#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!