temple night

So one of the goals for Year of Megan is to visit the temple once a month with Dave.  If you are unfamiliar with what a temple is, check out this link for more information.

Dave and I love going to the temple.  However, we didn't realize how truly spoiled we were living in Utah until we moved here to Houston.  There is one temple in the Houston area and it is one the north side of town.  Like the way north side.  And we live on the south side.

I'm definitely not complaining because I vividly remember all day youth trips in a chartered bus when the only temple in Texas was in Dallas.  Actually, now that I think about it, those trips were super fun.  It was like all of my teenage friends crammed into one space for a wild long bus ride.  As fun as that was though, a temple in Dallas meant very limited trips.

Anyway, when we lived in Utah, there were several temples to choose from.  A trip to the temple meant hopping in the car and driving down the street.  A trip to the Houston temple requires planning and considerable forethought.  I left my house at four this afternoon to drop Katelyn off with my mom and dad and sister.  I made my way to the medical center to pick Dave up from work and then we braved the rush hour northbound traffic.  We finally made it home at eleven.  It was a seven hour event.

And we always get lost.  I don't even understand how it happens every time.  We always either miss an exit or get turned around or don't exit the freeway in time.  It's not even that difficult to find.  Once, we missed the exit on Beltway 8 (a huge freeway that loops around the city).  We didn't even notice that we missed the exit for several miles.  We both kept saying, "This all looks familiar."  It all looked familiar because we had missed the exit long enough to be recognizing landmarks of the way home.  Today's adventure was trying to find a major freeway downtown.  I don't understand how a native to the city and a man who is very good at navigating roads can get so mixed up.

I realize as I type this though that there are faithful members of the church who brave an even more arduous journey to enjoy the blessings of the temple.  There are those who have to save for transportation, endure long and uncomfortable bus rides, or even walk to get to the House of the Lord.  I used to wonder how they could make such sacrifices to get to the temple when they were already going to church on Sunday.

I understand it now.

Despite the long journey, the traffic, and the late night getting home, I'm always glad that we went to the temple.  I think my favorite part is the way that we treat each other when we leave.  It's like we are given a view of the much greater picture and vividly reminded of our purpose, our direction, and our meaning in life.  It's difficult to be short tempered or irritated when you have just felt the Spirit so strongly.

This was like the billionth picture we tried to take outside the temple.  After this one, Dave refused that take any more pictures.  Lol.