Once upon a time, in a land not so far away, there was a stove. It was a humble little two burner stove, but he was happy helping the humans make their breakfast. He wondered, however, how long he would have to stand the ever-growing layer of grease, egg and pancake batter that was weighing him down.
You see, being a stove, he couldn't simply walk to the tank and rinse himself off. He felt helpless, and sad, as day in and day out his human friends didn't seem to notice his dilemma.
FINALLY, after months of waiting, he saw the sponge and the cleaner sit down next to him. The sponge turned brown, rinsed off, and turned brown again over and over and over again, but eventually he turned from grease color to shiny black once again. The humble little stove wanted to shout for joy. He never could have done it alone.
Poor little stove. It took a lot of scrubbing, and now he's being used and getting dirty again. Fortunately, we don ́t have to wait months and months to clean of the stove surface. We don't have to wait to make goals and plans to change our lives. We, unlike the stove, can choose when to pick ourselves up and wash ourselves off, but like the stove we can't do it completely alone.
If I know nothing else (which isn't true because I actually know lots of things) I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior. When I no longer can, he makes up the difference.
This week was long, and more tiring than usual. I thoroughly enjoyed it - we got caught in a crazy rainstorm and all of our 'we're 100% certain they'll be there' appointments fell through at the same time. We decided to try carrying our groceries the eighteen blocks back from the supermarket, also in the rain, spent a day in Santo Domingo (my new favorite place) and of course, got to watch General Conference. And it was still tiring. For the first time in a while we had several days in a row where no one was home or didn't want us to come in.
But back to the stove. Unlike him, we get to choose. Our attitude, our time use, our priorities. And once we decide and give it our all, usually we fall short. But He makes it so we don't fall down. So enjoy it!
Enjoy the moments when the people you talk to in the street look at you really confused before walking away. Enjoy learning from your companion that you bend and straighten both pinkies simultaneously while holding a cookie and talking on the phone (I clearly learned my lesson from Spongebod - pinky out! even though air is not good Patrick, air is not good, doesn't quite apply).
Enjoy eating quesadillas, mocking your companion for putting ketchup on them and discovering it's not actually terrible. Enjoy seeing kittens play fighting in a sister's house. Enjoy getting to write your name in concrete on someone's front walk (seriously, who lets missionaries do that? Our ward is the best) And enjoy the people around you.
I sound about as cliche as missionary emails get, but I love being here. I love waking up every morning with the most glorious cause of all time and eternity to work for. I love what I learn every day about me, my Father in Heaven and about his perfect plan.
Here's my general conference quote: remember which way you face. And here's me quoting me: remember you're not a stove. So get up and do some good.
Love,
Hermana Juliana