Don't look back

Christmas Eve! The amazing family we spent our Christmas Eve with! Minus one taking the picture.

 

So there's this thing called Mormon Messages inspire my life. Gosh, I love them so much. Our church is so cool! The newest Mormon Message is a message about New Year's. And as soon as I watched it I knew it would inspire me for my letter this week!

First, it was so awesome to be able to talk to all of you on Christmas. It was so awesome to be able to hear your voices! It just felt good to see that you all are the same wonderful family that I know and love. I had such a wonderful Christmas! I already told you all about it. But it really was a wonderful day. I was just so happy and full of love. And after we skyped we ended the day watching The Aristocats. So I was pretty much skipping as we were walking home, it was such an amazing day. My heart felt a little bit like it was going to explode I was filled with so much love.

I won't lie, it was a little hard. The day after Christmas was pretty hard for me. I am not really sure why. My theory is that I went from having a day and spending it with people I love and feeling so loved, and then the next day we went streetboarding and everyone seemed to be unusually mean. There was honestly a moment where I just wanted to give up and sit down and cry. So, the after-effects of Christmas were a little bit challenging. But, I kept pushing on no matter what my feelings were. And I was on my knees praying. A lot. And now I am back to my regular old super happy missionary self!

This week really taught me a lot. I learned a lot about love. A lot about how you, my wonderful family love me. And a lot about how much my Heavenly Father loves me. I really am learning more and more that understanding our Father in Heaven's love for us and our Savior's love for us is a life-long journey. I don't think it is something we will ever be able to truly comprehend. But there are those moments where you feel just a wink of it. You feel just a small percent of the immense love that they have for us..and that is what keeps me going.

 

So this week was not the easiest week in the world, but it was definitely one of the most memorable I have had thus far on my mission. I will never forget the Christmas I spent as a missionary. I am so grateful for that experience! Thank you once again for everything you all did to make me have an amazing Christmas!!

Something else this week, as a mission we have turned our focus towards families. And Soeur L and I have decided to tackle this challenge. We are one hundred percent focusing everything we do on finding a family here in Limoges that is prepared to hear the gospel. It has already been a blast as we have spent hours porting, finding these amazing families. Who, thus far, have all told us they are not interested. But I have faith that as we keep being diligent, Heavenly Father is going to lead us to a family that He has prepared for us. I can't wait to see what He has in store!

Then ever since I watched that Mormon Message there was another theme I had for my week.
Don't look back.

I always love the new year. It is an opportunity to change. To set goals for the new year.

And most importantly, it is a chance to leave our past behind and look forward to the future.
No matter what our past holds. We can change. And we do not have to be afraid of our future.

We never know what the future holds. I am sure that for all of us this year will consist will plenty of ups and also plenty of downs. But we can look to the future with hope. Because we can know that no matter what, we will have the Savior on our side. And that God has a huge plan for us. And that even though we may not understand until after this life, everything is exactly how it is supposed to be.

 

So, let's start this new year with hope.

 

Let us forget our past. Accept what we have now, and make the most of it.
 

Have faith on our Savior that anything is possible with Him on our side. Don't dwell on the past.
And let us do our very best to follow the Savior this year. To serve those around us.
To become better people.

I promise that as you put Him first, and as you forget the past and move forward with faith, you can make this year everything you want it to become.

Thank you so much for your love. It is what keeps me going.
I wish you could understand our much I literally mean that. But it really is.
I love you all so much.
Happy New Year! Don't have too much fun without me!

Love,
Soeur Magleby