In The Midst Of The Monsoons

I'm serving my mission in Arizona. In Arizona there's this thing that happens every July-August. It's called monsoon season.

Every few nights there's a storm that rolls through town (or almost every single night if you're talking about last week!). The storms range from mild wind and dust to violent thunder and lightning storms with flash floods and/or dust devils.

Let me tell you, monsoon season is not the most convenient thing when the only mode of transportation you can currently employ is a bicycle. Luckily my companion and I have been saved by many members of our ward who were so willing to literally "brave the storm" and rescue us by giving us a ride in their car!

Example of a lovely Arizona storm.

We can easily draw a lovely parallel between monsoon season in Arizona and our own lives. We often have monsoons or trials to get through before the relaxing sunny days come. The storms in our lives can range from small inconveniences to major tragedy.

Luckily, we all have tools that we've been given to help us brave our storms, we also have people set in our lives to be there to pick us up and make riding the storm a little bit easier.

During a literal storm we have places of refuge and tools to use to protect us from the wind or rain, like umbrellas or rain boots. When our life is storming away we can find refuge in the scriptures. The word of God provides peace and guidance. We may need to know which direction we need to go to stay safe, we can find answers in the scriptures to direct us to safety.
Often, if I'm struggling with something specific I will search out answers by looking up scriptures about whatever I'm struggling with so I can receive the guidance I need directly through Christ's teachings. Using the search bar on lds.org I can easily find scriptures that will lift me and guide me through my trials.

I am so blessed as a missionary, I get to be with a companion all the time. I never have to go through anything alone while I'm serving my mission. Admittedly being within sight and sound of one person 7 days a week, 24 hours a day sometimes isn't the most fun thing in the world, but I've come to love it! I'm guaranteed to have someone to check my outfit or my hair for me, I always have someone to talk to when I have a bad day, and best of all, when the monsoons are a-stormin' and I'm out on my bicycle I'm not alone! My companion is right there beside me, peddling away and we can encourage each other to keep biking.

No matter the circumstance or animal involved, we are always there for each other!

Even when I'm not a missionary and I don't have a companion I'm never alone! And neither are you! We always have someone right next to us during the sunny days and during the most violent storms. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, understands every trial we go through and He supports us through everything. Our Heavenly Father loves us and wants us to communicate with Him. When we are in the midst of life's great trials we can get on our knees and pray to God for peace, comfort, and anything that we need.

In the New Testament in the book of Mark, chapter 4, Christ is traveling with his disciples on a boat. During the journey, Christ is sleeping and a great storm begins to rage and beat into the ship. The disciples were obviously a little scared, I don't blame them! They woke their Master and alerted Him to the fact that the ship was going to go down at any minute. He literally calmed the storm, He "rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm." Then He calmed the storm in His disciple's hearts.

Because He is the Christ, Jesus can calm any storm that is raging in our lives. He knows exactly how we feel and how we need to be comforted. I know that through the power of His Atonement anyone and everyone can find peace.

I invite those who read this to look for relief from their personal monsoons through studying the scriptures, prayer, and the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

I can promise that through the gospel there are sunny days ahead :)