My Favorite Way to Unwind

My favorite way to unwind is to talk to Derek.  After all the kids are in bed I like to tell him all of the trivial little details of my day; what I liked, what made me cry, what was funny, how tired I am.  He "gets" to hear it all.  It makes my day feel more worthwhile somehow to have someone listen to me talk about it.  It gives me a chance to complain, or to ask questions and get ideas.  I look forward to it every day.

I ran into a bit of a difficulty however when Derek was the Bishop.  He would come home on Sundays so tired that he would try to listen, but he would fall asleep, or not be able to focus.  I came to understand that on Sundays, he needed me to be okay without unloading on him.  I just couldn't quite remember how!  When I was young, a journal worked pretty well, but that wasn't enough.  I wanted to feel heard, and understood.

I have prayed since I was younger than I can remember, but I wanted to talk to someone I could see and who I could hear.  However, I soon discovered that prayer was my very best option.  On those long Sundays I came to know without a doubt something that I had, perhaps, not understood before.  Heavenly Father is never too tired, or too busy to listen to me.  I am His child and am important to Him.  He doesn't mind hearing trivial details, and He doesn't find me to be a bother.  He doesn't get angry at me over feelings that I might be angry with me about.  He is patient, loving, comforting, and kind, and while I did not see Him or hear His voice, He did send help, comfort, and peace.

This experience was kind of like being 12 all over again and discovering that, even if nobody else seemed to understand what I was going through, Heavenly Father did.  I still love telling Derek all the details of my day, and having him hear, and understand, but I am thankful for the strengthened testimony of prayer I received during a challenging time.