BIKING THROUGH LIFE

Imagine this. 

You're 5 years old again.  You're learning how to ride a bike.  It's hard work!  You're trying to pedal and balance and steer and look like you're having fun, all while your mom mans the video camera and your dad shouts tips from somewhere behind you because he's just given you a push start.  

Okay, you think, I've got this.

And all of a sudden, you start to fall.  It seems to come in slow motion.  Your heart jumps to your throat and your face is about to meet the pavement.  Your hands come up to break your fall and you feel stinging on the palms of your hands as well as your knees.  The bike lands on top of you and you hear cries of dismay from the people you love that are watching.  

And now, you've got a decision to make.  You can either quit right then and there, or you can get up and do it again.  And again.  And again.  Maybe 10 more times.  Maybe 20.  Until you get it.  

And not only keep moving, but keep trying.  Because it takes practice to learn how to move forward in the first place. Moving is different than trying because once you've learned, you can move forward without really trying.

For instance, a bad day is like a fall on a bike.  Everything comes together to smack you in the face.  all you want to do is sit down and cry, and give up.

But then you remember when you were 5.  And you were learning to ride a bike.  And you wanted to give up so many times, but you didn't. And now you can ride a bike.

Maybe if you get up, get out of bed, brush off the dust now, in the midst of your bad day, you'll look back one day being able to do something you couldn't do once.

And you'll smile. 

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

This is for YOU.

You, with the long hair. Or short hair. Or no hair. Every mother, daughter, sister, grandmother, friend, neighbor. You are beautiful. Kind. Generous. Soft. Independent. Courageous. Important. Loving. Strong. Inspiring. Smart. Active. Funny. Radiant. Talented. Motivated. Opinionated. Young. Old. You are a woman.





You have struggles.  Perhaps it's junior high, wanting to be included.  Maybe you're in high school, wondering about the future.  You're in college, waiting to be loved.  Or you're a mother, wearing yourself out for your little ones.  You're battling cancer, wishing you could stop the pain. You mourn for lost loved ones.  You live paycheck to paycheck. You want the blessing of children, but haven't been able to conceive.

You also have triumphs.  You received a promotion at work.  You ran a marathon, tears mingled with sweat streaming down your face as you crossed the finish line, hands held high.  You got an A on an important test.  You can smile through the pain.  You made dinner -- and didn't burn it.  You spoke up for something you believed in.  You are a leader.  You made it through yet another day.  Your children learn and grow.

You have a divine role in society.  You aren't a woman on accident.  You were made this way. God made you with all the qualities you possess on purpose.  He loves you.  He loves all of His daughters.

You were meant to shine.

You were meant to be wonderful. 

You were meant to do great things.  Even if those things seem small to other people.

Embrace womanhood.  Embrace you.  Embrace the woman God intended you to be.

ATTITUDE CHECK

These days were the best days of my life.  Seriously.

Serving as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Hong Kong, China was the best thing I've ever done.

I had the best experiences with the best people and learned soooo much.

Some days, I look back through my pictures and want to be there again.  I want to be a missionary, live in China, serve other people 24/7, eat rice and fish, and be totally immersed in the gospel.

But also, I'm glad to be where I am right now.  The Lord has blessed me a LOT, and I know He's got a grand plan for me.  I have to trust Him exactly like I did on the mission.  I always knew that even when it was hard, He would pull through for us.  The hard things were for our good.  It was easier to see when I was a missionary.

Whit {my sis} emailed yesterday and talked about the hard things of her mission.  And I was reminded for a second of how hard it really was.  I tend to look back at only the good times and good things.  But being in Hong Kong was hard, too.

I guess, no matter where you are in life, the good things are good and the bad things are bad, and it all just depends on what you dwell on.  Happiness or misery.  It's all about our attitude!

MY LOVES

• moms that text/snapchat you back.  alllllll day long.  {i mean you'd think she'd get annoyed. nope.  she's always there with a comment for my texts that are mostly just my continuous train of thought for the day.}
• friends.  like, best friends.  ones you can be completely and totally 100% yourself with.  ones that celebrate your birthday for 3 days straight and shower you with love and gifts.  ones that you'll never get sick of seeing and being with, because every moment is fun with them, even the moments when you're sprawled in comfortable silence in the living room saying absolutely nothing.  
• days when you feel pretty.  we all have days when we don't but let's be real...  there's that one day in a million when you wake up and everything seems to go right.  you look in the mirror and you think "hey, she's not half bad" and wink and go about your day, feeing confident.
• tests with good scores.
• cloudy skies -- but not too cold outside.  prime.
• closing your eyes and taking a trip through hong kong's crowded streets in your mind {and you know every detail -- smell, turn, sounds, the works} 
• aaaaand... these things...

