minor or significant.

i was going through the newspapers, just like any typical day. when i came across a headline..."two missionaries killed in texas." i of course continued reading to find out that three young missionaries had been hit in a hit-and-run accident. two died and one was expected to recover. of course, you would be thinking that's sad and go on with your day. if it hadn't hit so close to home i probably would have done the same. the wounds were just too fresh. the tears came easily and lasted far longer than the article. my brother just left three weeks ago to serve a mission, and my dear friend and cousin was killed in a car accident while serving a mission just two months ago. thankfully, no one else was in the office. today was staff meeting. thoughts filled my mind of what those families must be going through. one minute things are alright, and the next your entire life is changed with a simple phone call. as i tried to wipe away the tears that kept coming, i couldn't help but think of those boys who had given up two years of their life to serve their Heavenly Father and all too quickly their earthly lives were over. it was just a typical day in the mission field for them.

it got me to thinking how precious life is. how quickly it can change the course of our future. no individual can be replaced by another. regardless of the significance a person plays in your life - minor or significant,  no one can ever fill their role. or yours. i for one, hope that i may be able to do all i was sent here to do. and when the time comes that i may leave this world just a little better than i found it.


“think about your particular assignment at this time in your life. it may be to get an education, it may be to rear children, it may be to be a grandparent, it may be to care for and relieve the suffering of someone you love, it may be to do a job in the most excellent way possible, it may be to support someone who has a difficult assignment of their own. our assignments are varied and they change from time to time. don’t take them lightly. give them your full heart and energy. do them with enthusiasm. do whatever you have to do this week with your whole heart and soul. to do less than this will leave you with an empty feeling.” -- marjorie pay hinckley, small and simple things 


"i invite you to consider anew what you know and what you have; what you are here for and where you are going; and how you are going to do what you have come here to do." --sheri l. dew, no doubt about it