Looking back -- a few post mission thoughts!

We've been home from our mission for 6 months. Coming back, nothing quite seems the same. We love and appreciate our family even more. The grandchildren have grown so much.  Houston heat and humidity don't bother me as much as before. Houston traffic has gotten worse -- everyone is moving here due to the booming economy. I long for the quiet, scenic roads and rolling hills in upstate New York. The countryside we traveled through daily was wildly beautiful.

 Something else is different. I feel different. My heart has been changed forever.  Packing up our belongings and driving across the country to upstate New York to serve for 23 months was a leap of faith, a jumping off a cliff and out of our comfort zone. Am I glad we did it?  Yes! My heart has been filled to the brim-- with love and gratitude for our Savior, love for all the wonderful missionaries we served with, and for the wonderful new friends we have made.

To me, our assignment was difficult and very stressful at times, but the Lord has always been there for us. I am grateful for the many blessings he has given us -- that he has kept our families safe and well while we were gone, and that he has blessed us with the health and strength to do what we needed to do.

I found joy in forgetting all about myself and thinking of others.

  I will always be grateful for the opportunity my husband and I had to work intensively together, even though we often didn't see eye to eye. We both sure learned a lot about each other, and hopefully all this has made our marriage even stronger. 

Towards the end of our mission, Elder Perkins of the Seventy spoke to a few of us senior missionaries, saying, "We leave home to learn how to get back home." I am continuing to learn from our mission. Because of the things I have learned from serving a mission, my focus is sharper on the things I need to be doing during the last few decades of my life.

Taken in the Sacred Grove, Palmyra, N.Y., exactly a year ago.