Lessons from Andra's Front Porch

I stumbled on a funny blog the other day. It was called something like "What Mormons Like." One of the posts talked about how much Mormons like analogies. So in that spirit, here's one that I've been thinking about.


I learned a pretty good lesson on Andra's (beautiful) front porch this summer. I'm recording it to help me remember it, but maybe someone else will find it helpful as well.

We were all so excited when we got to Genola--both to see the cousins and to see the new house. Andra proudly gave me the grand tour and I was thrilled about every last bit. It was as she was showing me the front porch, though, that she said something that has stuck with me. We stood on the porch surveying the vista in front of the house. Not the gravel and lack of lawn, but the orchard across the street and the mountains beyond that.

The picture I took doesn't begin to show how lovely the view was. It was particularly beautiful in the evenings when the sky was tinged with pink, but I didn't manage to get a picture of that either. Andra pointed out that she had specifically requested that the new house not be oriented parallel to the street. She said, "I knew I didn't want to always be looking at that.


I shifted my gaze a bit to the left, and sure enough--a small concrete block warehouse sitting right beside the road. Given a choice I'm sure I would not want to be looking at it all day, every day, either. Good call, Andra!

I've thought about this a lot since that day. How often would I be better off, more peaceful, happier, if I chose to orient my gaze a little to the left or the right? Focused on the beauty that was in front of me instead of the stress that was off to the left a little? Had more gratitude for the incredible good health of 5 of my kids instead of always focusing on the health problems of 1? Spent more time with my cute kids and less with my messy house? I think there's a lot of wisdom here for me...