I just absolutely love this quote. In the next few months, I have
done/will do things that I am definitely not ready for. I wasn't ready to
graduate and I certainly do not feel ready for my time as a missionary in the
Dominican Republic. And even though I had 150 hours of training, I was still
nervous to start my job. Amy is one of my boss women who I greatly look up to.
I hope I can be half the women she is in this lifetime. Talk about someone who
isn't afraid to do things before they're ready! Love it!
I wanted to blog about this because while I was in Florida, one of
the main curriculum directors shared something from a book that actually made
me cry (#thepowerofliterature). Anyways, I am going to bring it with me on my
mission because I absolutely love it. It's all about doing things before you
feel ready and it is so great. A little bit of background of what's happening
at this point in the story. A bunch of boys at a Catholic school have nothing
better to do but guess what day the lake will freeze. They all guess
generically until one boy named Patrick says he will skate across the lake on
December 8. The day comes and this is where I will start quoting:
"Pat, I said, you
can't do this. It's impossible. My words registered not at all with him. He
stood and went up the hill a little, to get a running start. I felt a real fear
for him. To the sound of a gun inside his head, he took off, launching himself
onto that shimmering surface. He hit it in stride, his legs pumping away. But
he hit it with a great crack, and sure enough the ice broke. It was too thin. It was too
soon. Oh, Patrick!
Then we saw the ice was breaking and opening, not under him, but behind him. He was ahead of the break,
skating so lightly that even the thin
ice was support enough for the instant he needed it. All of us on that
shore, watching him barreling across that lake, were transformed... We began to
cry after him, "Go Patrick! Go Patrick!" As he shot across that ice,
leaving behind a great crack, a wedge of black water, we knew we had never seen
such courage before, not to mention such savvy knowledge of the ice. We had
never seen such a capacity of for trust- a man's trust in himself. Even before
he made it all the way across, and of course he did make it, I thought, this is
a man I want to be with."
I love that line in bold. "The thin ice was support enough
for him the instant he needed it." There will be a lot of times when the
only thing sustaining us is, what, at the time, we will think is the thin ice
of the atonement. But the great thing about it is that I know someone who has
skated across the pond before me, almost literally in my shoes, experiencing my
same emotions- my Savior. He may let us struggle a bit, and we may have to
witness the crack of world crashing down behind us, but the ice under our feet
for the moment will never shatter. We will always have
eternal support and it's such a happy thing to ponder. I have always loved the
quote, "In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an
invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard
the world pushes against me, within me, there's something stronger-something
better, pushing right back." (That's from a book I read in AP Lit,
"The Stranger" by Albert Camus and for the record, I am bringing this
on the mish too!) There is something stronger than the world (and Satan!)
telling us what we're doing wrong. And that something is the knowledge that we
are divine beings who were meant to accomplish extraordinary things here on
earth. If we have that little seedling of faith of our divine worth, then we're
never going to falter, even in moments where we're skating on thin ice.
I also like the beginning part where he mentions that Patrick
"was ahead of the break." A lot of times we have our naysayers, the
number one being Satan, telling us we can't do what we need to. But, if we stay
strong and remain with our permanent ice skater, then we're going to be fine.
If we are prepared and have a solid testimony, then the times when the ice
begins to break, our own weight, combined with the ice (our Savior's infinite
atonement) will get us through. Notice that I am pointing out that Patrick had
to start skating before he realized he was going to be fine. Martin Luther King
Jr. once stated, "You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the
first step." In this metaphor, just take the first skate!
We also have our own heroes and she-roes that have "skated
the ice before us" here on earth. That's why being friendly to everyone we
meet, knowing they have unique challenges is of the utmost importance. We're
put here on earth to help others and that includes being there for people with
similar challenges, but also being compassionate when it comes to people who
have challenges that are different from ours. I have a tendency to judge people
for their reactions to their trials. To me, some of them seem to be a breeze.
But then I am always reminded, some people probably laugh at my trials too. And
it makes me realize that these are my brothers and sisters. If I have
"skated the ice" of a similar trial, the Savior would expect me to
grab their hand, lace their skates, and guide them across because that's
exactly what He would do if He was physically on earth. Instead, for right now,
He’s made this our responsibility. And that's one reason I am excited to serve
a mission. I will be representing Christ, doing what He would be doing.
Because I know there will be people leading me across the ice (okay, so
maybe not ice in the DR, but maybe through the humidity??) and I will have the
opportunity to help as many people as I can across the metaphorical ice as
well.
This story obviously works on a lot of levels, but mostly I've
been thinking on two ways I've seen this directly. The first is in my job. My
supervisor taught one season already and knows exactly how I feel when I have
bad teaching moments. However, on a more personal life level, it also works
greatly for my mission. Over the past few years, Heavenly Father was directly
preparing me for something, the people of the Dominican Republic. Although I
was just placed in the advanced (YIKES!!!!!!!!!!!) class for Spanish at the DR
MTC, I know the ice (my previous knowledge+the spirit) will help me make it
safely across. Will there be moments where all the ice is tumbling around me?
Yes. However, like Maya Angelou has said, "We may encounter many defeats,
but we must not be defeated." Oh how sad I am about the loss of this great
lady. But even if we see our ice crashing down around us, we should always
have the peace that our little piece of ice will ultimately get us across the
lake and into the arms of our loving Heavenly Father. I have always loved this picture
because it’s exactly how I think it will be like on that day:
So, to sum up this long rambling, do the thing you think you can’t.
(Again, paraphrasing my boss women Eleanor Roosevelt). You’re more ready than
you think.
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