Wednesday, March 6th, 2013, was a significant day in the Oklahoma City Mission. The first batch of young missionaries with shortened MTC training strode through the terminals and into the quivering arms of their equally frightened trainers.
Two transfers ago, I was the one to alight from the airplane into the mysterious world of Oklahoma city. God, with all his humor and grace, saw fit this time to number me among the quivering trainers.
Ah. And I know things now that I did not know five days ago:
1. Mornings are hard. They might always be. The pillow is more comforting than the worried guests of budding consciousness...but I got up yesterday, so I'll do it again today. Andy by the end of the day, I'm usually glad that I did.
2. Time is short. Maybe it always will be. But I have a Heavenly Father who is willing to teach me how to accomplish eternal aims with mortal capacities. I can't see everything, but He can. So He shows me who to focus on.
3. I can use a map. A Liahona would be better (even a GPS would suffice), but muscling through cardinal directions and dog-eared maps and old ward lists is far more exciting. It is a miracle that we ever arrive to our dinner appointments on time!
4. Not all baptisms result in tsunamis. There wasn't a flood this time, except in a spiritual sense. The symbol of immersion seemed so appropriate for a man who has completely surrendered himself to the gospel of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
5. Nineteen year-olds are phenomenal...or at least Sister Tilley is! We went tracting first thing, and she prayed with two ministers and taught a Jehovah's Witness about the Book of Mormon. She made me scrambled eggs for breakfast, and she is already an expert at the never-ending paperwork. I think I needed Sister Tilley in my life.
6. I am not perfect God doesn't mind.
"Successful living is successful struggling. Our own highly individualized responses to struggles--both spiritually and psychologically--teach us who we are and what to think about ourselves."--p. 13 Bednar, Spirituality & Self-Esteem
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