Post Mission Life

I was reading an article on www.LDS.org about the training of new mission presidents, and I loved this:

"President Monson said missionaries represent the flower of youth and the hopes, prayers, and dreams of their parents. “They represent sacrifice. If you as mission presidents can realize the importance of their missions in the lives of these young men and young women and in the lives of your senior couples, then you will be in a better position to motivate them properly.”

It got me thinking about the importance of my mission in my life. I know that's not the context of the quote, but work with me here. I want to imagine that if my president asked me what the importance of my mission in my life is, having served already, what I would say.

I don't know why I was called to serve a mission. I don't know why the Lord wanted me to go so bad. But I'm so glad I did go. It changed my life. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Maybe that's why he wanted me to go. I wasn't living poorly. But he wanted me to change my life. He wanted me to live better. Do better. Be what He knows I can be, which was so much more than I thought. So much more than what I was doing.

We're still trying to figure it out. I'm still growing. But maybe what he did for me wasn't get me to the final destination of "I'm the best I can be!" but move the path to a more upwardly direction.

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