All in a Sunday Walk

Sunday offered beautiful weather and a warm sun. The relief from the cold and winter wind was much needed. We decided to take a walk together at the Botanical Gardens. It was a simple thing that brought great joy. I was reminded of a talk given by Elder L. Tom Perry called "Let Him Do It with Simplicity". He opens with the following statement:

"Those of us who have been around a while—and Elder Wirthlin and I have been around for a long time—have recognized certain patterns in life’s test. There are cycles of good and bad times, ups and downs, periods of joy and sadness, and times of plenty as well as scarcity. When our lives turn in an unanticipated and undesirable direction, sometimes we experience stress and anxiety. One of the challenges of this mortal experience is to not allow the stresses and strains of life to get the better of us—to endure the varied seasons of life while remaining positive, even optimistic. Perhaps when difficulties and challenges strike, we should have these hopeful words of Robert Browning etched in our minds: “The best is yet to be” (“Rabbi Ben Ezra,” in Charles W. Eliot, ed., The Harvard Classics, 50 vols. [1909–10], 42:1103). We can’t predict all the struggles and storms in life, not even the ones just around the next corner, but as persons of faith and hope, we know beyond the shadow of any doubt that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true and the best is yet to come."

He follows by stating that him and his wife would frequently visit Waldon Pond. It was their special place to get away "to pause, reflect, and heal...Walden Pond offered us so much hope for simplicity and provided such a renewing escape from our overly complex lives."

As Dylan and I walked around the gardens I felt an overwhelming since of joy and hope. We can have our own "Walden Pond" right here in Athens, GA.