a slice of nirvana

In the Sunday morning rush I broke a cereal bowl.
Having a baby means adding at least 45 minutes to your getting ready routine.
45 minutes or more.
And the difficult part is, you never know when 45 minutes might turn into 55, or 65.

But we made it to Church, and since our ward is full of young families, getting there in time to have soft seats for the 9 am Sacrament meeting is less a matter of getting there early than it is simply getting there before everyone else does.

We slid into our bench, arranged the diaper bag and other belongings, took off our jackets, and settled in with Nicholas, prepared with a handful of "silent toys," burp cloths, and his binky. We snuggled in close and played with our baby for a few minutes before the meeting started.

After the meetings were over, Kent went over to the bishopric's offices to get some paperwork and our bishop stopped him.

He told Kent that he watched our family come into Church that morning.
He said that we looked like "a happy little piece of heaven," and, crossing religious terminology he added, a "slice of nirvana."

***

I'm not very familiar with what nirvana actually means.

I looked it up on Wikipedia.

"The Buddha described Nirvana as the perfect peace of the state of mind that is free from craving, anger and other afflictive states. The subject is at peace with the world, has compassion for all and gives up obsessions and fixations."

The subject is at peace with the world.

Peace.

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid" -John 14:26-27

And that is my one little word for 2010.

Peace.

President Gordon B. Hinkley said, "Are these perilous times? They are. But there is no need to fear. We can have peace in our hearts and peace in our homes. We can be an influence for good in this world, every one of us." (from his book One Bright Shining Hope).

I am a champion worrier. Poor Kent can attest to that. I always have been. I worry about anything and everything.

Especially now that I have Nicholas.

But it isn't just worrying that I have a problem with. I get easily upset when things happen that are different from the perfect little plan in my head.

I stew. I mull. I mope and complain.

"We should not live a life of despair and gloom. We should enjoy life in the light of revealed truth."

-Marion G. Romney, former first counselor in the First Presidency of the Church.

I hope that this year I can learn to be at peace. I want to be happy with what I've been given, love the people around me, and trust that our Heavenly Father will look after what I cannot control.

Post-edit: Kent just informed me that the phrase "a slice of nirvana" didn't come from the bishop, but from Kent himself.

Either way, I like the phrase, and the writer in me is loving the sentence structure I've got going on up there, and so I'm keeping it as is.