"Speaking Words of Wisdom, Let It Be"

Another week down. Somehow they seem to fly by, but at the same time drag on. I guess that's just life. But as far as weeks go, it was decent! We left the pits of quarantine life and we're back with the people. It felt so good to be back in members' homes and laugh and visit with them and just do non-quarantine stuff. lol.

Something kind of cool I've been doing lately is a type of gratitude challenge. I was watching a video and the guy was talking about how he had a friend challenge him for 10 days to write 50 things he was grateful for. But there's a catch; You can't repeat any of your items. Ok, I thought this would be easy, and it so was not. It took a good amount of serious thought, and it usually took me all day to come up with 50 unique items I'm thankful for each day. But I think that it's cool to see the Lord's timing in it. I started this the day I started feeling sick. The Lord knew I would need a way to look on the bright side. Negativity can be much easier for me than positivity, it seems. But I realized that when I focus on the good and the positive, life turns out alright.

Now, get ready for this. We were walking down the sidewalk earlier this week when we met Randy. Well, technically her name is Lovella, but as she says "I have 7 brothers, of course I had a 'boy' nickname." The timing of meeting Randy was crazy. We had gotten out of dinner 20 minutes later than planned because this sweet sister who was feeding us just was not ready (which was actually a plus because I got to feel right at home rolling out naan bread for her). Anyway, so very typical of missionary life, our plans completely changed. We were going to knock on the door of someone formerly taught and decided to walk instead. Because we walked and because we got out late, we happened to be walking by Randy's house just as she was getting her mail. Now let me give you a picture of Randy. Just think Betty White with darker hair and crazy eyes. That's Randy! As we walked past her house, she immediately started chatting us up, asking us about what church we attended and telling us about the different churches she has attended. As she said goodbye, suddenly, she was hugging us, thanking us for what we do. But it doesn't end there because then out walks Montana, a 6 foot 5 cowboy with a big ol' belt buckle. He starts telling us about this light up cross you can see from their backyard and suddenly we were in their house looking at a far off cross. When we left, Randy said "now ok you better call us." I still can't believe it. I'm probably not describing it well, but trust me, it was hilarious. This week, I've been reminded of some beautiful advice I received from my good friend's dad while I was still in training. He wrote me a beautiful letter about simple rosemary bushes and how they quietly grow and live. There's no forcing them, they just accomplish their purpose and let nature do its thing. He told me about how the best things in his life have just "flowed." He told me to let things meet me and not force things. I've seen this in so many ways this week. But I will focus on just 2 experiences. First, we had a super frustrating lesson. I love my companionship, but its really hard because I'm the only one who will try to take control, and I talk the most. So I feel so much pressure a lot of time. Well, we had a lesson with this man we've been meeting with since I got here. He doesn't fully understand what we do as missionaries, and he just talked and talked for 30 minutes. I kept trying to push the conversation in the direction of the Book of Mormon (because for the first time in two months he actually kept the commitment to read, and I wanted to hear his questions!) But it just was not working. He wasn't ready, that's just it. He didn't want to talk about the Book of Mormon because he doesn't know how much power it can bring. I walked away realizing I can't force anything. When I try to force it and control these things I can't control, I just end up frustrated and feeling inadequate. It makes things uncomfortable and hard, and to be honest, it just takes the spirit away. People will change when they want to change, and I can't force that on anyone. I can only love and bear testimony and listen, and hope somewhere along the way someone will feel the spirit. But then we had a lesson with Connor. I mentioned him a few weeks back when I had felt impressed to invite him to be baptized. Ever since, our lessons have been less spiritual. They've felt forced and awkward, and it's made me really sad because the first lesson was so powerful. But this time was so different. I don't know what the difference was, but I felt that same spirit again. It felt natural and easy, and the words just came. When it came time to extend our invite, I could clearly feel the spirit guiding me to some changes we needed to make. I once again felt just a portion of God's love for his son. Every time we have an experience like that, I'm just reminded of why I need to be here and how much I love it. This work is exhausting and sometimes I feel knocked down, but people like Connor make it worth it. And ultimately, it's Christ who makes it worth it. I've been thinking a lot about the pain Jesus Christ went through. In the "Come Follow Me" scripture reading this week, Christ speaks to Joseph about how because he felt all the pains of the world, why shouldn't Joseph have to go through pain (I'm paraphrasing of course. Christ is a lot more eloquent). But if Christ felt such intense pain, of course we will feel pain! I'm willing to do hard things with Christ on my side. He not only makes it easier, but he makes it possible. I'm so grateful for Him. Don't forget that Jesus loves you, Sister Wallace Pics: 1. Cutie comps 2. I love NM 3. This is super cute. Check out my swollen lip this morning. I have a rotten cystic zit under my lip that I messed with all day yesterday, resulting in, well, this. Enjoy because obviously I took like no pics this week

ReplyReply allForward