11-year-old wedding dates

missionary sisters!! and asian shrines
{i seriously miss seeing these everywhere}

exhausted stake presidents/dads

a bride and 3 bridesmaids
aka best friends

visits from mission friends

birthday cakes and home


happy love month, everyone <3

THE POST OF CHRISTMAS PAST

once upon a christmas... 

the extended wilcox family decided that, instead of giving gifts to each other, we would give gifts to someone that couldn't afford them.  we would give someone else christmas.

i was, like, 7? maybe 8?  i don't remember everything perfectly.

i do remember a giant refrigerator box merrily wrapped in red paper.  i remember a fire truck, some little girl clothes, and other goodies being carefully placed inside.  i remember my heart racing as dad and uncles put the huge box carefully on the porch and then ran back to the car.  i remember a good feeling warming every part of me and carols sung reverently.  i remember a few stray tears.

once upon another christmas... 

we were young.  young enough that anytime past 6 am was "too late" to be bouncing out of bed christmas morning.  we were planning on having two sets of grandparents to be there for the big day.  but when we found out that my aunt had to work christmas eve, my parents asked us if we could wait until maybe 11 am to open presents.

maybe our first thought was, 11?! 

but the spirit of christmas touched our hearts and we waited until 11.  we bounded out of the house when my aunt pulled up, dead tired but looking grateful to be there.  i remember thinking i would have waited until the next day, just to make christmas special for someone else besides myself.

once upon another christmas...

i sat in a cramped, teeny apartment in hong kong, china, surrounded by 5 other girls, sitting on beds and small stools or sprawled on the cold tile floor.  we were playing christmas music from a cd we'd gotten from the public library on our shared portable dvd player.  we'd made ourselves a special christmas breakfast -- nothing close to what i'd be having if i were home, but special to us nonetheless -- and we were exchanging gifts.  a single string of battery-operated christmas lights hung on the bunk beds above our heads.

i felt embarrassed at my gift of chocolate when i opened what 2 of the other girls had made for me.  one was a wooden box, hand-decorated, with my name on the front.  i opened it and found the sweetest note inside.  the other was a handmade wooden picture frame.  all of a sudden, i remembered the true meaning of christmas.

i love christmas.  this season is so happy.  and i think the grinch is absolutely dead-on.  christmas doesn't come from a store; it means infinitely more than what we get in our stockings.  and as you can see, my most memorable christmases weren't the ones when everything on my wish list was checked off.  the most memorable christmases were when i felt the love of the One that christmas is really all about.

#sharethegift

I'M BACK!

it doesn't seem like too long ago that i posted the previous post.... and yet it's been almost 20 months!  crazy how time flies, isn't it?  so cliche, i know.

my mission was amazing.  i can't believe it's over already.  i miss it every day.  but...

i'm so happy to be where i am.

i love my family.  gosh, i love them.  it's been so fun to just hang out with them.  it's been awesome to work and come home to a good home-cooked meal {something i missed SO much while i was gone!}.  it's been amazing to be a temple worker.  it's been incredible to hear from my missionary sister.  it's been so happy to be home for christmas again.

i guess what i'm getting at here, is that LIFE COULDN'T BE ANY BETTER. 

i'm so incredibly thankful for the gospel and the Christmas season that reminds us of the joy that our Savior brings to each of us.  He brings peace, comfort, joy, love, light, laughter, meaning, and all things good to my life.

in all the things that i went through in the past 18 months, and all the things i'm about to go through in the next 18 months and more, i know He's always -- and will always be -- there.

i want you all to know it, too.

so happy to be back in the blogging world.  i don't even care if anyone reads this.  but maybe by the small stuff i write down, i'll be able to help someone {myself included} be a little happier today.

happy december!  cheers to post-mission life!

HERE I GO!

i'm so excited.  tonight i get set apart as a full-time servant of the Lord to go preach His gospel in China.  Hong Kong, to be exact.  i couldn't be more thrilled!

please check my mission blog for updates:  sistershayleekwilcox.blogspot.com

LOVE YOU ALL!  thank you for your continued love, support, and prayers in my behalf.

and now starts my adventure!