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| "gator hole" |
Patience
I have a few things to say about this word. None of them are really kind.
I can think of many instances in the Bible and the Book of Mormon, when ordinary people like myself have been asked to learn the never ending virtue of patience.
I can think almost instantly, of family members, friends, political figures, historical figures, and many more kinds of figures that have had moments that have tried their patience more than ever before in their life.
Patience.
What does this word mean.
To wait?
To be a patient in a hospital or some sort of medical office, is to be
<someone that needs help.>
Someone that has taken the time to admit that they themselves are helpless and need the help of a doctor, or someone with more knowledge in the struggles they are facing.
That kind of patient needs help and advice beyond their own capacity to help themselves. A patient needs to seek outward, because inward just didn't work.
Some patients if they would have just been patient, their illness might have just gone away in time, or it might have gotten worse.
So how do you know when to ride out the storm, and when to evacuate?
Sometimes waiting too long with a cheery attitude is dangerous, but on the other hand we can be too quick to act without knowing the details of the situation well enough to make a smart decision.
How do you know when you can get through a cold, or if you actually have strep? If you are just depressed but you don't have depression? How much patience is too much? How much is not enough.
Is there such thing as too much patience.
I don't know.
Honestly, I don't know why patience is even necessary to experience.
Charity, yes I can see how the love of Christ is something that could change the world for the better.
Faith, yes, I can understand how faith in Jesus Christ is vital. Hope, that helps our hearts to stay happy and our minds single to the glory and plan of God.
But what does the ability to wait have anything to do with becoming like Christ?
I suppose looking to His life is a good way to answer that question.
What are some things He had to have patience for.
patience: NOUN
the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.
or
waiting without complaint
or
accepting Gods will and His timing trusting that He will fulfill all of His promises to us.
"His preparation began in the premortal life as He waited upon His father saying "thy will be done and the glory be thine forever."
Beginning in that moment and continuing today He exercises His agency to accept and carry out our Heavenly Father's plan.
The scriptures teach us that through His youth He went about His father's business and "waited upon the Lord for the time of his ministry to come"
At the age of 30 He suffered sore temptation yet chose to resist saying "Get thee behind me Satan."
In Gethsemane He trusted His Father declaring, "Nevertheless not my will, but thine be done,"
and then He exercised His agency to suffer for our sins.
Through the humiliation of a public trial and the agony of crucifixion, He waited upon His father willing to be
"Wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities."
Even as He cried out, "my God my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"
He. Waited.
Upon His Father, exercising His agency to forgive His enemies, see that His mother was watched over, and endure to the end until His life and mortal mission were finished."
Robert D. Hales Waiting Upon The Lord: Thy Will Be Done
"Waiting upon the Lord means to stand fast and press forward in faith having a perfect brightness of hope."
An example of patience
pretend for a moment that your younger sibling whether it be a sister, or a brother, is very ill.
It is obvious that a kidney replacement is needed, and no one has a match.
Except for you.
Your sibling is going to die without your kidney. So what do you do? Of course you undergo the surgery that will allow your sibling to live.
Your sibling is very thankful, especially because this surgery is dangerous, it will be painful for you, and you may not survive. You are willing to risk it all at the chance that your sibling can heal and go on to live as if they had never had a problem at all.
All you ask, is that your sibling simply wait outside the operating room for you. You know that after you wake up, you will want a friendly face to see, someones hand to hold, because the medicine that has made you weak and sick.
"Watch with me for a while."
Upon leaving the surgery room, you know that something is not right. You have started to wake up, and it has become apparent that there is no other way by which your life and the life of the sibling can be sustained.
As you are wheeled out unable to hardly speak, you notice your sibling is sleeping very much unaware of you.
As the savior began the road to our recovery, He Himself experienced the most excruciating weight and pain of anyone to ever walk the Earth for everyone and anyone that ever has, does, or will walk the Earth.
All that He asks of us is that we watch, and wait with Him for one hour.
One Life Time
One Section of God's eternal plan devoted to endurance in this probationary state.
A time to learn patience.
Wait, and Watch.
Endure, and enjoy. Press Forward and Progress.
Watch with me, wait with me.
This week went a little something like this.
"Why is this happening, we are trying our best."
