The Power to Choose: Good vs. BAD

One of my favorite parts about being a missionary is how much we are able to move around too different areas! Every 6 weeks we have the potential to be reassigned to a new place here in Nothern California. Through moving to different cities we are exposed to different areas, people, cultures and experiences. Looking at my track record I seem to move around.... alot. This time was no different! I am now in Granite Bay with a brand new companion, Sister Higham. When I say brand new, I mean right off the air plane! I am now training Sister Higham in a brand new area. Which can be a little intimating, so many new things! Except I know that God is aware of us and takes care of his missionaries. 
This week has been one for the therapy journal that's for sure! Life isn't just a walk through a candy shop right? This week was no different. Life is hard. Missions are hard. Everyone day can be hard, especially when you run into those bumps in the road. I remember being a brand new missionary and knocking on one of my very first doors. I walked up there 100% expecting this man too want to run to the baptismal font. My companion and I gave him a Book of Mormon a couple days earlier and were coming back to see how it went. I thought that this was going to by easy because this is God's work... right? Wrong. This man opened the door, said he wasn't interested and slammed the door right in our faces. I stood there a little shell shocked, he wasn't interested? My companion shook it off and we moved on. Everyone has their free agency to choose. They get to choose how they live their life, what they think and whether to go about doing good or doing bad. That's life. That's part of God's amazing plan! For good or for worse it's up to us to make those decisions for ourselves. 

Everyday we are faced with opposition. Why? Because this is all part of God's plan for us. If we aren't given opposition or hardship how can we learn and grow. While some of that opposition is in our control... most of it isn't. We can't control everything that happens to us but what we can control is how we react to it. That is something that my dad has told me all my life and something I have had to remember everyday this week. 

This week has been rough, between moving into a brand new area, training for the first time, extensive heats waves, biking 24/7, and bike problems, my companion and I have been faced with alot of opposition. 

It's kinda crazy though because with every bad thing that happened, something good became of it. God's hand has been in every moment of our day, through the good and the bad.

Last Thursday, my companion and I had a flat tire when we were about a 2 hour walk from home. An amazing member stopped picked us up, brought our bikes home, took us grocery shopping, and paid for our groceries. 

On Friday we were so physically exhausted from biking all day but then had an amazing lesson with someone. Which completely energized us and gave us the strength we needed to keep going. 

This Tuesday we were stranded on the side of the road with more bike issues when an angel sent from God stopped and gave us a ride to our dinner. Where we had an amazing meal and then the members took us bike shopping... for the second time.  
Wednesday while we were at a members house my ostomy bag leaked! It was such a crazy and unfortunate experience because I have been so blessed these past couple years and nothing like this has happened before. Of course, on the longest and hottest days it decides to be like that. Except, if it had to happen I am so grateful it did on that day. The member I was with knew exactly what I was talking about (rare), drove us home, went back for our bikes, and brought our bikes too us. All those events were God given. Was I mad at God? No. Without God setting up everything how it was that day, it would have been way worse. I was so grateful to God and that member! 

These are just a couple examples of how we were able to see God's hand in the hard times in our lives. It's true that God didn't prevent those things from happening, he didn't take away that burden but he lightened them. In Matthew 11: 28-30 gives an excellent example of this when it says: " Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Through Jesus Christ we don't have too carry our burdens by ourselves. We don't have to go through bad days alone. Jesus Christ is right next to us lifting us up. He is sending angels OUR way for OUR benefit. 

Being able to see the good in a bad day is an absolute game changer. After one of our bad days my companion and I sat down absolutely exhausted. My companion said let's talk about 3 good things that happened today. 3?? I thought there hadn't even been 3 good things that happened this week. As we started talking and thinking about it, SO MANY good things happened that day. By the end we were wondering IF we even had a bad day. I mean we absolutely did but the good just about outweighed the bad.

In all honesty this week was super hard. It was full of blood, sweat and tears for sure but I wouldn't have changed a thing. My companion and I grew closer to each other and grew closer to God because of it. A recurring theme of the week was in Alma 26:12, 
"Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever." 
God gave us strength to overcome the hardships of the week and he sent little rays of light throughout our days. God is good and he knows us. We can do all things through God and Jesus Christ. 

I loved this quote that our living Prophet  President Russell M. Nelson recently taught: “Counting our blessings is far better than recounting our problems. No matter our situation, showing gratitude for our privileges is a fast-acting and long-lasting spiritual prescription.”

That got me thinking, it's all about how decide to look at things. Are we gonna focus on the good or our we gonna focus on the bad? Because of God's amazing plan we get to choose! The whole point of God's plan is for us to have joy. So find it. Make it. Enjoy it. 

Choose to find the good in the world. Be the good in the world and seek to find joy in every situation. 

Mind over Matter, whatever you think: 
You. Are. Right. 

No matter how hard this past week has been I am grateful for it. I am grateful for the highs and the lows, the good and the bad. I know that I have grown so much in this past week alone. I am more grateful then ever for my God who had my back this past week. 

Look for the good in your day. 
Look for Christ ❤️

Love, 
Sister Pickett 
____________________________________________
OK. So I know I just spent the last blog telling you to choose good and I still mean that!! But when it comes to bakeries here in Cali.. you gotta go with BAD!! 

My companion and I went to BAD Bakers Bakery this week and it was so good!! They had dozens of amazing and crazy donut, cookie, and bread flavors such as Lemon Delight, Bacon Me Crazy, Ube Cookies, Bitso, Senorita Bread, and so much more. One of the best parts is how they have syringes full of different delicious flavors you can push into your doughtnut! Oreo, lemon, raspberry, vanilla.... 

I have a thing with cereal on doughnuts so you know I got the Pebblepoo Fruity Pebbles Doughnut. IT WAS SO GOOD!! I love getting cereal on doughnuts because the textual difference is unreal. Textures are huge to me! The dish could be mid but if there is more than 2 textures on the plate... ELITE!! The soft baked doughnut with the crunchy sweet cereal on top is amazing!! I also got the oreo buttercream syringe. My companion got the Strawberry Shorty Cake doughnut with the lemon syringe. Sister Higham loved it!! 
So while your looking for Christ in your bad day look for BAD Bakers next time your here in California!! 

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