Sacrifice

Vroom Vroom Baby! BRIGHT RED. Speed. More fun to drive than anything else. Scared at first but NEVER regretted it. Curved roads. Fall leaves crunching under the black tires. I've never loved a material object more. I bought a BRIGHT RED 2007 Mazda 3 with a 2.3 liter engine in October of 2009. It was SOOO fun!! At first I was scared of the color when Kathy called me and said, "Randy has a bright red Mazda want him to get it or not?!" I asked about the color. "Red?! REALLY!!!?!?" And thought who on earth would buy a red lipstick colored car!?! HELLO! Not for me! I want basic black, blue, or silver. Not a stand out red! So I said, "I trust you completely. If you think I'd look good driving a red car get it." So Randy came home driving my Red car. I got it, and fell head-over-heels, MADLY in love with this car. I loved to drive it most in the Fall with the leaves crunching under the tires and driving it up Hobble Creek Canyon on the winding, wet roads and driving as fast as I wanted without a care in the world. I would leave activities or friends houses and drive for an extra hour just to drive. Whenever I went anywhere with other people I always perked up and said, "Oh I can drive!" I had a friend who called me a baller once or twice. haha it always made me laugh, especially since I'm not! I drove this car for a year and loved every second of it. I washed it constantly and it took me a couple of hours just to get it all clean and shiny like I wanted it. Then I decided to go on a mission. I hadn't planned for a mission and so I hadn't been saving up for one. I needed to re-new my car in Oct 2010 and decided that it would be the best time to sell it. So I did. I was absolutely heart broken. But I knew that the Lord had called me to serve and if I was going to go I needed to give up all I have so that I can go. Just as the early saints did-they sacrificed all they had for the gospel-I knew I needed to as well. So it worked out that my neighbor needed a car in Oct and they were willing to pay the price I was asking. So I cried and cried and I handed the keys over and tried to hold back my tears. I cried for the whole next week but I was so thankful at the same time because the Lord had blessed me in a way that I hadn't realized then. Someone was willing to buy it when I needed and for as much as I needed, I also was able to receive my endowment a few days later which was an amazing and rewarding experience. But I know that as I now walk to work and bum rides and feel like a loser for the next 4 months in the long run I will be blessed for sacrificing something that I loved so much. I also know a little bit about sacrifice so I know a little bit about how it feels to give up something that you don't want to give up but know you need to, and I know that that will come in handy when I'm in Uruguay. So even though sacrifice is hard, it is always worth it in the end. Even when we don't know what the outcome will be. If we follow the Lord and His will we will ever be blessed.