My son Bradley reaches the halfway point of his mission this week. As I think back 25 years to my mission, I am nostalgic and perhaps a little jealous. But mostly i am grateful at the opportunity he has to change his life. This is what I told him about this milestone:
For many missionaries, their mission is the hardest two years of their lives--away from home, long hours of walking and working, difficulties with a different language and culture, etc. But for me--and I hope for you--they were the two best years: two irreplaceable years of hard work, yes, but also of joy and growth. I am constantly impressed by the depth of your testimony as expressed in your letters, and by your approach to the work. Your new "system" for tracking investigator progress seems great! And the humility with which you approach your service is exemplary. Enjoy it! These two years will never come again...
There is a country song called "The Boys of Fall" about football in small towns. At the beginning of the video, an NFL coach is talking to the boys of his old high school about what it is like to grow up. He says,
"27 years ago I was in a locker room getting ready to play a game just like you are tonight. Walking in here, it still smells the same. One of the things that caught me was how fast 27 years go by...I would give anything tonight if I could jump in one of these uniforms with you guys. That feeling goes away; it goes away, and it doesn't come back every Friday night. It come when you get married. It comes when a child is born. So you get it, you just don't get it every Friday night. That's what I miss...So you Seniors that are focused on college, you're focused on your work after high school and what you're going to do next--you're focused on tomorrow, aren't you? There is plenty of time for tomorrow. But these tonights? They're going by fast. You focus on tonight. Because there are only so many of these nights left."
If he had been writing about missions, he wouldn't have changed very much. I would give anything to jump into a missionary suit and name tag and trade places with anyone on your mission. But that's not my role anymore. As you begin to count backwards from the midpoint toward coming home, remember that the feeling you have of serving really never comes again--not in the same way, and certainly not every day. Cherish these moments. You may never again have the chance to serve the Lord so directly every day.
I get the same mission feeling when I am teaching the family and the spirit is there. Or when I go to the temple. Or during a particularly inspiring sacrament meeting. Or when any of my children was born. But it doesn't come every day. So don't worry about the tomorrows--they'll come soon enough with their own set of worries. You focus on serving the Lord today.
I couldn't agree more. Well said.
Posted by: Ben | June 27, 2011 at 08:59 PM