Stop and Smell the Roses

It seems that everything is blooming around here! During the past several weeks, the hillsides have been covered with wildflowers in the most spectacular "Superbloom" the state of California has seen in many years. Major traffic jams (above and beyond the normal daily snarls and backups) have been created by hundreds of thousands of people traveling to view vast horizons covered in California poppies, wild mustard plants and lupine. 

While we haven't had the time to travel to see the Superbloom, even our drives on the local freeways as we have been out inspecting missionary apartments have been breathtaking. We've had a splendid look at foothills covered in wildflowers and neighborhoods fill with blossoming trees, bushes and flowers. We've been basking in the beauty all around us. In fact, as I was taking a photo at one of the apartment complexes we visited last week, a resident came along and advised us to "stop and smell the roses!" Just a moment spent taking in the beauty of nature can change your entire day.

None of my photos do the beauty justice, but here are a few of the sights we've seen:

The Anaheim Hills

Bougainvillea

Roses alongside a busy highway.

At our Mission Office

Hibiscus

Bottle brush plant

Poppies

Pink Camellias

Statice

Mustard plant blooms along Pacific Coast Highway

California poppies

Caught in the act of stealing a ripe avocado
near our Mission Office.

As our time here in Anaheim is quickly drawing to a close, we are realizing how very much we are going to miss all the experiences we have grown to love so much -- and especially, the missionaries. It's amazing how much they've changed our lives in the six short months we've had to get to know them. We are wishing we could stay longer.

Missions can provide such perspective! Consecrated service and new experiences bring a change of purpose, a change of scenery, often a new culture, language, food, and habits. Missions broaden understanding and round out your life in a way few things can. 

This week we had a great opportunity to reflect on past missionary experiences . One of our sister missionaries, who was with us in the London Temple Visitors' Centre for her entire 18 month mission, went out of her way to fly to Los Angeles for the day and visit us. She and her husband and two children live in their native France and were in Utah for General Conference. We hadn't seen her in over five years. We got permission from our mission president to take a day off  to be with her - and we had the most wonderful time together! 

Pat and Virginie in Santa Monica

                                         

Pat, Virginie, and Don

Missions, and life, can get so busy that we can get swallowed up in our responsibilities, tasks, and to-do lists. Life goes by so fast. It's been nice to stop and smell the roses these past few weeks.

--Pat--