These past few weeks have been an opportunity
for me to ponder what the phrase, ´refiner´s fire´ truly means. There
have been periods in my life before and even during the mission that I
thought things couldn't possibly be worse than this situation or that
event. But each time a new trial comes along it is just a little bit or
even a lot a bit harder than the previous.
First of all, I have learned to be truly grateful
for my previous trials and the things that they taught me. There are
invaluable lessons in each trail that we often cannot see until the end
or even years after. The amazing thing is that each lesson that we learn
with each trial is a great asset during the next trial. Each time we
learn how we can better submit to the will of God.
Second of all, I have learned that this so called
´refiner´s fire´ is truly an event to help us locate and extract our
imperfections. Impure gold has to go through this refiners fire to
extract its imperfections. But this isn't just any fire, it is a really
hot fire, one that is hard to withstand. Likewise in our lives, our own
personal refiners fire is not easy to withstand on purpose. Heavenly
Father is helping us create a more pure and refined human being, one
that has a greater potential. Also, these moments remind us to turn to
the Lord and rely on Him because He is the only one who can help us
change while in the fire.
In the musical the Scarlett Pimpernel there is a
song titled Into the Fire. A little blurb of this song has run through
my mind frequently lately:
Never hold back your step for a moment
Look alive and your courage will grow
Hold your head even higher and into the fire we go!
There
will be times in each of our lives when there is nothing more to do
other than take steps forward with faith, hold our heads high, and march
into the fire with the hope that on the other side of that fire you
will be a purer gold than before.
I have made a resolution to be grateful during the
times of refinement in my life. In the spirit of being grateful amongst
my trials... I am grateful for the testimony of Suzana and Giovana. They
are two 12 year old girls who have strong and pure testimonies of the
Gospel of Jesus Christ. Giovana chose to share her testimony with Suzana
and Suzana gained a testimony of her own. Suzana chose to share her
testimony with her mother and she was able to be baptized. Friday, a day
of refinement for me, Suzana entered into the waters of baptism. I
don´t know if I have ever felt the Spirit so strong and been so amazed
by youth with such strong faith. These two young women taught me a
lesson of the power of sharing your testimony. I am truly grateful for
their examples in my life!
Best friends. Giovana shared the gospel and this is what happened!!!
Tereré a drink that is super good!!
Me and my comp Sister Marinho
Crazy tan lines and fun
My new best friend (our landlords dog)
Part of my area
My zone (I dont know all the names cause some of them are new to me)
Yeah we pretty much climb either the stairs from south campus to main campus or hills as steep as the Y multiple times a day!
Service and lunch with a family
Me and cacau the fruit they make chocolate out of!
No comments:
Post a Comment