#5: A Year's Supply of Daily Bread?

For my first few days in the mission field, I remember getting to the end of each day feeling like I had used up everything I had to make it through the day. I thought to myself: if I used up everything I had to get through today...what's left for tomorrow? A sense of panic would start to well up inside me. What was I going to do? Eighteen months was starting to look like a long time if I had already exhausted my supply of energy and courage.

Then during personal study one morning, this talk in the Ensign caught my eye. I was looking for a different subject to study but I felt the need to read a talk called Recognizing God's Hand in Our Daily Blessings. (You can check it out here.) The first line I saw was:

"Give us this day our daily bread"

We've all heard this prayer. "Give us this day our daily bread." What did this have to do with me? I don't need bread, I need energy and courage--18 months worth. I kept reading though as Elder Christofferson talked about how we all have daily needs. Sometimes we pray for "daily bread" in a literal sense but many times we are asking Heavenly Father for figurative bread. Our daily bread could be spiritual or physical strength to get through a particular challenge or help with a specific task or activity. For me the, it was the energy to get through each day's activities and the courage to fufill my assignment as a representative of Jesus Christ. Elder Christofferson mentions that we sometimes wish for our weekly, monthly, or yearly bread. I was asking for an 18 month supply of daily bread. Elder Christofferson suggests that we focus on our daily bread. Just like when the Lord gave the Israelites manna in the wilderness, He will provide us with just enough daily bread for one day at a time. Elder Christofferson says that "By providing daily sustenance one day at a time, Jehovah...was teaching them to trust Him. In essence, the children of Israel had to walk with Him each day and trust that He would grant a sufficient amount of food for the next day on the next day and so on." It was a trust-building exercise for the children of Israel.

Could it be possible that He's doing the same thing with me? I've been getting through each day just fine...why did I think I needed more than a day's worth of "bread"? (What would I even do with that much bread?) I have been blessed each day with just what I need and I am so glad I was prompted to read this article. The fear and panic I felt is long gone now because I was reminded that Heavenly Father will give me what I need when I need it. And He will do the same for you.

Elder Christofferson also counsels us to "Thank your Heavenly Father for the manna He has placed along your path that sustained you through the day. Your reflections will increase your faith in Him as you see His hand helping you to endure some things and to change others. You will be able to rejoice in one more day, one more step towards eternal life." Let's remember to take it one day at a time--that's all He's asked us to do!

#4: The Contingency Plan

We all know the story about Moses, right?

Performed miracles, made some important people really unhappy, parted the Red Sea, brought us the 10 Commandments...you get the picture. He's a big guy.

Remember his response when the Lord first gave him his assignment to speak to all these people? It went something like this: Uh, Lord, are you sure about this? You're probably thinking of some other guy. See, I've got this speech impediment so talking in front of big crowds is just not my strong point...it's okay, you probably forgot so I'll just let you find someone that's a little better at the speech making. No hard feelings! (For the exact wording, try Exodus 4:10-16)

I feel for Moses--I really do. I had the same thought when the idea of serving a mission came up. Uh, Lord, are you sure about this? You're probably thinking of some other girl. See, I'm not so good at talking to strangers...being bold and declaring the word of God is just not my strong point...so if you just want to find someone else that's better at that, I totally understand...

Yeah, that approach didn't work out for me either. It seems Heavenly Father is determined to pull His wallflower children out onto the dance floor no matter how content we are just sitting on the sides. And the thought keeps crossing my mind: how am I supposed to do this when all of my weaknesses keep getting in the way. I stumbled upon some consolation this morning during my scripture study.

In 2 Nephi 3:17 Joseph of Egypt prophesied about Moses. The Lord told Joseph that He would "raise up a Moses; and I will give power unto him...yet I will not loose his tongue, that he shall speak much, for I will not make him mighty in speaking. But...I will make a spokesman for him." Here's the Lord, talking about an assignment He's going to give one of His children in the future, and He mentions that he's made a contingency plan to compensate for Moses' weakness! Heavenly Father not only knew that Moses would have this inadequacy, He's planned for it. Maybe He's done the same for me! Now my train of thought takes another jump: God could have very well just cured Moses so that he could become this awesome public speaker but he didn't. He provided Moses with a solution that made his weakness irrelevant. He brought Aaron into the picture to act as Moses' spokesperson. Problem solved! And Moses still had a speech impediment.

