Oh yes, we have about 36 hours before we climb on a plane and fly off to Australia for two weeks, but many things have to happen before one embarks on such a journey.
Yesterday we went to Mesa to attend the temple but we had a couple of "but first we" things that had to take place before we entered the temple. The initial "but first we" was driving to the Phoenix Valley in driving rain. We have not had rain in Arizona for many many weeks and we have had no snow for winter either. This does not bode well for our lakes here in Prescott or for the aquifer that runs under Prescott. When it rains it is 'festive' for us and we go to the window or even outdoors and watch it rain. For some people that sounds really nutty to watch it rain - but watch it we do and yesterday drive in it we did. It came down so fast that our windshield wipers on the fastest speed could barely keep up and we found ourselves in the same predicament as many drivers - doing 40mph or less in a 75mph zone. In all the years I have lived in Arizona I have not driven as slow as 40mph on the I-17 corridor to Phoenix. Mostly the speed is at least 75mph and often a lot higher by the speedy little sports jobs that people love to own (but we don't).
We made it to the Phoenix valley - white knuckle driving all the way because we could barely see the white
lines on the highway. Bill said we should go and find a member of the church who moved to Phoenix and left no forwarding address - we have some who do this - but this man did not realize that he has Bill Markham on his tail and so we found ourselves in an area of Phoenix that we have never been in before. It is remarkable to note that the houses across the I-10 freeway from this area we were in, were very upscale and the area we were in was very low income and dilapidated. Stark reality to be sure but I surmise that at one time when these houses were built, that they were the ones to own....but time and economics no longer make them desirable.
It rained off and on while we were in Phoenix, and as we left for Mesa (our second "but first we"), it was still touch and go with the rain. We entered the temple in time to see a bridal party gather on the steps for photo's after the wedding. When we emerged from the temple about 3 hours later, it was pouring rain.
Now, as I wrote, it is festive for rain to fall here in Arizona and we welcome it and it sure looked picturesque as it fell on the reflecting pool in front of the temple, but we had left our umbrellas in the car and the car was parked about 100 yards from the temple gates - so our chance of staying dry was slim to none. Finally we got to the car - ran between the raindrops so to speak - and left for Scottsdale. In Scottsdale we found the Apple store (our third "but first we" and our last one before heading home), and went in to see about buying a converter for our electronic devices that we plan to take to Australia with us. I was duly impressed by the Apple store - it is large, airy, with floor to ceiling windows on both ends and it was filled with technological wizards who knew exactly what we needed and more interesting than that, I was fascinated by the 3yr old who was playing a game on the sample I-pad they had on the table - just at his height for his convenience. His mother said that he even has to tell his grandpa how to work certain electronic things in the house...........and I believe it. I asked if he was for hire to help me make my way through the electronic maze. She said he was, but we live in Prescott and he lives in Phoenix.
One problem that might have existed with the rain was the cultural celebration that was to take place on Saturday evening in connection with the dedication of the Gilbert Temple. We wondered if it would go on with the rain but apparently it was slated to go on, rain or shine and it did.
This morning we went to the Stake Center here in Prescott, and attended the live feed temple dedication ceremony. This ceremony was both peaceful and festive. That sounds strange, but it makes my heart happy to have been able to attend the dedication of one more temple, and it gave peace to my soul at the same time. Temples are important because we learn more about God and his plan for us and it is the connection between mortality and heaven. Marriage for time and eternity is the focal point of the temple ceremonies - the marriage bond extends beyond the grave....and that is comforting.
So now that we have a festive weekend of rain, and the celebration of a new temple dedication, we can concentrate on packing up our stuff and getting ready to go to Australia.
No comments:
Post a Comment