Readjusting

This is my attempt to explain to a friend who recently returned from a mission how I understand her sentiments about feeling like a fish out of water. She told me "I feel a little misplaced...It's like an identity crisis of how and where I can fit in an mold the old me and new me into a wonderful CURRENT me." To which I replied...

I think I know a little how you feel... a lot actually. Let's see if I can put it into words. You were living your life and you were happy, but then you were changed for the better, you felt whole for the first time- you learned so much, you learned what it truly meant to have a testimony of the Savior, you knew that the Lord had a plan for you and you were right where you needed to be- not that everything was perfect... but almost, not that it was a walk in the park, but definitely worth it. No doubt about that. Then all of a sudden, it was over in some pretty fundamental ways. Way too fast. Not that a mission ever really is over, or that an eternal marriage ever takes a break but it changes thats for sure, whether you were ready for it or not, whether you anticipated it or not. And it's almost like in some ways you get to go back to the old you... but you're not the old you. Life seems to have moved on pretty well without you too... So what to do, what to do? Take the postive, leave the negative and keep moving forward with faith. The best is yet to come... even though you feel pretty sure you've already had the best.

And to my friend who broke up with the one he loved so much, I also relate. This is my advice, you know the kind you give to yourself when you hurt and don't understand why. "So Hebrews 11 is an amazing chapter for me. I read it last night and it really gave me hope. It explains how the prophets did all these amazing things, how? By faith. I like to add myself to the chapter like this. By faith, Natalie Joyce Clark Hess, lost the love of her life, remained happy, positive, and lived a full life. I'll add you too. By faith, (insert your name here) had their heart broken multiple times without the understanding of why or what's next, remained faithful in their callings, touched the lives of others and didn't drop out of school. It's kind of like in the war chapters where the nephites have all those lamanite prisoners that they don't know what to do, so they are moving them with the army, and ultimately they lose all the prisoners, and go back just in time to save their army. So sometimes we lose what are fighting for at the moment, but it redirects us back just in time to save the army.