My wee missionaries...

Teach me so much. This week I have come to a realisation. We need to be kind! We each have weaknesses. Heavenly Father tells us He gives us weakness for a reason. Each person knows their flaws. We tend to know what we are bad at. We remind ourselves of it; sometimes beating ourselves up for not being good enough. We look at others with the "I wish I was more like..." attitude. So be kind. I have had a couple of Elders I have found challenging in the start. On the surface they seemed rebellious and in my weak nature I have judged them for that. Each time I have been woken to the stark reality that they know better than I their struggles and shortcomings. They feel them keenly especially under the mantle of being a missionary. So who am I to sit and judge them. My role then is just to love them. There is no such thing as too much love. CHARITY NEVER FAILETH. If I truly love others and pray for them I will help them to become better version of themselves but will love them wherever along the path they are. 

As was said in Conference: "A Saint is a sinner who keeps on trying" Elder Dale G Renlund. So let us let each other keep trying. In fact let us lift their load and help them with a smile, compliment, encouragement or active encouragement. People are worth it. They were worth Christ's incomparable suffering and dying and so they are worth my time, effort and kindness. 

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My dear Inta loved this image of Jesus Christ holding the lamb. She would look at it and exclaim how she wanted to be that Lamb! So safe and at peace in His loving arms. I had never seen this picture in this way before. As my Elders taught me (as Inta) they spoke of this image and asked me as I felt as I looked at it. In my minds eye I could see Christ as the shepherd protecting his flock; his Lamb from the ravening wolves that encroached. He would protect his beloved sheep with his arms, his body as a shield. He would give his life if needed.  Christ truly is our shepherd. I could see him stood much like in this image as the wolves attacked. His only focus was this lamb. His love and motivation. All he wanted was for them to be ok, to be saved. For this he could give all that was needed. Perhaps to anyone else this would make little sense. But to me I understood just a little better the suffering of my Saviour and why he did it. In affect I was reawakened to how important I am to him.