Several times over the past few days things have happened to cause me to think of something my sister was doing on her blog for a very long time. She was posting pictures every day of something that happened or something she did that made her happy that day. The point was to show that "Life is full of beautiful things, especially you're looking for the little things that happen every day." That was the attitude I tried to take with me this week! So here's a few things that happened this week that made my days better:
1. Our heater got fixed! Life is so much better now!
2. I got a package from my aunt! Inside were personalized M&M's that said things like "sweet is the work" on them. That just brightened my day! I think my mom would be jealous ;)
3. I got a package from my sister! Two packages in a week? I felt so lucky! She decorated it so cute too. I wish I would have taken a picture before I put everything away, but it was full of all sorts of things I love, like bubbles, Burt's Bee's Chap Stick, Bath and Body Works shower gel, and--of course--lots of candy!
4. I got two letters from my best friend! Since he's pretty much on the other side of the world, that never happens! I was basically skipping around the house when the second one arrived!
5. My recent convert in Picayune and her husband got called to be ward missionaries! I was told they went out with the missionaries last week to help teach a few investigators. I'm so glad they're doing so well :)
Life really is good. I have to slap myself every once in a while and tell myself to stop exaggerating how bad things are. That's one of the things I've learned this past year: things are never as bad as they seem. When I get put into a new situation, everything bad about that situation seems to be magnified, and so is everything good about the situation I'm leaving. But it's never as horrible as I make it out to be. Last week I thought I was going to die here. Then things started getting better. My ward mission leader fixed our heater so my house isn't so miserably cold anymore. Elder Edwards replaced our broken car with a new one. I figured out that if you flush our toilet twice, it usually won't clog--who knows why. And I found out that we should be getting a washer for our house in a few weeks! Yep. It's really not so bad. I have simply been having to adjust to a different kind of work here in Red Star. When you picture missionary work you picture knocking on doors and teaching lots of people and always being busy. That's not really what it's like here. This is a very unique area. Our instructions from President were to "go about doing good" so we have to be a little more creative with our time. So, this is what we spent the weekend doing:
We wanted to meet a lot of members, but we had also been warned that a lot of them didn't like surprise visits, so we thought bringing food was a good way to make us a little more happy to see us! I think our plan was successful. We got to meet a lot of people and they were all pretty excited about the cupcakes. It took a lot of cake mix and frosting...(yep, I'm definitely broke this month) but I think it was worth it!
Philippians 4: 11
Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
That's a wonderful idea! Listing down the things that you are happy and thankful for can help clear out the negative stuff that block your mind. Small things, like your ward mission leader helping you out with your heater, can seem big once it piles up with all the other lists like receiving a wonderful package from your sweet aunt. Everyone should really learn from that post and start airing out the bad vibes as well! :)
ReplyDeleteTommy Hopkins @ AccuTemp