"Let's sacrifice something to the Lord that we struggle with."
*set a new personal record for lessons taught in one day
YEEEAAAAAHAAAWWW
.................
*gets phone call with really bad news
*gets phone call with more bad news
*gets text with even worse news
I'm actually not going to go into too much detail, and if you continue reading this, you will disagree and probably think this is a lot of detail... do with that what you will.
................................................................
Sister Pyper made me go to the doctor and the doc told me I did not have strep.
I started to beat myself up for sleeping so much because "I only have a cold, I am the laziest missionary in the world."
The next day we found out our investigator is dealing with struggles of faith telling us baptism is not for him right now, and does not trust us enough to talk about it, or work through it so he said some hurtful things and refused to speak with us over the phone or in person.
The next day (Sat) I felt like a train had hit me. We were exhausted spiritually mentally emotionally and physically trying to contact everyone that was involved, trying to undo what had been done, and personally I felt so broken.
It was then that I received a call from the doctor telling me they sent a test into the lab and lo and behold, I did have strep, it had been just chillin' in my body for more than a week. The first test simply did not work.
It was after this phone call I asked the question
"why me"
#pitypartyinpensacola
Then I talked to the mission nurse and she told me I could not be out in public for the next 24 hours at least because I am very contagious. Which meant, no church the next day.
Now here's the kicker, transfers are upon us.
I am basically 98 percent sure I will be leaving my beloved Gulf Breeze home and family of 6 months. Which means at this point I only had 2 Sundays left with these people I love. But because the first test came back negative and I didn't have time to get the medication in my body, I had to miss one of those last two Sundays.
"What kind of missionary doesn't go to church.."
As the processing of all this went on in my brain and my heart, and let's be real, my lungs and throat were also strugglin', I received a phone call from Sister Wilde.
Her and Elder Wilde drove 3 to 4 hours to surprise my companion and I by coming to the baptism..
They found out when they were already almost here, that the baptism had been cancelled the day before.
But since their sweet selves were so close, they wanted to know if they could at least take us to lunch.
Again: If that first strep test would have done it's job. I WOULD HAVE BEEN FINE AT THIS POINT
I hung up the phone after sharing the fact that I was under orders from the mission nurse to be still and read the Ensigns clear back to the year 1802 with absolutely no contact from the outside world..
Strep or the Plague?
and then.
I cried.
I cried because I know what happiness the gospel and the choice to follow Jesus Christ and "enter in by the way," brings.
I cried because of the sacrifices that others make to support me everyday.
I cried because fetch, at the very least, couldn't I even go to lunch with my most favorite Sr. couple missionaries in the world?
I felt better after letting it all out.
Then I cried again because I remembered that I shared a peach shake with Sister Pyper a few days before and realized, she was going to get strep now because of me.
;)
and now I'm still crying.
POOR ME
my life is so hard. Right? Yes.
We share the gospel all day, get rejected, get hurt, get sick, get delayed, experience let downs, trouble, trials, exhaustion, temptation, sadness, and heartache.
"patience... thine afflictions shall be but a small moment"
I know how it feels to be a patient, waiting at the "minute clinic" for more than 60 "minutes" to see a doctor then feel like poop because all I have is a silly chest cold but my body tells me something way different.
a patient having to be patient.
(being a patient, check, being patient, working on it;)
Also being mad that we had to waste proselyting time sitting in the waiting area five ever for what I I was told leaving that place was nothing.
patient with others who's testimonies still need nurturing and love.
patient because even
AFTER ALL WE CAN DO
it's still not enough to get the desired story book ending outcome we want right now.
Timing is God's signature, and this week was evidence of His autograph.
Now that I have complained and cried about the last few days of my life, I suppose I should mention all the tender mercies that were woven in the miseries.
Without Sister Pyper making me go to the doctor, I would have waited dangerously long to figure out I had strep and that could have possibly resulted in spending far less time with the people of Gulf Breeze.
Even though we weren't able to be surprised by the Wildes or go to lunch, they still came over for a minute to check on me and give us some necessities. (aren't they the best?)
The whole ward is praying for us and for our investigator whom we still patiently await the realization of the love God, and we ourselves, have for him.
