thursday thought: having a missionary.

there are so many girls today who "have a missionary".

watching your best friend prepare to serve the Lord and then watching him sacrifice everything to do it is immensely rewarding. seeing this preparation happen and being a part of it is something very special and something that's difficult to put into words. and then when the person you've relied on the most for so long is gone, you're left to rely on the Lord and you feel yourself grow in ways unimaginable.

the pros about this are obvious. you're growing, he's growing, and of course you're glad he's serving a mission. with him gone, you find out who you really are. also, while he's gone you're blessed through his letters and seeing your friendship grow.

the cons are even more obvious. he's not with you. you can't talk to him. your only connection with this person so dear to you is through prayers and letters. you can drop to your knees or say a prayer for him in your heart at any time, but depending on the situation, who knows how long it will take to hear from him?

having a missionary doesn't sound like an easy thing at all, does it.

with your missionary gone there are two things you can do:

wait

or/and

date.

i think it's great when it works out between a girl and her missionary. they are such a strong couple and those stories are just the cutest. just please, please don't be the kind of girl who wears shirts like this:

[from cafepress.com]

girls, you gotta do what you gotta do. if you know deep down you're going to marry him, that's fine. but don't proclaim it to the world. you're just making things hard on your social life. and i personally think dating is a good idea. you don't know what you're missing out on for two years if you don't give it a chance.

and who knows...maybe there is something else in store for you.

i look up to the girls who have had to write someone off. the girls who fell for another guy. i look up to them because they let themselves fall for another guy and they let themselves develop a close relationship with that guy, because they knew that that was what was best for them, even if it meant they had to let their missionary go. i'm sure that's not an easy thing to do.

one time i heard from an RM, "when i first got written off, i thought about how much i thought i loved her. if she wasn't the right girl for me, that just meant that there was someone else out there, even more perfect for me than she was. and i was excited for that."

your missionary is exactly where he's supposed to be, and chances are you helped him get there. and you're right here, exactly where you're supposed to be. for reasons you might know of, and reasons you might not know of.

and the beauty of life as a latter-day saint is that you know that as long as you're living right and just keep moving forward, the Lord will guide your steps.

and whether it's your missionary or somebody else, there is someone, somewhere, you're meant to be with for eternity.

so it's all good.

-kandi