Go ahead. Reread that title. Came a little bit out of left field, didn't it? You aren't alone, friend. It came out of left field for me too.
*A Preface To The Story*
I never wanted to be a missionary. Not even as a kid. Never. I'm a huge homebody, and about as shy as they come. Just those two reasons by themselves make a very compelling argument to NOT go on a mission. And I was always very glad to have been a girl, because that meant a mission was not my obligation. If the fancy suited me, sure, I could go. If not, I would be just as happy staying right here where I'm comfortable. And I'd always hoped I'd be married before I was 21, so a mission wouldn't even be something I'd need to worry about. I wouldn't even have to think about it. Fast forward to the October General Conference of this year, and something changed.
When I first heard about the change in age, it took my completely by surprise. As I'm sure it did for basically everyone. I couldn't think straight for the rest of the day. It was just, just crazy. I could not believe it. And then, after the shock wore off, I thought, "Huh." Now, that may not seem like much. A "Huh" is hardly basis for a huge, life changing decision. But that little "Huh" was just enough for me to think about a mission - something I never planned on doing.
Eventually, that "Huh" grew into a "Hmmm", which in turn grew into a "Maybe". At this point, I thought I'd better involve the Lord in my decision process. I prayed, I read my scriptures, I prayed, I prayed some more, I read my scriptures - you get the idea. Lots of studying. But I really didn't get much to encourage the "Maybe" into something more. I decided to fast, and ask my Dad for a blessing. I fasted, I got my blessing. I was really hoping in the blessing, the Lord would come right out and say YES or NO. Just like that. Unfortunately, things rarely work that way. What I did get, however, was a promise. In my blessing, I was told that I would get an answer, and that I would know what the Lord wanted me to do. I took that to mean, "Keep praying and reading those scriptures". Not the answer I wanted, but hey, it'd work.
Fast forward two weeks (in which time I continued praying and reading my scriptures - to no avail). I'm still in "Maybe" mode, trying to figure out what to do. It was a Sunday night. I was laying in bed, about ready to sleep, when I remembered I hadn't read my scriptures yet. It was late, I was tired. Instead of getting out my quad like I usually do, I settled for my iPod. I opened my scriptures app, scrolled to the Book of Mormon, and clicked. Instead of The Book of Mormon though, I got the Doctrine and Covenants. Slightly irritated, I went back, tried again, and ended up in Doctrine and Covenants again. Fine, I think to myself, Doctrine and Covenants it is. I scroll down to a random section (31, for those of you who were wondering - I almost went with 25, but decided to keep going). I happened to glance at the little section summary, and read, "Thomas B. Marsh is called to preach the gospel". How very odd, I thought to myself. Looking back, I think, What a dunce! It should have been immediately obvious to me what was happening. By the time I got to the third verse though, I got the message. It says, "Life up your heart and rejoice, for the hour of your mission is come; and your tongue shall be loosed, and you shall declare glad tidings of great joy unto this generation." And just in case I didn't get the message, verse 13 says, "Be faithful unto the end, and lo, I am with you. These words are not of man nor of men, but of me, even Jesus Christ, your Redeemer, by the will of the Father. Amen." You really can't mistake the meaning there. By now, the "Maybe" has grown into a full-blown "YES!"
So there you have it, friends. I am going on a mission. The papers are (almost) in, and I'm ready to go! Isn't it crazy, how the Lord works? He's got a plan. And this is part of His plan for me. Even though it's something I never wanted for myself, He knows more than I do, and I'm willing to trust in Him. So here we go!
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