Wonderful thing for Tuesday, 2 June:
Now that Pathway is in full gear and we're all fairly acquainted with its operation, and now that we've done the initial training sessions with the Young Men/Young Women organizations, we have a little more time to do outreach to individuals. Today we went to see our lovely friend. She is a member of the Pisa ward, but right now she is staying with her sister in Pistoia, recuperating from an operation, which puts her closer to us.
She is one of our Nigerian sisters. She was baptized several months ago; over time, she kind of got bogged down with "stuff" - most recently, depression. It's so interesting that when you're down, the things that could lift you up seem odious to you, you feel to draw away and thus go deeper still into your funk.
BUT the Lord is faithful; He will not abandon us. I love Him for that! She is his beautiful, wonderful daughter, with an amazing life ahead of her, and He is just not going to let go. She let us come to see her, we had a great talk, and then we read from the Book of Mormon.
"Enos" jumped right out at me as I was looking for a passage to read together. Discussing it afterward, we talked about how, at a certain point in his life, the principles his father had always taught him sunk deep into his heart. For whatever reasons, his life up till that point seems to have been rather superficial; but as truth flooded his mind, he was struck with a kind of amazed remorse, I would say; as in, "Why did I not see this before!? I did see it, but I wasn't willing to recognize it. Oh God, can you forgive me?"
This train of thought struck a definite chord with our friend. As we discussed the power of covenants, she realized that making a promise to study the scriptures every day, and to pray about what she reads, is just what she needs to persevere when the will comes to just move on to something mind-numbing or unprofitable.
There was a light in her face and joy in her eyes when we left - not for anything we did, but for the work the Spirit did for and through all of us as we talked, studied, and prayed.
This is what everything we do is all about, being edified and rejoicing together (D&C 50:22).
I love this work.
fun thing:
Today is the Festa della Reppublica Italiana, a celebration of the day in 1946 when the Italian citizenry decided they wanted to live in a republic instead of a monarchy. Viva Italia!
Showing posts with label Grace. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Grace. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
Saturday, February 7, 2015
Grace sufficient
Wonderful thing for Friday, 6 February:
The fact that, even though we're up to our eyeballs in Pathway right now, and managed only a small amount of prep time to teach our class yesterday, it went well anyway. This was due, I would say, to the fact that the Lord blessed Andrea, our prospective missionary, for her faithfulness in coming. It may also be that He honored our earnest efforts to lay the groundwork for this amazing program (Pathway), and leant us his grace in our weaknesses. It may have had something to do with the all-important subject matter - the light of Christ, and the Holy Ghost. Perhaps He was encouraging us all to persevere.
We are told in the Doctrine and Covenants that "if we receive not the Spirit, we shall not teach." In the past sometimes , I have not received the Spirit because I judged myself unworthy in cases similar to this. I know the lesson would have been even better had we managed our priorities just a little better; we can always work on that. I have learned too, though, to have more confidence before the Lord, despite my weaknesses. I can acknowledge my imperfections before him, and still expect his blessings.
I believe that the Lord is really invested in our success and happiness, and is willing to do even the smallest things to encourage us along the path. I am humbled and touched by his kindness.
Fun thing: fun things often revolve around eating...nevertheless, I LOVE a salad made with yummy fresh greens (especially valeriana, never ate it in the States - anyone ever had it?), those incredible Sicilian oranges, extra virgin olive oil, toasted sesame seeds, and ground sea salt. Those times when we don't eat till 9 and want something light - it's perfect. Blaine is not a mix-your-greens-with-fruit man. He ate a sandwich on schiacciata (kind of like focaccia only thinner, oilier and saltier) with pesto instead of mayo or mustard. Something to be said for that too.
The fact that, even though we're up to our eyeballs in Pathway right now, and managed only a small amount of prep time to teach our class yesterday, it went well anyway. This was due, I would say, to the fact that the Lord blessed Andrea, our prospective missionary, for her faithfulness in coming. It may also be that He honored our earnest efforts to lay the groundwork for this amazing program (Pathway), and leant us his grace in our weaknesses. It may have had something to do with the all-important subject matter - the light of Christ, and the Holy Ghost. Perhaps He was encouraging us all to persevere.
We are told in the Doctrine and Covenants that "if we receive not the Spirit, we shall not teach." In the past sometimes , I have not received the Spirit because I judged myself unworthy in cases similar to this. I know the lesson would have been even better had we managed our priorities just a little better; we can always work on that. I have learned too, though, to have more confidence before the Lord, despite my weaknesses. I can acknowledge my imperfections before him, and still expect his blessings.
I believe that the Lord is really invested in our success and happiness, and is willing to do even the smallest things to encourage us along the path. I am humbled and touched by his kindness.
Fun thing: fun things often revolve around eating...nevertheless, I LOVE a salad made with yummy fresh greens (especially valeriana, never ate it in the States - anyone ever had it?), those incredible Sicilian oranges, extra virgin olive oil, toasted sesame seeds, and ground sea salt. Those times when we don't eat till 9 and want something light - it's perfect. Blaine is not a mix-your-greens-with-fruit man. He ate a sandwich on schiacciata (kind of like focaccia only thinner, oilier and saltier) with pesto instead of mayo or mustard. Something to be said for that too.
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