Measuring Stick Day

When we grow we don't realize because it happens so slowly(most of the time). Physically we grow up(and sometimes out) and its a slow gradual process. We don't realize how much we're growing until we stop and take out a Measuring stick. Spiritually we grow the same way line upon line precept upon precept grace by grace until we get to where we are. Today i had the privilege of attending my home ward for church and listening to an old friend of mine speak. He just returned home from being a mission president in the Philippines. I guess you could say that listening to him speak was a measuring stick moment for me. He's the type of person that you genuinely want to be good around. I've always felt happy in doing whats right when i know hes around because i know he's proud of me. He spoke about what a mission does to the life of a young man. I paused and reflected what difference my mission made in my life. In short it made all the difference. He talked about overcoming difficulties and how that was part of the process. I thought about a couple companions i had who made my life less than fun. Those 2 transfers or 12 weeks total wouldn't be what i would consider to be part of the best 12 weeks of my life. in fact i might consider them to be the worst 12 weeks I've ever experienced. But let me add a stipulation to that, the worst ever while i was going through them. Now that I'm done with them and I've gained a little bit of hindsight and life experience i can say without a doubt that those difficult times in the mission when i felt like throwing my hands up and saying forget the whole blasted thing were the MOST important times in all of my life. They weren't the best 12 weeks of my life but they were the best 12 weeks for my life.
To get back to my point about measuring sticks i know that i grew a ton on my mission.  Now that I'm home I'm continuing to grow in different areas. Listening to him speak about what a mission does to a person really made me reflect and ask questions like "where have i grown?" where have i faltered?" It made me remember that i need to get back to some basics of missionary work that i had almost set aside. Caring for people, working toward their general welfare, working hard, setting and achieving goals, planning. All of these things became a part of my daily life and have slowly drifted away to some degree. That's certainly a humbling measuring stick for me.