I read this story on my friend Donise's blog and loved it. Donise is not only my good friend, but also my mentor. She and her husband Lloyd are serving a mission in Adam Ondi Ahman, where her husband is the director there. I thought she had such a great message, I wanted to share it.
Friends of Donise and Lloyd visited them in Missiouri. This is what she wrote after their visit.
Karine Eliason shared an interesting story. She and Gordon are good friends with the Uchtdorfs. (As in President Uchtdorf of the First Presidency and his wife.) They met back in Glendale while Dieter was at Luke Air Force base teaching pilots. In fact, we ALL were in the same ward. The six of us even traveled to Utah when two couples from the ward went to be sealed. Ten couples went together up to share in this exciting experience. A sad point is that I do not even remember the Uchtdorfs at all.
Last year Karine had surgery and was at home recovering. One day the doorbell and rang and it was the Uchtdorfs. They were just in town and had heard that she was in need of a visit.
This is a wonderful story; nevertheless, I learned a valuable lesson from it. I am envious of the relationship the Uchtdorfs and Eliasons have with each other. Then I think that we could be long time friends with the Uchtdorfs as well. We were in the same ward at the same time. As I look back and wonder why I do not even remember them, I realize that I had kept in my own little world, busy with family and the friends I already had. I was probably not interested in trying to make friends with people who could barely speak English and would not be there very long anyway. Because I did not go out of my “comfort zone”, I missed some wonderful friends.
How many other people have I missed rich experiences with because I did not reach out to them? Each person on earth has something that could enrich my life. I am trying harder here on my mission to meet people and get to know them.
Karine Eliason shared an interesting story. She and Gordon are good friends with the Uchtdorfs. (As in President Uchtdorf of the First Presidency and his wife.) They met back in Glendale while Dieter was at Luke Air Force base teaching pilots. In fact, we ALL were in the same ward. The six of us even traveled to Utah when two couples from the ward went to be sealed. Ten couples went together up to share in this exciting experience. A sad point is that I do not even remember the Uchtdorfs at all.
Last year Karine had surgery and was at home recovering. One day the doorbell and rang and it was the Uchtdorfs. They were just in town and had heard that she was in need of a visit.
This is a wonderful story; nevertheless, I learned a valuable lesson from it. I am envious of the relationship the Uchtdorfs and Eliasons have with each other. Then I think that we could be long time friends with the Uchtdorfs as well. We were in the same ward at the same time. As I look back and wonder why I do not even remember them, I realize that I had kept in my own little world, busy with family and the friends I already had. I was probably not interested in trying to make friends with people who could barely speak English and would not be there very long anyway. Because I did not go out of my “comfort zone”, I missed some wonderful friends.
How many other people have I missed rich experiences with because I did not reach out to them? Each person on earth has something that could enrich my life. I am trying harder here on my mission to meet people and get to know them.
Donise's story made me wonder what I might be missing out on as well by not stepping outside my comfort zone.
Another lesson I learned was not to judge, as we never know the potential of those around us.
But I am grateful Donise reached out to me! She is older than I am and I have often benefited from her wisdom.
I also love that she told me once her eye sight is so bad, she can't see any of my faults.
You just gotta love having a friend like that!
