Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Get Up and Finish the Race - 26 December 2011

Hey Everyone! 

It was great to see you all yesterday [on Skype]! I miss you all and loved talking with you. It was a good refresher on what you all look like!  Haha. So, I have had several missionaries tell me that, if I really want to, I could transfer over to Spanish at my 6 month mark. I am seriously considering it, but it depends on everything that is going on at the time. I do love to try and speak with the Spanish Elders "Los Elderes" <---- That was a hard one... But, yeah, I'm thinkin about it. 

Anyway, this past week was super slow with lessons and everything. We didnt have but 1 lesson and only half the couple was there. So, it was kind of depressing. But, hopefully this upcoming transfer things will work out slightly better with the work. Anyway, I guess my message for the week I kind of gave via Skype. 

The message I wanted to give was given by Brother Burns.  He gave a talk and used the "Get Up and Win The Race" story. I loved that story, moreso now than ever. I listened to that story and really applied that to my life. I know that there will be times that I will get down in my mood and will want to let someone else take over since I don't think I can feel the Spirit.  But, just so you all know, now is definitely not one of those times. I am more excited now than I was when I first came out.  I know that there will still be times though, that this might happen. But, the runner looks into the crowd and hears all the laughter (Satans workers) and sees his Father in the crowd telling him "Get up and win the race." He got back up and tried to make up for the distance he had lost. He tried to run faster than he had before and tripped and fell on his face. He heard the crowd full of laughter and was even more discouraged than before. He looked up into the crowd and found his dad once more.  Get up and win the race.  He got up again and was determined ever more.  When he took those few more steps, he fell again. The crowd sounding louder as the winner crossed the line he thought "why finish now, when I'm this far behind?"  He saw his dad again and this time he told his son "get up and finish the race." He got up and finished coming in dead last.  As he crossed the line he heard the crowd even louder than before.  If you were outside the track, just a passerby, you would have thought he had won. The only thing his Father wanted was for him to "endure to the end." 

Now, the poem is a lot more powerful and hits home a lot harder than my message for  you, but the concept is the same. We dont need to be the best or finish first. We just need to return to our Father and know He still loves us. We will fall a few times and get back up and start again. The only thing He asks of us is to find our way back to the straight and narrow path.

I love you all and hope, with as hectic as it is at this members house, that the message still made sense. 

~Elder Daniel Peterson

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