Flowers and Fireflies

Catch a memory, hold it tight
before it flutters to fading light
in my treasury of goodbyes
replete as wild, starry skies.
McKenzie Stewart

A group of us went looking for stars last night. It was partially cloudy, but we were still able to catch sight of the Big Dipper, the North Star, and Cassiopeia. As we walked back down the mountain street through the forests, fireflies danced along the grasses and mossy trees glowing like sparks from a campfire. (That must be why they are called fireflies.) The moment was so perfect it made me sad, like it was almost to good to be true. I wanted to cry just knowing that tomorrow this would only be a memory. Why are perfect moments so fleeting?

As we walked in the dark, I expressed my melancholy feelings to Andrea and she replied, “But that’s what makes life beautiful. Moments like this come and go and you have to appreciate it and cherish it while you have it. If we lived in this moment forever, it wouldn’t be special anymore.” That cheered me up a bit. I caught sight of more glowing, floating bugs and realized that I can’t catch them in a jar forever, and I can’t catch time like that. I can live in the beautiful present and be grateful for the road that brought me here and look forward with hope to whatever is around the bend.

I’ve enjoyed getting to know the young adults here. Andrea loves to travel and she wants to see the seven wonders of the world. I’m sure that she will; she is a go-getter. There is a young lady here from Ukraine. She is very interesting to talk to… the war has torn her home apart. She told me that we recently hit 500 days of war. I also got to know the handsome priest a little better. His name is Martino, and I can tell that his discipleship and devotion to God are sincere. I also met Pier, who helps out a lot with the songs in mass. Pier is very musically talented. I am surrounded by wonderfully interesting people speaking in Italian, English, and Spanish.

Today they invited me for an aperitive (afternoon drink with light snack). They enjoyed their bright green and orange glasses of alcohol while I enjoyed my glass of water. It’s funny to me that the priest drinks and smokes but won’t get married, and I want to get married but won’t drink or smoke. Messed up, right? The conversation turned to ancient texts and translations of the Bible. Incredibly interesting to me. I love how Pier pointed out immense gratitude for the Italian translation they have but noted that it is not perfect, compared to the original Greek and Hebrew texts. I love scriptures. I love words. I wish I’d had the chance to share more about how grateful I am for modern prophets like Joseph Smith who have translated scripture by the power of God. So the take away is: if a priest invites you for a drink, expect to talk about the intricacies of translations of scripture.

Was today the best day of my life? That’s hard to say, but it was up there. I saw some of the most gorgeous mountain peaks and sloping valleys and flower-covered meadows.

We hiked to The Thinking Christ. The statue of Christ seems to say to us, “I think a lot. I am always thinking of you.”

He never forgets us. So it made me happy to find forget-me-nots. These mountains have flowers of all kinds, every color of the rainbow. God is an artist.