This
week was a good week:) It is funny because sometimes I feel like
everyone has canceled and that we didn't get to do much teaching, but
then, I look at the lessons we have taught or the people that we have
reached out to and I realize that we have done a lot! Satan just tries
to get us down as missionaries to make us less effective. Sister
Horrocks always told me that the hardest times you face on your mission
always precede the greatest miracles. I have come to know that that is
true. Every time I get discouraged or I think that I am not doing a good
job, I am blessed to see a miracle within the week. So we keep chugging
along doing the work and knowing that God is blessing us:) That is what
is so great about this life!! I read a talk a couple of days ago that
was talking about blessings v.s burdens and it said:"There will always be
more blessings than burdens--even if some days it doesn't seem so.
Jesus said "I am come that they might have life, and that they might
have it more abundantly." Enjoy those blessings right now. they are
yours and always will be." end quote. I like that because it is an
eternal principle and one I wish I could help those I teach understand
more fully. Last night we were talking with a friend of an investigator
who is about 13 or 14 and she was talking about how this friend has been
coming to church since she was in fifth grade and how her parents wont
let her get baptized until she is 18. This is really hard on Athena (the
investigator) because she really wants to be a member of the church but
she is being held up by the fact that her parents don't approve. So,
her friend, Jessica was talking with us about how Athena is struggling
with the fact that she wants to be married in the temple but the fact
that her parents are so closed off about the religion and becoming a
Mormon will probably be a solo act on her part is really difficult for
her. So we talked about how if she chose not to be baptized even though
she knows it is true then she would show her family that she loves them
in this life. But, being baptized and married in the temple no matter
how hard of a choice it would be would show her family that she loved
them for eternity. Its hard to see the blessings of the challenges we
face when we are in the thick of it. But this same talk says: "But
the tests of life are tailored for our own best interests, and all will
face the burdens best suited to their own mortal experience. In the end
we will realize that God is merciful as well as just and that all the
rules are fair. We can be reassured that our challenges will be the ones we needed, and conquering them will bring blessings we could have received in no other way.
If
we constantly focus only on the stones in our mortal path, we will
almost surely miss the beautiful flower or cool stream provided by the
loving Father who outlined our journey. Each day can bring more joy than
sorrow when our mortal and spiritual eyes are open to God’s goodness.
Joy in the gospel is not something that begins only in the next life. It
is our privilege now, this very day. We must never allow our burdens to
obscure our blessings. "
This is a principle that I have seen over and over in my life.
Satan, he doesn't want us to see the things we are being blessed with.
He wants our minds to be clouded with doubts and with complaints against
the roughness of the way. But, as we look beyond the rocky path and we
take off the blinders that doubt and despair create, then we can see the
beauty of the scenery around us. One thing I have noticed about hikes
and paths in life is that they are hard but we do them because of the
view we get to see as we tread along. We are so blessed in this life to
have a loving Heavenly Father who wants us to have nothing but the best
he can offer!! Always remember that when times get tough just look
around the the things around you that are blessing your life not the
rocks that are littering the pathway back. I love you all and I am so
grateful to you for your testimonies and your prayers!
Love,
Sister Bice
No comments:
Post a Comment