Shirley's Writing Class

Written 11/1/08. I have joined a writing class with the highly acclaimed LDS writer, Shirley Bahlman of Ephraim, Utah. This past summer my wonderful husband, Clyde, and I were called to help with the costumes for the Mormon Miracle Pageant. While there one evening, we met Shirley, who played an Nephite in the Christ in America scenes. We were just conversing when she mentioned she would be holding a writing class beginning in the fall. We had lived in Utah for just six months and had experienced so many wonderful mind-blowing experiences. And then, out of the blue, an opportunity of a lifetime, for me anyway, just presented itself! My secret wish I have maintained my whole life was to write and be published. Suddenly and quite unexpectantly, we met a published author who through a regular conversation stated she would be holding a class! Shirley, surely (haha), had no idea of my intense lifelong desire, but Father in Heaven knew. He put me in that particular place, behind the scenes of the Manti Pageant, at that particular time when Shirley would be there and He inspired her to mention her writing class. Later that evening when I had time to reflect on the many blessings that had come our way since our move, I began to cry. My good new friend, Julie Poulsen, noticed that I was crying and walked over, put her arm around my shoulder and quietly asked what was the matter. I responded with a twenty minute long speech about my deep and sincere gratitude for my Savior and for our Father, who gives and gives and gives even when we feel so unworthy of such gifts. I expressed to her through my tears all that I was feeling. How I loved this area so very much! How humbled I felt sitting in the shadow of the Jewel of the Church, the Manti Temple! How aware I became of the sacrifices of the pioneers who sacrificed all, including their lives, to settle this area! How the people here were wonderful examples of becoming a people of Zion! How being near my family for the pregnancy of the daughter-in-law, the birth of my first granddaughter, the preparation for and the marriage of my only daughter could not have been experienced without a move made possible by Father in Heaven! How I treasured all the precious memories of the many gatherings we've had since our move with those I love the most in this world! How my friendship with Tom O. was such a complete surprise, but had developed into one of the most important of my life! How I loved her and her family and that she shone as a bright example for me! Words tumbled out of me with such force and intensity. It all started because I knew Father in Heaven was aware of me and of my dreams and desires and was providing an opportunity for me to realize one of them through Shirley's writing class!