Festival of Lights

I got off work around 8:00 (an all-too-common event these days), and I needed some time to unwind and get away from my stresses. The Washington DC temple is fairly close, and they're having the Festival of Lights right now, so I thought that'd be a good place to clear my head.I walked the grounds for a bit and looked at all the Christmas lights, and they were very pretty. With the snow on the ground and covering some of the bushes, it made the lights that much more brilliant. Then I went into the visitor's center and looked at some of the exhibits there, including nativities from different parts of the world, some Book of Mormon story exhibits, and lots of fancy-decorated Christmas trees.

There were lots of sister missionaries in the visitors center, and as I walked into a room, I saw one that I recognized: Sister Kaeli McCall. I know Kaeli from back at BYU. She's doing really well and is about to finish her mission. She sends her love to all the friends and hopes everyone is happy. She's a good missionary. I could tell, partly because she had no hesitation to invite me to share the gospel, and that is often harder to do with a friend than some random stranger on the street or in the visitors center.

The best part of the night was the peace I could feel on the temple grounds and being able to reflect on my life and get re-centered. Life can get so hectic; sometimes we all just need to step back away from the world and get a little perspective. Thinking on the importance of the temple and the life of the Savior was just what I needed.