My
apologies for not writing letters, lately time and talents in that
category have been rather small haha! But I bring assurances of my love
for each of you, and I pray for you (yes, YOU!) frequently to the Lord,
All though maybe not by name the Lord knows who has impacted my life for
good and He understands that when I plead for family and friends, so
many of those friends have been leaders in the Church, and many of that
family is what Joseph called "the household of Faith," just as it
represents those who have a branch in the Davis line.Â
This
new year, I sat fearing and fretting in HOW I could possibly ensure I
finish my mission experience learning ALL the Lord desires I learn,
doing all He expects me to do, and in the end becoming what the Lord
needs me to be. I wasn't so preoccupied by the passing of the year, but
more by the passing of the year and the closing of the opportunity
WITHOUT me having taken all from it... or maybe more accurately, having
GIVEN my all to it. In these moments of reflection an idea sparked in my
mind, and I was inspired by it:
2
LOSE
2
YOURSELF
With
that goal in mind, I saw great hope in the concept of losing myself
even further in the work of salvation, and thus finding myself not only
returned to family and friends, but finding my divine identity in the
Lord.
As I got to work in THAT manner, I found
great joy and satisfaction, and great closeness with the Lord. And for
about a week or two, all continued so. Of course, with any good work or
inspired thought, Satan soon comes to tempt and try and impede, and thus
I have found a lot of challenges with hope, with health, and with the
progress of interested persons here in my area.Â
The
benefit of such trials and testing is the growth of patience, and the
rise of grit. I take great courage and faith from the lines of "Come,
Come, Ye Saints" and I also testify that "Soon we'll have this tale to
tell, all is well, all is well." If pioneer ancestors could haul wagons
and families over thorns and thistles, and through the depths of
freezing rivers, I know that I can endure a "thorn in the flesh" or two,
and I can go through the depths of sorrow and fear and discouragement,
and come out on the other side, unharmed, unstopped, and unbroken.
A
line from the movie "Unbroken" is one that rings true in not only
things of sports or war, but also in the salvation and exaltation of our
families: "IF YOU CAN TAKE IT, YOU CAN MAKE IT!"
So Gird Up Your Loins, Fresh Courage Take,
Our God Will Never Us Forsake!
With love and courage,
Elder Davis