Big Brown Ribbon

Sometimes I am led to wonder exactly what forces bring me to one place, and someone else to another. I consider myself very lucky to have served a mission, and to have the testimony of the Gospel that I now have. At this point, I feel confident that my future will be good, even when I don't know exactly what's coming. But I marvel that my Heavenly Father never gave up on me, and kept sending good influences even when I wasn't exactly seeking him with all my heart. I guess I've always had at least a part of me directed towards him, but I think that can be said of all people. But not everyone seems to have the same great experiences. A couple kids from one primary class may be inactive when they're older, at the same time as others from that same class are serving missions. Some people from one family will be strong leaders in the church, while others completely fall away.

It's difficult to see the reasons for all of this, because every person's situation is so different. This applies to any measure of a person's life. I can try to make generalizations about what sort of person is spiritual, what makes a good learner, why some people are especially kind towards others, or who will be dependable in a tight spot, but I've found that each person has to judged individually. I'm glad I don't have to be an ultimate judge, because there's a lot you have to know in order to really understand a person. So when I wonder about what led certain people to be where they are in life, I don't ever really come to any conclusions.

What is more productive, although still compromised by my lack of knowledge, is to think about what effect I've had on my friends, family and acquaintances. Better than that is to consider the effect I can have on others. I think I've been surprised many times when people have thanked me for performing some action or setting some kind of example, when I hadn't thought much of what I'd done. But that has taught me about the impact simple things like me can have. I'm far from perfect, but I hope to develop my attention to serving others and being a good influence. I want to try to be a help to others, because I very well could have ended up in no position to help anyone, and I'm not sure why I'm so lucky.