Lovingkindness- yes, it's one word.

"Be kind. Everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." When I first heard this profound statement by Marjorie Pay Hinckley, it resonated within me. I hurried and scribbled it down on some scrap paper with a broken crayon I managed to find down in the depths of my purse/diaper bag- whatever you want to call it. The statement was too significant not to remember, and since that moment, it has become a motto for my life.

Being born and raised in a middle-class suburb of Vancouver, Washington was exceptionally ordinary. I attended public school, made good friends, was obedient, and then began the first leg of my college journey at BYU-Idaho.

My average life quickly changed in June of 2006. I got married. I began my first "hard battle" of halting my education, running off with my "newly degreed" husband, and starting our idealistic newlywed life in Las Vegas. But after our first lay-off, first baby, and a never-ending pile of bills, I realized we were headed for a war.

My dear husband has been laid off seven times. Right when life started going great, we got "let go," a child got sick, our insurance company denied another claim, or we needed to replace our timing belt. I've cried a lot. I pitifully wondered what I was doing wrong. Then, one day, as I was contemplating our lack of income, I realized that everyone around me was going through something even harder. I have friends who are dealing with foreclosure, cancer, death, depression, an inability to get pregnant, or divorce. I then taped my scrap paper quote to my bathroom mirror and sincerely began serving others who were facing tremendous challenges of their own. The battles I fight are unrelenting, but my perspective has changed. We are all in this together, and I've found lovingkindess to be essential for survival.

Dustin

No, it's not his Birthday. Nor is it any of our many anniversaries! My New Years Resolution is to be more appreciate and more loving towards Dustin.

You could say I got lucky. It could have been a huge mistake- after all, we were engaged after a record-short courting period. What you may not understand is that despite how fast everything went, it was the easiest decision of my life and I've never second-guessed spending the rest of my life with him.

So, there you have it. Instead of making a resolution to lose weight, eat healthier, watch less TV, or some other unrealistic goal that I'm sure to fail at by March- I've decided to be nicer and more appreciative of my husband.