Moments

I was browsing on pinterest...(i know, i know, surprise surprise) and I stumbled upon this quote.

"There are moments which mark your life.

Moments when you realize nothing will

ever be the same and time is divided into

two parts, before this and after this."

-Unknown.

I also was reading on itjustgetsstranger.blogspot.com (another surprise)  and he posted this in one of his blog posts.

"Every once in a while you hit an exact moment where you realize that everything you see beyond that moment will always look different to you than before that moment and it's all because of that moment. I'm not talking about long drawn out life changing experiences- those certainly force you to view the world a completely different way. I'm talking about just small and quick exchanges that for whatever reason permanently shed light on life."

-Elli McCain

I agree that we all hit moments like these in all of our lives and I want to share some of mine.

1. When I was a kid I was terrified of everything, and I mean everything, like riding a bike for example. I hated laying on the grass, I was too chicken to jump off the high dive, and don't even get me started on roller coasters. Anything new that involved heights, or fun I was scared of it. I always got crap from my family because my younger sister, who wasn't born with an ounce of fear in her body, did everything I was too scared to do. Finally one day, after climbing up and down the latter on the high dive about 6 times, at the public pool, (in front of a hundred people) I closed my eyes. Said one final prayer to thank God for my beautiful short life, and I jumped off...And I LIVED! Ever since then I knew I could conquer any fear. 

2. The day I became high school soccer captain was the moment I realize childhood dreams do come true.

3. In 6th grade I was a student body officer (still have no idea how I became one) but us, student body officers, were required to perform a skit in front of the entire school. I went to the, butt crack of dawn, practices for weeks before the performance. I learned the dances and all of my lines. The night before the performance I had a nervous break down (remember I was a chicken back then). I told my mom I was quitting and I was NOT going to school the next day. In my mind, nothing, ever in a million years could get me to go up on that stage. (Except maybe twenty dollars and a baby bottle pop cause that was alot of money and the best flippen treat ever to a 6th grader.) After calming me down my mother and father proceeded to give me the lecture about, if I promise someone I will do something I can't break that promise. And if i started quitting things now, I will always be a quitter for the rest of my life. For some reason that lecture had a huge impact on me and my life. I did the skit the next day and so far, to this day, I have not quit anything that I promised I would do. 

4. When I crossing the finish line, after running in the worst hail storm cross country race ever, with the my personal record time. That was the moment I realized that pain is a mental battle, your body can do incredible things when pushed.  

5.Every Monday when I was on the high school soccer team, we had to do what is called the juggling challenge. One has to juggle the ball 30 times on their thighs to pass the first test. Then you move up to 40, then 50. Then it goes to just your feet in the same 30, 40, 50 pattern and then to your head. Each week you have a chance to try and pass off one of the tests. I was never really good at juggling and if you failed you had to do a fun run. (p.s. fun runs ARE NOT FUN!) So basically I passed the 30 thigh test miraculously one day but all the other days i had to do the stinking. not. so. really. fun. fun runs. The last Monday of my senior year I decided that I was going to pass the test if it killed me. Occasionally a girl on the team would fail but be really close and would ask for the double or nothing chance. If you failed a second time you had to do the unspeakable...run TWO FUN RUNS. *gasp!* I don't remember anyone actually passing the second time so hardly anybody ever did the double or nothing challenge. So I figured since it was my last chance I would do the double or nothing if worse came to worse. I had to get forty...how hard can that be ha ha (actually I had never gotten more than thirty...ever...but I was determined.) So it was my turn...I got 35 juggles. Shaking I looked up at my coach and said, I'll do double or nothing. He gave me the, are you sure, look. I nodded and kept practicing until it was my turn again. By my next turn alot of girls were done with their test and were watching because not very many girls ever did double or nothing. Second test...I got 38...almost teary eyed and still super shaky  I looked at my coach and with a strike of insanity I said...triple or nothing...all the girls gasped around the circle. My coach gave me the, you know i'm really gonna make you run three of the fun runs if you don't get this, look. I nodded practiced a couple more times then got ready for round three. Everybody was watching by now and was cheering me on. I couldn't breath, barely controlling my shaking I did my third test....i got 40 but my last juggle i kicked it too far away and dove...but missed it...if you don't catch the ball after getting 40 it doesn't count. Wanting to cry, I got up from the ground and looked at my coach and I was surprised to see that he was smiling, he said..."let me guess. Quadruple or nothing?" I said, "heck yeah!" I dominated that last test and did a victory lap!! That was the best soaring feeling ever! That was the moment I learned that perseverance will take you anywhere and that nothing feels better than achieving your goals.

6. Prom, that was the day that I learned that there is such a thing as a perfect day...cheesy, i know...but true.

7.One day while in gym class I found out some really nasty rumors had been spread about me. I was extremely hurt. After I stopped crying my friend Victor (my emo, Russian friend) told me that it doesn't matter what people think or say about you, the only thing that matters is what you think and what you know is true. There are so many times that I am reminded about what he said...

8. One night while going to school at Byu Idaho in Rexburg I received a phone call with some really bad news about my Grandpa Jones. While sobbing uncontrollably I called my boyfriend at the time and he comforted me on the phone while running the entire way (a mile) to get to my apartment...I never thought of about love the same way again.

9.I use to have this boss who I thought was very calloused and mean. She always seemed to be in a bad mood. Then one day while I was doing some file work in her office she tearfully told me about how it was the anniversary of her only son's death. He was tragically killed in a car accident around the same time her best friend passed away. Which was only a couple years after her mother lost the fight to cancer...I never thought about people the same way after that. 

10. Two days before a 3 day weekend my sister, rachel, marc and I planned a camping trip. (it was the middle of February) We dropped everything, drove 6 hours to Moab and camped out in 20 degree weather. I have never had a funner road trip in my life!! That was the moment I realized that the only thing that keeps me from doing extraordinary things is me.

11. I lost a bet once and became a True Aggie with a random stranger. That's when I learned it's ok to be spontaneously crazy sometimes.

12. My sister and I had hamsters when we were little kids. We use to take them out of their cages and "play" with them. Which usually consisted of pushing them down the little orange and blue slide...we didn't realize this probably wasn't fun for the hamsters. Please don't tell the animal rights activists...But one day my sister lost her hamster after we pushed it down the slide. It probably was trying to make it's escape for freedom. But one thing lead to another, my sister burst into tears and of coarse since I am the oldest it obviously was my fault and some how I get sent to time out. (I've noticed that this is a weird phenomenon that it only makes sense to blame the oldest for everything that goes wrong in the house.) Well, i remember stomping to time out and in my frustrated tears I said a prayer to Heavenly Father that Jacy would find her hamster and right when I finished my prayer my mom yelled "We found it!". I've always known the power of prayer since then.

13. In 7th grade my keyboarding teacher took his own life. That's when I learned that life is a gift and there is always something to live for.

14.Leaning against my car after realizing somebody I loved for four years didn't choose me, that's when I learned what a broken heart really feels like.

15. After the most depressing and hard year of my life my uncle was driving me to the airport to take me home for Christmas break. He gave me some advice and while he was talking it literally sounded like he spoke words that came from Heavenly Father's mouth. This isn't the first time but it was a moment that reminded me that Heavenly Father does speak through friends and family to answer our prayers and I need to make sure I listen.