Changes

I just absolutely adore my little brother Caleb. He is funny and smart and just all around an amazing kid but he does have one flaw. He is NOT good at writing letters. As many of you know Lub is on his LDS mission in Georgia and he writes us every Friday. Usually it is really brief. He'll write about who he's teaching and that he loves it there but really he hasn't told us a lot of stories or details or things he loves because he always seems so busy and rushed while he is writing.
Yesterday was my orientation for nursing school. It was 5 hours and I was just jammed with all this information. It was honestly a little overwhelming. After I left I was kind of upset. I do not handle change well and this is one of the biggest changes I have ever gone through. I left my job where I was so comfortable, I was good at what I did and I loved working with my friends. I left it for nursing school, a subject I know little about and I have never been one to excel at school. After my orientation i just felt this overwhelming feeling of anxiety like I absolutely could not handle this change. I got up to my mom's house and I opened the email our family received from Caleb. Here is just a little bit of what he wrote yesterday.

If there's one thing President Bowman has taught me, it's that change is the greatest thing that can happen to us in this life. Change is the gospel. That's why there are so many changes every 6 weeks in the mission. That's why we as a mission are constantly applying new policies so that we can change and become more effective.

A few months back, President decided to do some 'Emergency Zone Conferences' during week 5 of the Transfer (which is very unusual). President Basically talked for an hour & a half about the importance of change. At one point he shared about how people on pacific islands catch monkeys. They drill holes in coconuts & put bits of food in the center. When monkey reaches in and grabs the food, he can't pull his hand out b/c it won't fit in the hole. But b/c the monkeys won't let go, they sit there, sometimes for days, until they're caught. Sometimes we're monkeys. We won't let go of some things that really don't do us any good or help us reach or full potential. Holding on to the comforts of life will make us miss out on the much greater blessings. In Zone Leader Council a few days ago, President Bowman announced that we will be going from 5 Zones to 4 Zones in the mission.

President also told us a story from after his mission while he was dating Sister Bowman. He had spent the weekend w/ her down at her home, & was now heading back to BYU for school during the week. It was late & he was driving on a windy 2 lane road w/ hills. As he drove alone, a voice from the back seat said boldly, "CHANGE LANES." His head immediately turned to look for the person sitting in the back seat, only to find that no one was there. He continued driving a few seconds more, when the voice came once again saying, "CHANGE LANES." After frantically checking once again, he thought to himself, "Mark, it's late. You're alone in this car. Why not just change lanes." So he did. No more than 5 seconds after changing from the center lane to the outside lane, a sports car w/ its lights off going over 120mph zoomed past him, driving on the wrong side of the road, in the lane he was just driving in. Without the voice of warning, exhorting him to change lanes, Mark Bowman would have been killed that day. Sometimes when everything in life is going the way we want and expect, God closes a door in our direct path and says CHANGE LANES! He does this because he loves us. Because He knows exactly what we need to find the greatest peace & happiness in this life. We simply do not know. We don't know the future. We don't have it planned out, nor should we, or else we would eliminate God's power in our lives. President Bowman concluded that Zone Conference by announcing the Dissolution of the Mission. God closed a door for me that day, but I know for a fact that he opened another door that will lead to greater blessings.

Caleb had no idea how I was feeling that day but getting that email was an answer to prayer. It is just what I needed to hear. If you're not changing you're not progressing. I feel more ready for this next chapter I'm my life than I ever have before. I love him so much. Below is Caleb and me at the temple the day before he left on his mission. I love that kid to death. I can't wait to talk to him tomorrow!!