Keep your Mind's Eye on the Goal

Dear ครอบครัว (family),

Hello. I am going to a cave today. So I will keep it short by sharing a great story that my mission president shared with us, I really like it.

"In 1952, young Florence Chadwick stepped into the waters of the Pacific Ocean off Catalina Island, determined to swim to the shore of mainland California. She had previously been the first woman to swim the English Channel both ways. The weather was foggy and chilly; she could hardly see the boats accompanying her. Still, she swam for fifteen hours. When she begged to be taken out of the water along the way, her mother, in a boat alongside, told her she was close and that she could make it. Finally, physically and emotionally exhausted, she stopped swimming and was pulled out. It was not until she was on the boat that she discovered the shore was less than half a mile away. At a news conference the next day she said, “All I could see was the fog.…I think if I could have seen the shore, I would have made it.”

"Two months later, Florence got back in the water to try her task once more. This time was different. She swam from Catalina Island to the shore of California in a straight path for twenty six miles. The same thick fog set in, but Florence made it because she said that while she swam, she kept a mental image of the shoreline in her mind. Florence Chadwick became the first woman to swim the Catalina Channel, eclipsing the men’s record by two hours!
She didn’t lose sight of the shore because she focused on that image of the coast in her mind, and in this way, she reached her goal."

I love the lesson taught with her great words, “I think if I could have seen the shore, I would have made it.” I think you can apply this lesson to many aspects of life.

Sometimes we have lots of responsibilities that may seem overwhelming. For me as a missionary, those things include we have to find people to teach, work with members, strengthen members and leaders, strengthen and build branches and wards, retain our converts, teach English, provide service, become personally converted, maintain strong companion-ships, teach with the Spirit, baptize, confirm, etc. The list goes on and on, and it can be overwhelming. But all the things I do really are to teach repentance and baptize converts. If I focus on that purpose, the many responsibilities I have suddenly change from being an overwhelming amount of stuff to do, to some really great resources that help me fulfill my purpose.

I challenge each of you to make a list of the many responsibilities you need to fulfill. Your list may be pretty long, but that's okay. Then after that, if you have time tomorrow night in family home evening for Mom / Dad / Marty, Kate and Carson-- I want you to read chapter 6 of Preach My Gospel manual and each household write down an overall purpose or image you want to reach. And for Evan, I want you to do the same for personal study, even with your companion too if you want.

After that, compare all of your responsibilities in your list to that purpose. I promise that if you do so you will be able to know how to accomplish your tasks in the greatest way God wants you to.

I know that this church is true, and that God loves each of His children, and He cares that we succeed. Now go find out the meaning of success.

I love you all, and can't wait to hear what becomes of it!