Inspired from Italy

My youngest sister Casey is serving a mission for our church in Italy. Currently, she is serving in a city called Vercelli.  I love to read her letters she writes each week. While reading her letter from last week, I was reminded of one of my favorite scriptures from Doctrine and Covenants 121:7-8...

 7 My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;  

8 And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.

These two verses have comforted me during times of my life when I have been sad, worried, and lonely.  We all feel that way at times, and these words are soothing to the soul.  We must endure our challenges well, they only last a small moment in our lives, and then Heavenly Father promises that we will be blessed and overcome whatever we are facing.

Here is an excerpt from Casey's recent letter...

No matter what we are going through we can always turn to our Heavenly Father and ask for his help and guidance, and one day all these trials and hardships will be over. And if we endure it well we will have everlasting peace. If that's not an initiative to endure to the end, I don't know what is. I feel so blessed with the scriptures and the modern day revelation that our prophet receives for us. We cannot take them for granted!
Well I love you all and I hope you guys have a good week. You're always in my prayers and don't forget to get on your knees and pray. Go out of your way and do something nice for someone this week. Be an instrument!

Casey on the left

I love her reminder at the end to go out of our way and do something nice for someone else this week.  We are here on earth to serve and love one another.  We are to forgive, to love, to help, to be an instrument in Heavenly Father's hands.  When we focus on serving others, it helps us to forget our own challenges and struggles we are facing, whatever they may be.