Sister Czerny brought me coconut water and garlic peanuts.
Sister Pyper is still not sick. (I wrote this yesterday, she actually did wake up this morning with a sore throat which means.. she is sick, but just pray for her and keep reading about the good things;)
The Elders gave me a blessing and administered the sacrament to us Sunday. The fact that we have access to the power of God is such a blessing in and of itself.
They also brought the good kind of cough drops, and plenty of reading material to keep us from going insane.
Sweet Sister Carree brought us 17 miracles, the movie, and two Mcflurries from McDonalds and even dinner last night. I sure love this lady.
The Zone leaders gave me some really great medical advice, something along the lines of:
"Oreos cure strep throat. It's a proven fact." along with some even better spiritual advice: Read Alma chapter 8
and the rest, well, I'm working on it. But you better bet your face I am doing great. I am swell, happy, almost healthy and I am not giving up on anyone or their dogs.
I love this work, the gospel and my Father in Heaven who loves me no matter where I fall short or how I don't measure up. He really just loves me -and you too-, if that's not a reason to smile every morning when your alarm goes off at six thirty, then I don't know what is :)
He loves me enough to try my patience. To test it, and even though my reactions to these tests have probably been a solid B that's better than a C right? ;)
Until that A is achieved I know He will be patient with me as I learn to be patient with not just others, or situations, but patient with myself.
{Patience whilst learning Patience}
Now for the never ending list of things to do when you are on lock down for over 24 hours in an apartment, and you have taken break from current movies, music, Fablehaven, and social media.
(okay we do watch some movies but you can only see Legacy so many times)
1. Ask sister Pyper a million questions that end with this one:
"How did Levi Savage even know what an elephant is?"
Sister Pyper:
"He served his mission in Asia."
Me:
"How do you know the answers to all these questions?"
Sister Pyper:
"Because I pay attention."
lol. I love this girl.
2. Read everything in the area book and find the hobo that past missionaries taught, and have a panic attack because he has no home address (he's homeless) and no phone.
"How are we going to contact him again?!?!" -PypseyWypsey
3. Adult coloring book.
4. Bible bashing talks provided by Elder Owens, ......the answers to questions I didn't know I had were contained in that thing....
5. Sing random things.
6. Watch the gnarly thunderstorm outside
7. Read letters from Walli and Vicki Rendon
8. Clean.
9. Learn new folding techniques from Sister Pyper.
10. Watch The Restoration... again...
11. FORGET JUST HOW AWESOME 17 MIRACLES IS AND LITERLLY CRY AND DIE OF ANXIETY BECAUSE IT IS WAY MORE ACTION PACKED AND ADRENALINE DRIVEN THAN YOU REMEMBER. WOAH.
12. WATCH IT AGAIN.. and still feel the most insane feeling of joy when the two little girls get passed the big snakes.
13. Assess and reevaluate my coughing status every time I cough..
"..That's a new one"
14. Read half of the Book Of Mormon
15. Sleep.
16. Gag at the gross love story in 17 miracles.. ew.. boys have cooties.
17. Unload all my baggage on my companion and make a decision to keep those things locked up somewhere until I'm married so that Mr. Future Companion doesn't think twice about his decision until after he's stuck with me forever.
and 18. Look at all the pictures you have of last Monday at the Gulf Breeze Zoo and get pumped all over again at the fact that I got to feed a living Giraffe.
 |
| Zoo train... |
I love you muchaaaas.
Make it a great day.
OH YEAH BIG OLE PPS
the interview situation, yes I got permission to do that.
Yes Bre is awesome and gave us the option of opting out of any of her questions but we didn't because contrary to popular belief Mormons don't keep secrets, but we do keep things sacred.
She found us and we got permission and sat down with her and her camera equipment and filmed an interview one day, it was great and she even got 100% on her project and lots of good reviews so YAY.
Wall-Dawg, Happy 18th birthday, you are now an adult like the rest of us;)
Mom and Dad, sorry I forgot to mention your anniversary last week... Love you and the love you have for each other.
Please Pray For Gulf Breeze/Pensacola/Navarre And The Work here
#NeverGiveUp
#Memories
#RideOutRidersOfRohan
-SisterMissionaRy<3
