Hope and Faith

Missionary work is incredibly unique. I was told before I left that there was nothing quite like it and that I'd miss it once it's gone. That reality is beginning to unfold before my eyes. However, as I look at missionary work and the people I meet, I realize that it relates to life before and after my mission in many other ways. The most important way is with the principles of faith and hope.

As a missionary, the days are long, there aren't many breaks, and there are peaks and valleys. With hope and faith, the mission will be incredibly successful, pleasant, and rewarding. Without hope and faith, a missionary will become bogged down in the details of a day and you lose the drive to succeed.

In life, it's the same. Between work, family, social, and other responsibilities, the days are long, there aren't many breaks, and there are peaks and valleys. Yes, there are vacations and weekends in "normal" life, but there are also many more responsibilities. With hope and faith, your life can be incredibly successful, pleasant, and rewarding. Without hope and faith, your life will become bogged down in the details of a day and you lose the drive to succeed.

What are faith and hope? Faith is a principle of action. With faith, you press forward through the course of your life knowing that there will be a reward for your diligent work. That diligent work can take many forms. Family life, work, school, service, religious life, exercise, dieting - these are all examples of items that require faith. Hope is being able to see ahead to the future. As you hope for a tomorrow that is better than today, your faith will increase. As your faith increases, you hope for better things.

In short, with unbounded faith and hope, we can achieve so much in our lives. As we couple that with faith and hope in Jesus Christ, we can achieve all things. (Phillipians 4: 13) So press onward, look forward with faith and hope, believe that Christ can strengthen us in all things, and see how high you can fly.