This has been quite the weird day but it was a rather good week! We had the opportunity to visit with a few of our favorites and some new favorites as well. I love the opportunity we have to meet so many new people here. There are always new people to see and serve, even if it is simply serving through examples or a small conversation. It is awesome.
Not gonna lie, this week was rough in the personal realm a little bit. Haha. When the Lord tells you He will show you your weaknesses if you come unto Him, He is not kidding. Haha. I have found that being shown one's weaknesses and inadequacies is never easy, but it is certainly a blessing. (Mom note: This really shouldn't surprise her. It is, after all, the scripture she chose for her missionary plaque. :) )This week I was struggling a little bit with feeling a little overwhelmed with all of my thoughts (for we know they are many) and trying to wrap my brain around everything. I felt a little overwhelmed with how inadequate I have felt the last little bit, but what came to mind was something mom sent me a while back about His peace. Where my mind went was that He offers us His peace, that He gives us peace differently than the world does. If you look at His life, it does not define peace as the world would have it. But that is the difference, I think. He shows us our weaknesses and our inadequacies and then gives us peace - if we accept it - that yes, we lack a lot but we can improve and He can still do His work through us. It is a blessing I feel I have gained to have a better understanding of how it really doesn't matter what we lack. It goes with the "be still" thoughts I have been having as well. Be still, know He is God, know He is in charge, and go to work.
Reading this morning in the Book of Mormon it says the people would fall because they were blind from "looking beyond the mark". It is really easy to look past the mark, or make the mark out to be something it is not. Reflecting today, in a world where left is right and right is wrong, it is really easy to get confused and frustrated if we do not have our eye focused on the mark, which is the Savior, Jesus Christ. Our relationship with the Savior is the most important thing we can have in this world, and I know that we can find peace and stillness in a world that never rests if we focus on Him and remember what He has taught us.
This whole "be still" thing is new for me. Anyone who has served with me knows that I am used to knowing the plan and going going going at a hundred miles an hour all the time. But the thing is, sometimes He wants us to be still. I think it is a real blessing that He has given me to be able to go and continue with the motivation to keep moving forward with fire, but it is also a blessing and a balance to be able to stop and recognize His voice and refocus - especially when at times the loss of focus comes from the very thing that is supposed to bring us closer to Him: being shown weakness. :)
I am so blessed to be serving in New York. The work I am seeing and doing now is different than the work I have done in every other area until this point. I have gained such a testimony of the importance of this time here and the impact of how our time is spent on all that will come in the eternities. I guess to try and sum up all of these random thoughts that define this week: I have seen by looking for the blessings, the tender mercies, the teaching moments, and the goodness of God as His hand guides my life that He is there. And He is really guiding everything if I have the humility to let Him and follow Him.
That is my crazy round-about invitation for you, my family! One of the quotes I found reading says, “That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do; not that the nature of the thing itself is changed, but that our power to do is increased” (Ralph Waldo Emerson). It is not easy to do the will of the Lord, but I know if we set out to do it and work every day to keep our eye centered on the mark and nourish our relationship with the Savior that we will find more power in doing so. We know He will show us our weaknesses if we come to Him, but we cannot forget that He has also promised He will bless us with more of His strength. How cool is that? :)
So, I love you a lot! I hope you have a great week and know how much I love you and am thankful for all of your support. This really was a great week, and I am very thankful for the growth I have had while serving here. (*cue Elder McConkie* #"thisareagrowsyouthemost" #alsokillsyouthemost #justkidding #butreallythough) Have a great week!! :)
Mucho amor,
Hermana Karra Gourley
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