VIVA MEXICOOOOO!!! Jajaja, just kidding. But also, really. I seriously love Mexicans, so I can already tell today is going to be a great day. I want to go back to Mexico so bad one day after the mission. I love these people so much. (But even more than Mexico, I want to go to CUBA! Oh my gosh, Cubans are my very favorites ever! They have the sweetest accent and they are all just way too cool for school. I want to be them! And the best thing about them is that Cuban Spanish is like supppperrrrr different than generic Spanish. It's almost a completely different language. At the beginning I could not understand a word they said, and now we go into the Cuban restaurant here in town and I feel so at home! I. Just. Love. Cubans. Miami, here I come.) Anyways, sorry for that little derailing. I really love Latinos. And I really love Spanish. And I really love my mission.
This week has been great.
We are seeing SO MANY MIRACLES! I can't even believe it! Are we still
struggling against the adversary to get people more faithful than fearful and
accept baptism? Yes. But is the Lord giving us crazy success in the ways He
wants us to have? Yes! And that is the whole point of this whole "Miracle
24" experience. To work towards a miracle, and happily accept the
natural blessings and miracles the Lord sees fit to give us that result from
that work, faith, and obedience! Huge thank you to everyone for all the
prayers, I knew there was a little extra something fortifying us this
week-those must have been it! I wish I had time/determination to write
everything amazing we have seen happen recently, but I don't have either,
unfortunately haha. Sorry! But we have been basically stopped by people who are
interested in us and what we share, we have found long lost members, and we
have been massively blessed with faith and an extra increase of the Spirit. I
know we are on the right track for whatever the Lord sees fit to bless us with!
He already is!
I wanted to share
something I enjoyed studying this morning. It is the story of when Christ
washes the apostles feet. (John 13:4-9)
"He
riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded
himself.
After that he poureth water into a
basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to
wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.
Then
cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my
feet?
Jesus
answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know
hereafter.
Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt
never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part
with me.
Simon
Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head."
I
divided this account into three parts to analyze it. These are all still rough
thoughts that I have not refined yet, so please forgive me! Haha!
1.)
The Reaction
Initially,
Simon Peter balks at the thought of the Savior washing his feet, and I can
imagine why- they wore sandals all day. Their feet were caked in mud and
dust. They were cracked and rough and worn. Would you want the Redeemer of the
world to wash your feet? Probably not. Whether it was out of shame,
embarrassment, respect, pride, or any other factor, Simon Peter did not
want the Lord to wash his feet. We often do something similar. We got
through this life making mistakes everyday. Our souls become spotted and soiled
with the mud and dust of an imperfect life and they become cracked, tough, and
hardened by everyday wear and tear. It's in those states that the Savior seeks
us out and offers to wash us clean, and yet, for many different reasons, we
tend to turn Him away. We don't feel worthy. We're embarrassed. WE think we can
or should do it by ourselves, etc. The point is, we balk at being cleansed by
Him.
2.)
The Rebuttal
The
Lord responds lovingly, but firmly to Simon Peter's hesitation, as one would
expect from Him. He essentially says, "Peter, I love you. You don't
understand right now what this means to both you and me. Please let me; you
will understand later." After further protest from Simon Peter, the rod
responds in a characteristic loving reprimand:
"If
I wash thee not, thou hast no part
with me."
I
believe the directness of this response came from the Savior's deeper
understanding of the situation and how it would apply to each one of us. Was He
saying that if Peter had dirty feet they could no longer associate? No, of
course not. Essentially, He was saying that anyone who has been dirtied in any
way or degree by the world must humble themselves enough to let Him wash them
clean or else we cannot be heirs with Him and live together forever because we
will not be pure, nor will we know Him. Because He loves us, He wants to be
with us. He knows the only way that is possible is through the sometimes humbling
and difficult process of being made clean as He washes us through His
Atonement.
3.)
The Reconciliation
I am
sure the room got very quiet after the Lord's rebuttal-all were probably
anxiously awaiting to hear Simon Peter's response. Dear, dear Peter gives us a
wonderful example of what we should do:
"Simon
Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head."
Wow.
When he finally realizes the gravity and importance of the cleansing, Peter,
being Peter, essentially jumps from the boat and swims ashore to Christ. He is
all in. He asks the Lord to cleanse him entirely-he wants so badly to be with
and like Him. He wants to be "clean every whit." He offers his whole
self to the Savior to be washed. He offers his head, so that he can be cleansed
of impure thoughts the lead him to temptation. He offers his feet, which daily
bring him to unholy places and have become scarred with each imperfect step and
stumble through the briar bushes and rocky roads. He offers his hands, which
don't serve as much as they should, which act on temptation, and which don't
cross themselves in prayer as much as possible. He offered his whole self to
the Lord to be cleansed, and so should we.
I
love you all, hope you have a great week and don't forget to let the Lord
cleanse and bless you.
Love,
Hermana Miller :)
PS-Happy
Mother's Day week! :) Love your mommies.
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