Ray Lewis

    Ray Lewis of all people has taught me a lesson. A lesson that I think will be quite valuable to my mission. For those of you who don't know who Ray Lewis is he is a football player. He plays for the Ravens and normally I hate him because he tackles Payten. But the other day he was playing the Patriots for a chance to go to the Super Bowl. This is Ray's last year. So he was super emotional before the game. As much as he is not my favorite I was really moved. I personally love when athletes cry when the national anthem is played. It just makes them seem more real to me. Like they care about our country , puppies, and little orphan children like everybody else does. This incident solidified something I had been thinking about.
   Tears can be good. (I can't believe I just said that) But they can be. Think about it. When you are watching the Olympics and see the Americans win gold and sing the national anthem all together with tears streaming down their faces what do you think? Do you think they're a bunch of pansies who should keep it together? Typically no. You love them for it. I know I do.
   Can't this lesson be applied to us? To the life of a missionary. In high school people didn't like me because they didn't think that I cared, about anyone or anything. When really it was simply that I didn't like to show my emotions to anyone. I thought it made me weak. But I think I have come to learn that only a strong person can cry in front of others. They aren't afraid to show that they truly care and are moved by something. I think that takes courage.
    I have also come to realize that tears and showing emotion can be moving to other people. It can help them to see that you care about what you're saying. That you mean it and it matters to you. Sometimes I think it can even help them to feel similar feelings. On my mission if I tear up while bearing my testimony or attending a service I honestly don't see anyway it could hurt things. It might be exactly what an investigator needs to see. If I block everything up now how am I supposed to let it out in the mission field. I also think there is a fine line between sincere crying and a fake waterfall. I'm not saying we should force ourselves to cry or let ourselves go completely. but rather let our emotions shine through. In our eyes. In our facial expressions. In our actions. You know what I'm talking about. The quiet tears that shine in people's eyes when they talk or gently fall when they're speaking. Nothing that gets in there way just something that emphasizes what they're saying. This is a strength. A quality that I need to work on.