make it up, Brooke knew that there would be a way for us to keep our goal. That Monday I had an institute class in which a principle about priorities was taught. Our teacher said that he was once told if we were to forget what mattered to us and started to think and do what mattered to the Lord two things would happen. Everything in our life that really wasn't all that important would fall out of our lives without any really impact on our lives, and secondly God would prepare a way for the other import things to fit some how some way. Similar to Nephi and the brass plates. Funny, he should mention that given our circumstance with the missed Temple attendance. I knew it was important to the Lord that we kept our goal, but I also knew there just wasn't any spare time to make it up.
I decided to put it to the test thanks to Brooke's faith and help. I was going to skip out a little early from my last class dash over to the temple, go through the temple, then speed straight to work. The math worked out perfectly, since a normal session in the Salt Lake Temple lasted about 2.5 hours. The next day I was graciously reminded in each and EVERY class that I just so happened to have a big assignment due this same week. Those two hours between school and work were vital to me getting homework done, and now I was just going to skip it and go to the temple? Still determined to see if this institute teacher as telling the truth we went to the temple Wednesday afternoon. I met Brooke there and was planning on just doing all my homework that night after work.
We finished the session and left to the parking lot. It was 1:35, I had 25 minutes to make my normal 28 minute drive to work. As we pulled to the parking gate i reached for my parking coin to open the gate and it was missing! We had drove separately since I just came straight from school, with no spare time to go back to the temple and get the coin I decided to drive my blue Honda Civic extra close behind Brooke to race the gate as it opened for her as to let both of our cars out at once. The gate opened and Brooke went out and I followed as close as I could behind then WACK, the arm came down right on top of the car but luckily we were just far enough that we got out. The parking arm did leave a nice 3 foot scuff on the roof of my car to remind me of my ill advised choice.
I made it to work on time some how and home again to the reality of the mounds of assignments I had left to do for the morning. I think I made it to about midnight before I fell asleep. Morning came and I was off to school with empty notebooks where my big assignments were supposed to be. Expecting the worst, but believing the promise that the Lord would make my other priorities fit I stepped into my first class. The teacher got up and to my surprise let us know that she was going to a concert that evening and wouldn't have time to grade assignments so we were to take the weekend to finish them up and bring them to class on Monday instead! Never in my college life had an assignment due date been moved back, I couldn't believe what I had heard, but my heart kept telling me you know exactly why the due date was moved back. I then proceeded to my next class and with out a doubt the same miracle entered my ears, "go ahead and take the weekend to finish up". As if I were in the movie ground hogs day the third and final class of the day had the same wonderful news for me!
I had arranged my priorities to make the Lords first in my life, and he held his end of the bargain. I know that he has an ever watchful eye over us, just waiting to bless us for being obedient. We have to let him though, and we can by opening our days up to him. You will be surprised where his road takes us over time.
