Lessons from the Lost Wallet: Trust in the Lord

I learned...

3. Trusting in the Lord is relieving! It may seem hard at first, but the feeling as we give up our will is relieving! Liberating, in fact. Where I am from (Alberta, Canada), driving 4-wheelers in farmer's fields is a popular pastime. However, if you drive too fast, the ride can easily get uncomfortable and even dangerous. Coming from a field onto a smooth highway after even half an hour of driving on rough terrain is a wonderful feeling. You feel like you are riding on clouds, and you begin to realize how sore you had been making yourself. So it is when we finally accept the plan of the Lord, and what he has in store for us. When we try to make all of our own decisions and refuse to take advantage of the trials we face, it is like we are trying to rush through a farmer's field. When we give our will to the Lord we are letting him take us to the smooth highway. I learned this when I finally stopped fighting, wishing that I could just find my wallet and my pain could be gone. I accepted that there were blessings that had come and were to come, and that I was learning and growing.

Lessons from the Lost Wallet: Co-Piloting

I learned...

2. How to BE a co-pilot, literally and figuratively, and the importance of doing so. I never thought that being a co-pilot was an important role, but I learned that is NOT the case.  As I sat in the passenger seat every day, I realized that there are things that I needed to do, and things that I needed to see. Oncoming cars, missed directions. At first I felt useless, and helpless. I have ALWAYS been one to take the wheel. My motto was "if you want it done RIGHT, do it yourself," and, sometimes, "if you want it done AT ALL, do it yourself." Please learn from my experience and change this way of thinking. I learned that if you want it done right this time, sure, go ahead and do it yourself, but if you want it done right in the future as well, teach someone else to do it! The supporting role is just so crucial!

Lessons from the Lost Wallet: Everything happens for reason

I learned...

1. Everything happens for a reason. Remember, if you can't drive, maybe someone else needs to learn how to drive. In 1 Nephi 17, Nephi is commanded to build a boat, and against all odds (not knowing how, starting from scratch, fighting against his older brothers), he does. I imagine that was pretty hard. But later on, in 2 Nephi 5,  specifically verse 15, Nephi uses the skills he learned building a boat to teach others how to make build buildings and work with the resources that were available in order to establish a city.
Please remember that we can use our trials to bless others. I promise you that someone can be blessed, and that serving others because of your trial, while still suffering, will help you overcome it.

Of Licences, lessons, and laws: the lost wallet

From the diary of Sister Christen Stanford, November 25, '14:

"I had a feeling this morning. It was a hopeful feeling, almost a feeling of liberation. So it is when you finally realize that no matter what happens, the Lord has His hands in it, and that you trust your life in them. I realized this week that it didn't matter when my license came. That come what may, there is always joy to be found in life."

Before my mission I worked as a truck driver, and I loved it. I loved to drive, and that was what I did, all day, six days a week. If I wasn't driving a truck, pulling one or two trailers and 40 tonnes of product, I was driving my car, and it didn't matter where I was going, it just mattered that I was driving. In the MTC (Missionary Training Center), I had no need to drive and didn't do so for 6 weeks. It goes without saying that I was thrilled when my mission president gave me permission to drive right away.
About 3 months into my mission, I lost my wallet. I left it in a restaurant, and when I called back later, they told me that it was not there. And so I was licence-less. I got back all my other important things like bank cards and the like, but because I am a Canadian living in the United States, getting a replacement license was a little bit more of an ordeal. Let me tell you, getting to know the area you are serving in is quite difficult without driving in it. For 5 months, my companions were the only ones who could drive and it killed me. I can't explain to you how hard it was for me, and quite frankly I don't have the time to. I wanted to share with you a couple of things that I learned from my time as a permanent passenger.

Language note: I thought I was pretty clever coming up with three words that described what I was talking writing about today that started with the same letter... Imagine how clever I felt when I went to translate it and the words still started with the same letter.