Random thoughts that connect as they flow through my head but might not when I say them out loud

I'm really glad I have a family that treats people with respect. It seems like no matter how different anyone is, we try to see their point of view and understand where they are coming from. There's a sincerity in valuing people. We, especially some of you, can discuss things and talk about different sides of the issue without being preachy and insisting on being right (this of course excludes some Thanksgiving dinner conversations between SOME people, especially when it comes to politics :) but that's all in good fun right?).
I'm glad I learned to value things like education and art and people and family and ideals. I've been a bit culture shocked in the last few years that not everyone sees past here and now and worldly stuff.

I remember driving from my grandpa's funeral to the cemetery- it was SO far away!- and then back to the church for lunch. I quite dislike funerals; they are sad no matter how much faith and hope you have in an afterlife and the person being in a better place. Perhaps that's what made Grandpa's funeral so thought provoking. I knew he was a good man and after some of the physical limitations he experienced before he died, I knew he was in heaven and I'm sure happy to be there. I could just see him doing cartwheels and laughing. But I was also so sad that he was gone. During the drive, I remember thinking about life and how it had all just stopped for the last few days. Everything I had going on was set aside and just not nearly as important as I had thought.
Today I read about an earthquake in Italy. There was a lot of devastation and I thought for those people the whole world has just changed. Very old cities have been wiped out to the point they don't even exist anymore. It made me think about my life and what I'm doing and what I'm working for and how fleeting it could be. What really then is important?

I watched conference over the weekend. The peace and calmness that it brings were especially welcome this time. There seemed to be a lot of talk of faith and doing what's right even though it's getting hard.
I want to have faith. I want to be like the people you read about who do the right things and then things work out for them. I want to be brave and face the lion's den because I know what I'm doing is right. Because I don't want anyone or anything to change me and what's inside. I think I have the conviction, I'm just not sure I have the strength to fight for it.

If your whole world can disappear so easily, you better know what it is that will stay with you or what really matters. And you better start living for it.