I know that Heavenly Father doesn't ask us to do anything that we can't accomplish. Sometimes He turns our weaknesses into strengths and sometimes He gives us aids to make our weaknesses unimportant. Either way, if we put our trust in Him we can absolutely do great things. Just ask Moses.

#3: Lean into the curves

This lesson learned may be a bit of a stretch so just go with me for a moment. I spent the other day with a different missionary companion than normal. We call these exchanges and the point is to learn from someone else's wisdom. Sister Powell was my exchange sister and we instantly connected over how much we have in common--namely, we both get carsick really easily. And it just so happened that our area was all mountains. If you're one of the fortunate ones that don't get carsick driving on mountain roads, send up a little prayer of thanks right now. I envy you. For those of you that get queasy just thinking about driving up a road filled with switchbacks, let me share the wisdom I gained from my weekend with Sister Powell:

Lean into the curves.

Simple right? I hadn't ever heard this advice before but I was definitely willing to try anything that might make driving more enjoyable. She told me to lean into the curves like you would if you were steering. So I tried it. It definitely took a conscious effort and I noticed two things right away. First, I noticed that it's instinctive to lean away from the curves. I had to remind myself to lean into the curves. The second thing I noticed is how much smoother the ride was when I did this. I didn't get nauseous at all! (this was a small miracle in and of itself by the way).

We were laughing about how that was the biggest lesson I learned the whole weekend--something that didn't even have to do with missionary work. As I thought about it later, I realized that there was a hidden meaning behind that advice. Just like traveling down the road, there are times in life when we're the passenger in a situation and there's someone else at the wheel. Whether it's your boss at work, your leader at church or your parents at home, there are times when someone else is driving and they take you around a curve in the road. When this happens, it's instinctive to lean away and say, no, we were going in another direction. You want to fight it. But if you lean into the curve--go with the change--things run a lot smoother. It takes conscious effort on our part, but by supporting our boss, leader, parent or whoever is driving we make the transition a much more pleasant experience and we are then free to enjoy the experience of arriving at our destination. So lean into the curve!

#2: This Little Light of Mine: A History

When I was a little girl, I remember my mom would sing this song with me

This little light of mine
I'm gonna let it shine
This little light of mine
I'm gonna let it shine
Let it shine, Let it shine
Let it shine!
Now, I'm sure there were more verses that we sang, but this is what I remember years later. Each of us has a little light in us. It's part of being God's children--sort of an inherited trait. The more we learn about who we are and what Heavenly Father has in store for us, the brighter that light grows.

Doctrine and Covenants 50:24 says,

That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.

This is what I hope to share with each of you for the next 18 months. I'm going to be searching for that light and as I find it, I'll post what I learn so that we can all receive that light and grow brighter. I welcome comments about the light that you have found. That's how we grow brighter!

#1: Preface

This is new to me.

That statement could describe so much of my life right now. I'm in a place I've never been to before. I'm spending my days with someone I've never met before. I'm doing things I've never done before. The surprising part? I love it!

I embarked on a journey almost 8 months ago. I had no idea how far it would take me or what I'd find when I got to the end. I still don't know. For the next 18 months I'm going to find out just what can happen when I put all my trust, efforts, energy, time, talents--everything that I am--on the Lord. Only He knows how far this will take me.

Last spring (2011) I decided to serve a full-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I spent the summer working and saving up for it and by October I had put in my application to be considered for a mission. The call came at the October and I was in the Provo Missionary Training Center before Christmas. Now I'm here in California for the next year and a half to share the good news of the gospel and help others come unto Christ.

My goal for this blog? To track the growth and progress I make as I turn to Jesus Christ and ask Him to change me into the person He has in mind for me. I've only got 18 short months to make a difference here in California and the lessons are already coming fast and hard. So here we go!