Every time it starts raining, I worry that the clouds will never break.
Here in Scotland, winter is definitally on its way - misty rain for hours on end, blustery winds... That's Scotland for you!
Here's a great shot of my back, as I was going to take a picture with the Nessie bush! XD
So! This week has been pretty cool! We met
heaps of new people, which is pretty exciting. It all came due to our diligence and persistance in talking with as many people as we could.
As far as my status as a person goes, I'm doing well. :)
I had an epiphany about depression a few days ago!
Depression is a tool to help us work on our shortcomings. Faults which usually would be unnoticable come to the forefront and can be either dealt with or ignored. If dealt with, it may be resolved and fixed. Depression brings out our faults because it increases our desire for immediate satisfaction. The times we cave / reach a breaking point often come compounded with other emotions, e.g. sadness or rage. The distance of our breaking point shows us how strong character we have. When depressed, the drive to choose immediate satisfaction is much higher, since we desire it much more. As most all sin comes under the category of choosing immediate satisfaction over long-term satisfaction, people often make choices they regret when depressed, which depresses them more, leading them in a downward spiral which can be destructive.
I recently had a dream which taught me an important lesson. I was a bird, and was anxiously trying to reach a destination. There was a bit of a tailwind, which wasn't helping me move any faster. In fact, it was hindering my progression. I remembered how bird have to take off into the wind, so I turned to face the wind, and opened up my wings. As I did so, the wind carried me high. I turned then about face, and pulled in my wings to dive, gaining speed rapidly, flying faster than I ever had before, getting me where I needed to be.
As I wrote down the dream, I realised it was a metaphor for the trials we face in life. They may seem against our progression if we fight against them, but as we face them with God's help, we can make the most of them, to gain the spiritual height to go where God wants us to go. They give us the spiritual traction we need in life.
(there is a similar metaphor often used by missionaries, where a kite is flying high, and a child wishes to cut the string to help it go higher. The father teaches the child the string tethers it, thus allowing it to go even higher. So is it in our lives. The commandments God tells us, including those promptings he puts in our minds are made to give us new height - but the height only comes with the winds of trial.)
So I've recently come to a much better understanding of trials in life, and am finding it a lot easier to face times that I'm feeling down.
But all in all, I'm happy. :) I have a fantastic district I'm very close to, and am so grateful for their love and support they give me. I have a companion with a drive to do God's will. I have a loving family, and so many loving friends who support me, and I have a loving Heavenly Father. I have felt his love, and heard his voice through the Holy Ghost. I feel awakened - my spiritual eyes and ears opened to the things of God. I am so grateful for Dave and Ruth (who I got to see today!! ^0^) and the love they show me.
I love the Lord. I love light. I'm so grateful for everything God has done for me, and really want everyone else to feel the same joy that I've felt. I testify these things are true in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
– Elder William Kevin Black
Also, I've recently been impressed by the spirit of Elijah - I have come to know that it is the Holy Ghost, testifying of the divinity of temple work.[oops, meant to write family history, but temple is the more accurate term] I have felt it as the Ladels (Senior couple serving as FH consultants) testified of the divinity of this work. I'm more anxious to continue with my journaling, to keep a good record of all the things I've learned so far in my life. *sigh* love you all! Ta!
