Dead Flowers

Okay, so I came to a few realizations about being a missionary and sharing the gospel with those we love. First of all make sure those around you know your beliefs, second DO NOT PUSH your beliefs on others! Let me discuss each point!

My parents are wonderful examples of making sure all of their friends and family know our beliefs. They share the gospel with them whenever they can. My non-member family members definitely look to my parents as the spiritual leaders, and I have never really noticed or appreciated it before, but when I was back home we had a funeral for my uncle and I was so pleased to see my Aunt turn to my Dad and ask him to lead the group in a prayer. I am so glad that he was able and willing to do just that. It brought a reverence and peace to the occasion! It was so great to know that out of all of the family members in attendance my Dad was the one they looked to to lead a prayer to our Father in Heaven. :)

On the flip side my parents are pushers of the gospel. It's not entirely a bad thing, but over and over again I heard non-member family members and friends saying that they were getting out of there before they were bombarded with the "come back's" that would surely come. I truly wish everyone on this earth knew the truth that I know, and I long to share that with everyone I come in contact with, however you cannot force people to do anything. All you can do is plant a seed, and make sure they know you are there if ever they are ready to make the steps towards attending church. People don't like to be constantly preached to. They want to know you care for them regardless of their religious views, and that you won't always steer the conversation towards points of doctrine that may make them uncomfortable. You've got to be able to gauge a person, and make sure they enjoy the conversation!

Another thing I observed/learned is that we simply need to be there for those we love regardless of if we think it could be done our way. Here is what I mean by that. My Aunt wanted us to come over to her house and watch a movie. My Dad wanted her to come to our house, since we live very close(....half a block away) either way was a good choice, but my Aunt simply wanted to be at her own house and relax, and have some company, she didn't want to go out anywhere. We ended up having a great time, watched a movie and played games. My Aunt didn't play games with us, instead she watched another movie by herself, and at first we were all like well we should have just gone to our house, but later I realized that the point wasn't whose house we were at it was that we were all together. My Aunt didn't want to be alone that night, and just the fact that we were there was exactly what she wanted. :)