It is all good
First, I feel that I should start with an apology. I am sorry. I am sure that ever since you can remember, I have always told you to keep high standards, to do your best, and to reach for the stars. However, I realized today, that I may not have been sending that message lately. In fact, I may have been sending the message that it is OK to lower your standards. If that is the message I have sent, I am sorry. That is not what was intended.
The message I have been trying to send is that you are only required to do your best. However, if you have set standards for yourself, that you feel comfortable with, then by all means do not lower them on my behalf. Just know that you are only required to do your best.
The Lord only asks that we keep His commandments. Some people worry that just keeping the commandments will not help them grow the way they want to so they set their standards higher. That is a personal preference. However, he only expects us to keep his commandments and do our best.
Today, I am grateful to have the opportunity to work. I really enjoy working. It may not seem that way all the time, but over all, I enjoy it. It is very satisfying to know that I am doing good. I know I am because each day I go to work with the goal of being the best person I can be. I don't always accomplish what I need to. Sometimes I get alittle frustrated with the way things are going. Then I realize that there is only one person who can change that us Me. Life, work, family, and the world around me don't always move as fast or in the direction that I want them to move. However, they do move. It is then up to me how I deal with it. I can make the best of it or make the worst of it.
When I entered the MTC, I was extremely home sick. I missed my family. I missed being with them. I was so home sick that I made myself sick, physically. My stomach always hurt, I did not want to eat, and I did not sleep well. My branch president, instructors, and president were very concerned. I am sure they even called my parents. After a couple visits to the doctor and running some tests, they determined that there was not anything wrong with me physically. So they sent me to see a psychologist, shrink. We talked. He knew what I could have told him. I was homesick.
However, my desire to succeed as a missionary was strong. I had set a standard for myself. My family, my branch president, and the Lord, only expected me to do my best. It took a shrink help me figure out that I was the only one who could accomplish that. The homesickness was getting in the way of my mission goals and desires. The fact that I loved my family, missed them, and wanted to be with them were not going to change. What had to change was how I dealt with it. I started looking at is as if I had been wounded or lost a limb, like an eye. The wound can be patched, sewn up, and scared over, but at times it still hurts. I was just going to have to learn to deal with that pain. It was going to be a part of my life.
Once I learned to deal with it, I was able to focus on other goals and desires. I found myself spending my free time catching up. I prayed for strength. By the time my first 2 months were up, I could hardly stand it. I wanted out of the MTC. I wanted to be in the mission field doing what I had been trained to do.
When I saw my family and friends at the airport, the pain was strong. I kissed them goodbye, and limped down the jet way to my plane. That pain will always be with me, good or bad. To this day I have that pain. Sometimes it hurts more than others. I just deal with it.
When I left the mission 18 months later, I found that I had a new wound. To this day it still hurts. Sometimes more than others.
I have acquired new wounds over the years. I have a long scar for my spouse. I have four, one for each of my children that I will always treasure. I have one for the closest of friends, brothers and sisters that I have served with, and families I have home taught. When I reflect upon how I got those wounds and look at the scars, I count my blessings for having the opportunity to hurt in such a fashion. I am able to glimpse just a little more the Love my Heavenly Father feels for me, His children, His spouse, and His family. Someday, I hope that you will have the opportunity to admire similar wounds.
The message I have been trying to send is that you are only required to do your best. However, if you have set standards for yourself, that you feel comfortable with, then by all means do not lower them on my behalf. Just know that you are only required to do your best.
The Lord only asks that we keep His commandments. Some people worry that just keeping the commandments will not help them grow the way they want to so they set their standards higher. That is a personal preference. However, he only expects us to keep his commandments and do our best.
Today, I am grateful to have the opportunity to work. I really enjoy working. It may not seem that way all the time, but over all, I enjoy it. It is very satisfying to know that I am doing good. I know I am because each day I go to work with the goal of being the best person I can be. I don't always accomplish what I need to. Sometimes I get alittle frustrated with the way things are going. Then I realize that there is only one person who can change that us Me. Life, work, family, and the world around me don't always move as fast or in the direction that I want them to move. However, they do move. It is then up to me how I deal with it. I can make the best of it or make the worst of it.
When I entered the MTC, I was extremely home sick. I missed my family. I missed being with them. I was so home sick that I made myself sick, physically. My stomach always hurt, I did not want to eat, and I did not sleep well. My branch president, instructors, and president were very concerned. I am sure they even called my parents. After a couple visits to the doctor and running some tests, they determined that there was not anything wrong with me physically. So they sent me to see a psychologist, shrink. We talked. He knew what I could have told him. I was homesick.
However, my desire to succeed as a missionary was strong. I had set a standard for myself. My family, my branch president, and the Lord, only expected me to do my best. It took a shrink help me figure out that I was the only one who could accomplish that. The homesickness was getting in the way of my mission goals and desires. The fact that I loved my family, missed them, and wanted to be with them were not going to change. What had to change was how I dealt with it. I started looking at is as if I had been wounded or lost a limb, like an eye. The wound can be patched, sewn up, and scared over, but at times it still hurts. I was just going to have to learn to deal with that pain. It was going to be a part of my life.
Once I learned to deal with it, I was able to focus on other goals and desires. I found myself spending my free time catching up. I prayed for strength. By the time my first 2 months were up, I could hardly stand it. I wanted out of the MTC. I wanted to be in the mission field doing what I had been trained to do.
When I saw my family and friends at the airport, the pain was strong. I kissed them goodbye, and limped down the jet way to my plane. That pain will always be with me, good or bad. To this day I have that pain. Sometimes it hurts more than others. I just deal with it.
When I left the mission 18 months later, I found that I had a new wound. To this day it still hurts. Sometimes more than others.
I have acquired new wounds over the years. I have a long scar for my spouse. I have four, one for each of my children that I will always treasure. I have one for the closest of friends, brothers and sisters that I have served with, and families I have home taught. When I reflect upon how I got those wounds and look at the scars, I count my blessings for having the opportunity to hurt in such a fashion. I am able to glimpse just a little more the Love my Heavenly Father feels for me, His children, His spouse, and His family. Someday, I hope that you will have the opportunity to admire similar wounds.
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