Inspiring Thought

Something that has inspired me this year is a comment by Elder M. Russell Ballard:

One devastating effect of idling away our time is that it deflects us from focusing on the things that matter most. Too many people are willing to sit back and let life just happened to them. It takes time to develop the attributes that will help you to be a well-balanced person.

The last line is my favorite. These words have helped to encourage and inspire me. I find them exciting because there are so many things that I want to do in life, and I know that if it happens now or later, it is all apart of the process of becoming. It goes along with the belief that "to everything there is a season."
It is also exciting because it means that whoever I am now only matters inasmuch as it helps me in the becoming process. Whatever things I don't like about myself, over time will fall away like the skin off boiled peaches, if I try. I may one day realize that the type of person I admire and oh so wish I was (someone more friendly and ready to believe the best in people rather than be unjustly critical, for starters) I may be.
This is an extension of my career as a crafter as well. About 1 1/2 years ago, after many years of only longing and admiring, I picked up a paint brush and bought a small supply of watercolors. Now, I am pleased to say that I have sold a few (a very few). But it is encouraging to look back and see how I used to know nothing of the art and to now feel that I have left the beginners stage. It wasn't something I was born with. I even started rather late in life. But now, I can with confidence call myself an artist.

I am happy to think that maybe one day I can add to my description: quilter, seamstress, floral designer, and a skilled creator of whatnots. I'm sure that this blog with our community of inspiration coming from so many different sources will be key for me as I strive to always be becoming.