I'm in Florida serving a mission, and the Fourth of July still somehow
wins one of my very favorite holidays. SO MUCH AMERICAN PRIDE OVER HERE.
This
week had a lot of... events. I guess you could call them events! Not a
whole lot of details go into them, but they happened. haha
-A
tornado touched down in Tallahassee (yes, massive panic on my part. but
I'm still alive. Luckily it ended up being on the other side of town.)
We had a few really massive storms this week. We had to take cover quite
a few times, but it was super awesome to watch! Luckily, we never got
stuck in them.
-Our investigator, Antonio came back
in town and is as solid as ever! We taught him an awesome lesson about
the Plan of Salvation and committed him to be baptized when he comes to
know that these things are true, and we got a solid YES! Keep him in
your prayers! I was sent here to find this kid. Some pretty awesome
experiences have been had with him!
-The new
summer semester at FSU just started so there are TONS of freshman on
campus! JACKPOT! Lots of fresh blood, and we have had little rejection
so far! We have been LOVING it!
-We just got
finished with a super fun 4th of July cookout with a ton of Senior
couple missionaries and all the missionaries in my district! Lots of
yummy food and lots of laughs. It's been a super awesome day so far :)
and the WHOLE city, and everybody in the city is Red, White and Blue. :)
-I'm so sad about President Packer! Lots of changes happening in the Twelve!
and last but not least...
-My bike got stolen, and sister rindlisbacher's got damaged.
 | |
| The tornado touched down. Extreme wind & rain, terrifying! But gotta get a picture! :'} |
So,
to end off, I want to share something that has been a theme in my
studies this week. Timing is perfect, and I was able to experience
something really amazing.
The Atonement. The
most selfless act of service in the history of the world. An act that
brings the enabling power of forgiveness and the enabling power to
forgive.
In True to the Faith it says, "In the everyday
circumstances of life, we will surely be wronged by other
people--sometimes innocently and sometimes intentionally. It is easy to
become bitter or angry or vengeful in such situations, but this is not
the Lord's way... We should pray for strength to forgive those who have
wronged us, and we should abandon feelings of anger, bitterness, or
revenge. We should also look for the good in others rather than focusing
on their faults and magnifying their weaknesses. God will be the judge
of others' harmful actions."
President Hinckley said, "My
brothers and sisters, let us bind up the wounds—oh, the many wounds that
have been caused by cutting words, by stubbornly cultivated grievances,
by scheming plans to “get even” with those who may have wronged us. We
all have a little of this spirit of revenge in us. Fortunately, we all
have the power to rise above it, if we will “clothe [ourselves] with the
bond of charity, as with a mantle, which is the bond of perfectness and
peace..“To err is human, to forgive divine.” (Alexander Pope, An Essay
on Criticism, 2:1711.) There is no peace in reflecting on the pain of
old wounds. There is peace only in repentance and forgiveness. This is
the sweet peace of the Christ, who said, “blessed are the peacemakers:
for they shall be called the children of God.” (Matt. 5:9.).”
As
we walked past the bike rack yesterday, we were surprised to see an
empty spot where the fourth bike should have been, and the tire to
Sister Rindlisbacher's bike sitting on the ground. With shock and
confusion, I was surprisingly extremely calm. Not one thought of
bitterness, worry, anger, or frustration ran through me. The only thing I
thought was, "Maybe they needed it more than me." After taking a quick
little walk around the complex just to make sure it hadn't been moved, I
sat down and opened my study journal. Forgiveness. I had just
experienced true forgiveness, and oh, what a spiritual experience that
was.
How often do we keep grudges? How often
are we avoiding those who wrong us? How often do those actions effect
other people, people that we love? Who are we to hold onto the wrongs of
others? Who are we to wait for an apology, when our Savior Jesus Christ
has forgiven us long before we have wronged somebody else? Who are we
to not forgive, when we are always forgiven?
I
invite you to reflect on your life. Who has wronged you? Who has hurt
you? Forgive. Let it go, and use to Atonement to forgive. The peace it
brings FAR out ways the heaviness of a grudge.
I
love you all and I am extremely grateful for the freedom we have.
Without freedom of religion I would not be serving a mission. HUGE
thanks to all of the armed forces, and those who have served in the
past. My prayers of gratitude are ever so deep today.
Have a bright, sunshiny week! :)
LOVE,
Sister Holmes
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