Blog #13

This week I attended the funeral of a family friend. Annie Schmidt's story caught the attention of many news stations across the United States, and as the story came to a close Monday morning I couldn't help but see God's hand in her story's outcome.

Although Annie was raised in a very conservative community, Annie was known for her free thinking and open minded response to life. Anybody that knew Annie will tell you she was the most caring individual and that she blessed the lives of anybody to cross her path.

During her funeral service, her brother Spencer shared a quote from Annie's journal that has stuck with me ever since. The quote reads, "Nature is where Christians, Muslims, Agnostics, and Atheists can go to something beautiful and something bigger than themselves." I love this quote and her purposeful use of incorporating the most contrast belief systems, and still show that with God's creation we can look past differences to find the beauty in the big picture.

Living in Provo, Utah comes with many pros and many cons. The pros of living in Provo include: living in a clean city, being surrounded by peers that your same values and beliefs, the opportunity to pursue a great education, and having family close to home.  The cons of living in Provo are few, but one of the biggest cons being the lack in diversity we have in Provo, Utah. With so many peers sharing the same beliefs and values, inclusivity becomes a norm amongst groups that don't share the same beliefs and values. Annie's message in this quote is a message of hope in the individual, looking past the individual's beliefs.

I love this. Being raised in a non-member home, I often find myself stuck between life back home, and life as an active member of the church. Annie's quote shows that this stuck position that I sometimes experience, comes as a result of my lack in efforts to bridge the gap between the two contrast lifestyles and beliefs. Both of which are filled with some of the best people to enter my life.

Although Annie Schmidt has since moved on to the next life, her story and her sweet message has caused me to wake up, and make the changes necessary to be the person that bridges the gap between belief systems. Her message is one that motivates spirit to spirit connection, rather than religion to religion connection. And that spirit to spirit connection is what Christ has been asking of us since the beginning of time.