A Small Moment

by Holly Carter

That small yellow kite sure had a lot of lift to it!

As I walked out of school and got on my bus, I wished it was Friday, but not for the same reasons other people did. I never went to movies with friends on Friday nights, I didn’t hang out at the mall on Saturdays, and my Saturday nights were spent at home watching television instead of at parties. I looked forward to weekends because on Sunday I saw my friends.

I was the only Mormon at my school and things had not been going well. I didn’t have many friends there, and I walked to all of my classes alone. I watched all the other people in their groups and pairs and wished I belonged. As the year went along, I became even more depressed. I prayed every night that I could find some way to be happy.

Then one Sunday after an especially bad week, help came in my Beehive class. The lesson was about life’s everyday afflictions. My teacher had made a small paper kite for each of us. Written on it was a scripture: “Peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes” (D&C 121:7–8).

There, on that little paper kite, was the answer to my prayers. After all, the problems I had at school were only temporary. If I concentrated on my goal of eternal life, I could endure all my troubles.

Years later, I still remember the little yellow kite that lifted me out of my emotional slump and let my spirit soar.

Illustrated by Bryan Lee Shaw; photography by Matt Reier