A Year of Temples

Our bishop challenged us to go to the temple every month this year.

Every month.

Now, if you live in Utah this is not a huge stretch.  You could probably leisurely stroll to your nearest temple.  Or in any major city for that matter.  

But Iowa is a little barren on the temple front.  We don't have one.  Our closest temple is in Omaha.  Other surrounding temples include Kansas City, St. Paul, and Nauvoo.

So in order for us to go to the temple, we need three things:  a weekend that we have set aside, someone to watch Topher, and enough gas to get us there and back.

Every month.

A more righteous person would have probably been excited about this challenge from the very get-go, but I was initially more hesitant about the logistics of it all.  

However, now that we are half-way through the year, I wanted to share how I have grown to love this goal more than any other goal we have ever made together as a family.

This has been our year so far:

Jan: Winter Quarters Temple (Omaha)

Feb: Chicago Temple

March: Winter Quarters Temple

April: Kansas City Temple

May: Kansas City Temple

This coming weekend TJ and I are headed to Nauvoo for our June temple trip.  Every month, instead of seeing it as a chore to accomplish, we find ourselves really excited about which city we will visit, the time we'll spend together, the ancestors we will be helping, and the peace we will feel inside those holy walls.

I am so grateful for temples.  I am grateful to be in a church where I can continue to do service work for my loved ones who have passed away (but are still very much in existence and whom I still have a responsibility to help!)  

I am grateful for a bishop who boldly asked us to do something hard.  Something that is stretching us and improving us, and something that has centered our entire year on temple work.  

Most of all, I'm grateful for the man who takes my hand in a gentle squeeze and walks me through those giant doors each month.

This is going to be a beautiful year life.

--KC