#BecauseofHim

This morning, in the middle of something important, I suddenly had a flashback to a youth conference that I went to a number of years ago at Martin's Cove in Wyoming. There were a couple hundred people at the conference and we were all gathered in a big circle, watching the competitions and games that were happening.
One of the games that they played was tug of war. They played multiple times, each time with a different group of teenagers and leaders. Finally, they said that the final round of tug of war would be my father against anyone else.
My dad went up to the rope, picked it up, wrapped it around himself to give him better leverage, and waited for people to pick up the other end of the rope. There was much laughter as a couple of young men tried their hardest to pull my dad off of his feet with no luck. In fact, my dad simply yanked on the rope and pulled the young men across the mid-line. A couple more people joined the first two with no success.
The leaders called up a few more teenagers in addition to the ones already there. Even with the added strength, my dad just dug in his heels and held on, pulling the group across the line and to their knees.

Finally they called in the troops!

A number of teenagers volunteered to put their strength and their heart into pulling my father across the little line scratched into the dry ground. A leader came up to me and said, "Go help them!" I felt rather awkward in light of the fact that I was inwardly cheering for my dad! Reluctantly I took the gloves handed to me and walked to the back of the rope. Grabbing ahold of the rope, this now much larger group of teenagers pulled and tugged and finally succeeded in pulling my father to the ground and across the line.
Thinking about that experience this morning made me smile and then laugh. We had to try so hard to pull one man across a thin line in the desert ground!

Then I pondered on some of the things I am asked to do as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints:
How can I put the kind of passion into talking to everyone that my friends were putting into pulling my father across a line?
How can I, as a representative of Jesus Christ, serve Him with all of my heart, might, mind, and strength?
I then pondered on Christ's sacrifice for each and every one of us and all that we can do and become because of that selfless act. I know that as we work to come unto Christ and to invite others to come unto Christ, we will succeed to overcoming our challenges and trials. Even though our trials may seem insurmountable, and even when we may try again and again with little to no obvious success, eventually, "All that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ." (Preach My Gospel) Through Him, we can overcome all things. #BecauseofHim