Letter #42 - June 17, 2013

Well, this has been an interesting week.

I went on a trade-off with an elder, and we got into a deep conversation about missions and the changes that occur. He was really going through quite the identity crisis. He was concerned that we wasn't changing enough, yet he thought he had changed too much, yet he was afraid he wasn't making the necessary strides to improve. He had it bad. I was half-expecting him to spontaneously get a mohawk and motorcycle. (Stupid joke)

This made me reflect on my last 22 months and the path I took. I then came to the semi-arrogant and very self-assured conclusion that I love myself. I know that may sound bad, but hear me out. I was stressed and stressed (ask my trainer) about changing too much or not at all. I was so freaked out that I would become a drone and I'd get home and be rude and judgmental and everybody would hate me. I really had developed quite a complex.

But, over the course of these last 22, I just sort of changed but didn't. It's impossible to describe, you just have to experience. I have a new take on life, a fresh view about God, myself, and the world, but at the same time, I'm just a little kid still. I'm a completely different person, but I've never been more myself. Throughout high school and into college I was masking myself with some persona that overtook me. Now, I'm just me. No pretenses and I can just be me. 

I assured this young elder that when he was 22 months out, he'd be completely satisfied with who he had become. If you do it right, these two years can benefit your life. You just have to let the change come to you, and you have to be you. It's that simple. Life goes the same way. There's a difference between improving and changing. We should all strive to better ourselves, but we should also never leave ourselves behind.

I turned 21 years old. It was sweet. We had a couple dinners with some awesome people. Ludington has some of my favorite people ever invented. One of the best birthdays I have had. It's not where you are, it's who you're with I suppose. 

I met Elder Christofferson yesterday. His talks have changed my life, particularly "Brethen, We have Work to Do" and "Let Us Be Men." I wanted to say thanks but he shook my hand and all I could do was smile. He spoke to us in Grand Rapids. He had a light shining that I seldom see in people. He is definitely called of God.

That is all,

Damon Chlarson

Letter #41 - June 2, 2013

Subject: Bathroom Revelations

I have had two interesting thoughts in the bathroom (stay with me and get your mind out of the gutter!) in the last weekend. 

First, this morning, I was cleaning up for my new companion and I realized this: I am so sick of living with dudes. I am done with it. As opposed to wanting to "bro out" forever, I don't know how much longer I can clean up after another male.

Second, it came while I was shaving. So, I went to shave and I grabbed my razor. Now, I had been procrastinating buying new razor heads for a while but I thought, hey, what can go wrong? One extra day can't hurt, can it? Well guess what? It did hurt. So, I grabbed the razor, which looked fine on the outside, and commenced shaving.

As I was shaving, it was fine on my cheek, but as it got to my upper lip it began to hurt, and by the time it touched my chin I was in pain! It was pulling, it was tearing, it was outright unpleasant. But, I roughed it out like I had to. Afterward, my face was in pain. I stuck it in the freezer, hoping, praying that perhaps relief would come. However, it did not. It was not until I found some lotion that did the trick. Thanks, Dove. 

I decided that I could not wait another day. We went to Meijer (a Michigan store that's kind of like WalMart but way better) and I looked at the options. I had been using the Fusion Power forever, but I recently had made the change to Schick Hydro 5. It worked well. So, I decided to go with the Hydro 5 heads. 

The next morning came, and I went back to square one. What do you know? It felt amazing! Everything just went well. Not only did it work better, but it felt better. I felt the love from the razor, and it could tell I loved it. 

Now, where am I going with all of this? Stay with me. Now, when I made sure the razor was sharp it cut more effectively. When I made sure that the razor had enough of that little gooey stuff on the edge (I don't know what it's called) it felt better. So here we have it, the razor worked better and felt better. Why wouldn't I always have it be that way?

LAZINESS! That's why! Procrastination! It's just like us in our lives. When we begin to be lazy, putting off prayer, slacking on scriptures, and be coming lukewarm, we lose effectiveness. We aren't as useful as we could be. We, essentially, are all like razors. We need to make sure our razor heads are sharp, meaning that we need to make sure we are praying, reading the scriptures, and attending church to partake of the sacrament. Our razor heads need to be changed often, that means repentance, that means communion with God, and deep, often painful introspection.

Don't be a dull razor. 

Maybe that was a stupid parable, but I enjoyed it when I thought of it. 

Anyways, I get a new companion tomorrow. Probably my last one. I have 12 weeks left. Sweet. 

Love,

Damon