Dear Family and Friends,
This week has been a
bit crazy! My poor companion was super sick and she had to spend most of
the week recuperating. So, I ended up having a lot of extra study time
throughout the week. But, it was good. It gave us as a companionship to
reflect on the tender mercies of the Lord. On Thursday both Sister
Harrop and I were feeling restless and wanted to get out and work but
Sister Harrop was still in pretty bad condition so we decided to stay
inside because we have a lot of new babies in the ward and didn't want
to risk getting anyone sick. So, we were moping and we left the house
but we didn't know what to do. Well, that night we received a super
sweet text from the Relief Society President that just said she had seen
and talked with a less active member we had been working with and that
she had said that we are the reason she is holding on to her testimony
and that she is so grateful for it. It was really such a tender mercy to
have received that text on a day both of us were feeling like we were
not doing what we wanted to and not because of any fault of our own but
because of sickness. Luckily though things are looking up and we are
able to get out of the house for longer and see more people gradually.
In fact this week has reminded me of a scripture I was reading recently
in the Book of Mormon it is in 1 Nephi 17 and it is Laman and and Lemuel
and they are complaining to Nephi about all of their afflictions and
all the things that they perceive are wrong in their lives and they say
in verse 20 "And thou(Nephi) art like unto our father, led away by the
foolish imaginations of his heart; yea, he hath led us out of the land
of Jerusalem, and we have wandered in the wilderness for these many
years; and our women have toiled, being big with child; and they have
borne children in the wilderness and suffered all things, save it were death;
and it would have been better that they had died before they come out
of Jerusalem then to have suffered these afflictions." I think of this
because even though Laman and Lemuel are complaining in this verse they
are also highlighting the tender mercies of God. When they are talking
about their women having children in the wilderness and none of them
dying I was thinking about how big of a miracle that was. They were
being protected and watched over by the Lord. However, one of the things
that set Laman and Lemuel apart from their brother Nephi was that they
didn't see the miracles and even when they did they ignored them. They
failed to focus on the good and ignore maybe the dirt and things that
were around them. One thing that my mission has shown me is that an
Attitude of Gratitude is so very necessary. Every night when I come home
I try to identify at least one miracle that I have seen throughout the
day. If I do that then I don't focus on the man who may have yelled at
us but rather I focus on the good things that happened. Missionary life
is so hard at times!... most of the time. There are times when I want to
just cry or give up. But!!! It is so worth it and the blessings of the
Lord are so apparent in my life that if I remember the things he did for
me then the rest of the icky or sad stuff doesn't really matter.
Because I know above all that God loves me and I am His daughter and I
also know that He loves everyone that I come in contact with and as I
focus on that I am able to feel even a small portion of His love for
them. I love you all and hope you have a great week!
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