Feed My Sheep: "Today I Learned..."

This last week I started a journal called "Today I Learned...." Each day I try to add at least one thing that I learned, and it's been wonderful in helping me to appreciate each day a little more. The Lord always has things to teach us, it's just up to us to pay attention. It's like one of my favorite pictures of Christ standing at the door knocking. There's no door handle on the outside, which shows that it is up to us to open the door. Christ is always there, we just need to let Him in. Heavenly Father is always teaching us something, we just need to open our eyes and notice what it is.

From this journal I've got a few things to share:

1) The BEST way to feel happy when you are feeling sad is to give service. This week we were kicked out of someone's home, after some choice words were used. As we were driving away, we prayed to invite the Spirit back and to just feel better. Immediately we saw a car stuck in the snow and we were able to jump out and push the car. It was amazing how quickly those painful feelings were gone!

2) Sometimes the people who seem to have it all together are the ones that are struggling the most. It has become so apparent to me that my role as a missionary is not to baptize people and come home with a huge number of how many people I helped to baptize. My purpose as a missionary (and as a child of God) is to invite people to come to Christ. It doesn't matter who the person is or what their situation is. If I am helping and inviting people to come to Christ, I am serving my purpose. Whether it is someone who has never heard of Christ or who has been a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints their entire life.

3) We have so much to thank the Lord for! One of our investigators told us this last week, "I just have so much to thank Him for that I run out of time to ask Him for anything!" That really made me think about my prayers and wonder if I am giving enough gratitude for the blessings that I have.

I know that this gospel is truth! I know that the Book of Mormon really is the word of the Lord written to help everyone draw nearer to Him. I know that the gospel blesses individuals and families, and I will never allow myself to walk away from that great blessing. From what I have experienced and seen on my mission so far, it is never ever worth it to leave the fold of Christ. Things may get hard, people may be insulting, time may seem to be completely taken up, but we must ALWAYS make God and His gospel the priority in our lives.

I love you all and I am so blessed to count each of you as family and friends!

Love, Sister Amber Ricks