Missionary Moment

Do other people have those Missionary Moments in church or in seminary?? We do. I feel like I never have one. I'm not usually the outgoing, talk-about-the-church kind of person missionary work usually requires. Scares me to death. But there was a time when I wanted to serve a mission... I was at my all-time "high" on the gospel my last two years of high school. I wanted to serve, and it fit into my plans back then. But, as I'm sure everyone knows, plans change...

So, I'm sure you've figured out where I'm going with this if you heard about the new age limit for Mormon missionaries. I know there are young 20-somethings out there like me thinking, "Would my life be different now if I had been able to serve when I was 19??" I was 19 before I even graduated high school. Of course this question crossed my mind. But, as a friend of mine on Facebook put it so eloquently: Heavenly Father has a plan for MY life. I've chosen to leave it at that :) For any others around my age doing the "what if" game, or even resenting the new age for women missionaries, Heavenly Father has a plan for you. If we are doing what we know is right and trying our best to follow Christ, we can rest assured that we are where we should be :)

The very next thing that crossed my mind after I heard the new announcement was, "Wow! That's kind of young for boys!" No offense to any young man, but I still feel young and immature at 24; I can't imagine going at 18! Going off of this thought, though, is what I think this means for parents: WE must make sure that our children are ready to go at these ages if they wish to. (I know they didn't advise every young man to go at 18, but are simply now allowing it.) We must raise our kids to not only know the truths of the gospel, but the be able to articulate them as well. We must raise them up strong and stable. We must give them a foundation they can build upon. This means we must show them how to be missionaries in our own communities and families. I know, I know, easier said than done. I'm still trying to work on simply calming down when the kids are screaming! Missionaries don't scream at people screaming at them ;)

For me, this new change is not only a call for more full-time missionary work, but also a call to parents to make sure those missionaries are ready. Let's get them ready!