"Be Still and Know that I am God"

This week I have been studying patience and trying to develop it. Patience touches every aspect of life and makes a huge difference in our attitude. 

Preach My Gospel has an amazing chapter (Chapter 6) that highlights a few of Christ's attributes and teaches how we can develop them. It teaches missionaries (and members):

"Just as vital as what you do, however, is who you are.

"The restored gospel enables you to become like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. The Savior has shown the way. He has set the perfect example, and He commands us to become as He is (see 3 Nephi 27:27). Learn of Him and seek to incorporate His attributes into your life. Through the power of His Atonement, you can achieve this goal and lead others to achieve it also."

This is the message of the gospel; the whole purpose of it! We are here on this earth to become like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. The whole reason we have trials, heartache, sorrow, unbearable joy, happiness, rejoicing, and peace in this life is to help us become like Them. A Sister Missionary I know shares a quote that goes something like this "Each experience we have is necessary for our salvation." 

That gives me peace. Every experience we have is for our individual salvation. So when we go through something tough, we can remember that Heavenly Father wants us to be happy - that is His goal, our eternal life and our happiness (those are pretty well linked). This quote reminds me not to think of Heavenly Father as unkind and not to be bitter. The Lord would not give these trials to us if He didn't need to. 

Sometimes we are cut back. We feel we're doing great, on the right path, and then something happens that changes everything. A door closes. I love this story Elder D. Todd Christofferson shares. It gave me understanding and hope when I returned to my mission after surgery to find that I'd lost many of the skills I'd worked so hard for the first 13 months of my mission.

The man in this story was willing to serve the Lord - first and foremost. We can tell by how faithful he is to the Lord and how quick he is to repent of his bitter feelings. The Lord had a better plan for this man. A short while later, he was called to the Holy Apostleship. The Lord needed him there. For me, by sending me home, the Lord built up my faith. I have greater trust in His promises because I know that His plan is better. Going home and coming back was far greater than I ever imgained. His plan is better than mine. His promises are sure. Let us patiently wait for them, for they will come at exactly the right time.

I realize I talk about my experiences with coming home a lot. I just learned so much from that time, hard as it was (perhaps because it was so hard). I knew 2 months before I was sent home that I would go home for the medical issues I was experiencing. That time took a lot of patience from me, but luckily the Lord was always there for me. On hard mornings, I felt the comfort of His Spirit as I cried and prayed to make it through. I'm glad I had those two months of waiting because I learned to truly love and appreciate my mission. It became precious and so fun for me. I loved being with my companion, I loved wearing my tag, being so busy you can hardly breathe or get visiting teaching done. I loved it. This fulfilled a desire I had from the beginning of my mission - to truly love it and give it all I had.

Another bonus to waiting so long to find out what was wrong with me and be set home was that I was home in time to be with my family for Thanksgiving and Christmas! Not to mention, my friend Amanda started being interested in the church around then! She's been a member of the church for 4 months now. She is amazing! I just went to her first ever sacrament talk, which she rocked.

The Lord's plan is better than ours. As good as our plans are, His is better. I promise. I know it. I've lived it - and you have too. So I am going to commit to continue on in patience until all His promises are fulfilled. This is a path to peace.

I love Preach My Gospel's definition of Patience. It says:

"Patience is the capacity to endure delay, trouble, opposition, or suffering without becoming angry, frustrated, or anxious. It is the ability to do God’s will and accept His timing. When you are patient, you hold up under pressure and are able to face adversity calmly and hopefully. Patience is related to hope and faith—you must wait for the Lord’s promised blessings to be fulfilled."

This makes me think of another quote "faith in God includes faith in His timing." That's been on my mind too recently. If He's given us comfort toward something, it will be okay and we just have to hold to that and give up our worry. I don't know why that's so hard sometimes! I guess I feel like I'm more in control if I worry about it, but when I think about it, the opposite is true. 

I hope you all are doing well! Remember the Lord's plan cannot be frustrated. Be still and know that He is God. He will take care of us. Not everything is in our control - but our actions, our attitude and our patience is. Patience is a spiritual gift, it can be given to us through faith in the Lord, prayer, and diligently working on it.

These things are true! I know it :)