Hola!
I did have quite the week last week, but it was a great one.
No need to call myself Ma Bayles the younger... my companions were already
calling me hermana mom. All of the sisters and completely well again. The ones
who left last week (which is all but my companionship) were all well and
excited to be off. We're now officially the "oldies" of the zone,
which is weird, because I remember how I looked at the oldies of the zone when
I arrived and it's a very different view from this perspective.
It has been such a blessing to hear from the general
authorities here at the MTC. We heard from the primary general president
(sister Wixom?) in RS on sunday, which was awesome. She gave such a great talk;
I just don't have my notebook with specifics here right now. Last night we
heard from Elder Evans of the 70. He gave a great talk on faith and miracles,
and his wife spoke about exact obedience. Both were a pleasure, but I
especially loved the bit about miracles. I think a lot of the time, people
think that miracles only belong in the Bible, and that modern day miracles
don't exist. As "Mormons," we clearly acknowledge modern day
miracles, but I think even Latter-Day Saints can get caught up in excusing
miracles as "luck" or "coincidence." I think the reason
people of old times recorded so many more miracles than we modernly do is
because 1) they had the eyes to see them and 2) they had the faith to stick to
their experiences. The tragedy of the modern world is that people see a miracle
and think, "oh, I'm having a lucky day," or, worse yet, they fail to
see the miracle at all. However, I think it's important to look for and
recognize miracles daily. Yes, daily. Even tiny moments can be enormous
miracles. You're driving your car and you think, "I could use some gas.
I'll just stop now instead of later." You pull into the station and an
accident occurs at the light and you think, "boy I'm sure glad I pulled
over," and go on your merry way. What we don't realize in that situation
is that you've just experienced a miracle. Whether you see it or not, the Lord
guided you to do something as simple as fill up the tank, and you didn't even
realize it. What a blessing, and what a tragedy that we couldn't see it for
what it really was. Miracles happen every moment of every day, and anyone who
says otherwise simply isn't looking hard enough. I know this is true. I know
because I've experienced it in my life. I've experienced miracles on a daily
basis. Some of them go completely unnoticed. Some of them can't help but be noticed.
But miracles are omnipresent in every day life. If we can open our eyes and see
the blessings all around us, we'll find that we are chosen, favored, and loved
by the Lord (and don't you think differently!).
In addition to recognizing miracles, I've found how
important it is to record and remember those miracles. So often we'll
experience a miracle, and maybe even recognize it, but in later years, or even
days, we look back and doubt the divinity of the moment. I think that's one of
the greatest failings of man, is that his memory is short when it comes to
spiritual experiences. And who can blame him? It seems as though the very
moment we recognize and acknowlege a miracle, some seed of doubt is planted in
our mind: what that really a miracle, or was it just luck? Did that really
happen, or am I just imagining it? Was that the hand of the Lord in my life, or
was that just me? I testify, any time you even think you've witnessed a
miracle, you've absolutely witnessed a miracle. The scriptures (Moroni 7 in the
Book of Mormon) tell us that anything that is good comes from God. Wherefore
can ye doubt? If something good happens to you, it's from God... it's that
simple. A good idea, a good mood, a good moment, a good day... they all come
from God. And, in my opinion, any time we see the workings of God in our lives,
it's a miracle. I can't really keep ranting about this, because I have a very
limited amount of time to write, but I would encourage anyone who doubts that
they can witness miracles to take a day, even just a few moments, and see if
you can't find something the Lord has done for you recently. I guarantee,
you'll find something. It may be small; it may even feel miniscule, but you'll
find it. I know that much is true.
On another note, Mumsita y Faja, I think your calling sounds
glorious, and I bet you will both be excellent at it. Make me proud. hahaha. :)
On another another note, I believe Kirk's birthday is this
week, which means: HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIRK! If I'm making that all up in my head,
just ignore it. Otherwise, WOOHOO! (by the way, familia, I would
still LOVE a birthday calendar for mis friendolas y familia.....).
Ummmm other than that, nothing much is new. The 6 new
hermanas are doing well. They're still warming up to things around here, but
they're going to be great. I get 4 more hermanas today, and I'm so stoked about
it.
Anyway, I love you all and I hope that you have a great
week. Thanks for being the best family a gal could hope for. :)
Ciao,
Hermana Dance-y pants (Bayles) Dancin' Elders
No comments:
Post a Comment