Alec is leaving!
Hey guys! It’s Friday night, and #itsAlec leaves on her mission to Jackson, Mississippi on Wednesday! I can’t really describe how happy I am to see her go on a mission. She has a huge testimony and is a fantastic example to me. I just wanted to write this post to share my feelings on it all and to tell the world how Alec blesses my life.
Alec and I met each other on Wednesday, June 15, 2011. (It’s ironic that she’s leaving on June 15, 2016, exactly 5 years after we met, on a Wednesday). We instantly became great friends. It’s like we were friends in the preexistence. Everything about our friendship just felt like it was meant to happen. Needless to say our friendship has only grown since then. Most people would say it’s impossible to love a girl as a friend, but not have her be your girlfriend. I can tell you that that is not true. It is totally possible, and that’s how it is with me and Alec.
Alec was sent into my life at a time when I needed a solid friend. It was the summer right before going into high school. At that time I wasn’t a very positive person. I had a lot of self-doubt. I didn’t see the world as a very good place. I didn’t have any clear direction of where I wanted to go in life. When I met Alec, she instantly brought a positive light into my life. We are able to talk about almost anything together, which helps a lot. I admit that I vented to her a little too much at times, but usually she was willing to listen and give advice. I was also able to help her (I think) and give her advice.
Our friendship is unique. I wouldn’t have made it through high school without her uplifting talks, endless text convos, and laughs in the car. The spontaneous trips to Sonic and Wendy’s. The late nights at Applebee’s. The lengthy convos in the car outside her or my house. The walks around the neighborhood, where we would go down the list of things going on in each other’s lives (i.e. school, work, family life, personal life). The time we spent with Julia, doing whatever we felt like doing that day.
There are so many other things that define our friendship. I believe we meet certain people for a reason. Everyone comes into our life at the right time to teach us what we need to learn at that time. Alec has taught me to be positive. She’s taught me how to just be myself. To be spontaneous. To not care what anyone else thinks about me. She’s taught me how to be a good friend, not just to her but to others. None of us are perfect, and Alec knows she’s not perfect. I know that I’m not perfect. We all need to accept ourselves as imperfect beings who make mistakes. If there’s one thing I've learned over the course of our friendship it’s that you can never try hard enough to be a friend to someone. Everyone needs to be loved and to have a friend. I chose Alec and Alec chose me, but we can all choose to be a friend in someone else’s life.
I wonder sometimes if everyone I meet on my mission I will have known in the preexistence. It’s as if I made a promise to them that I would find them on Earth and help them to find their way back to God. I know that Alec will be amazing on her mission. I know that she will find those people who she is meant to bring back to God’s kingdom. I know that this work is the true and only work to be doing on this Earth. We can all be missionaries. We all have people who we have an obligation to help see the truth. Some people aren’t ready, but the seeds must be planted. We are living in the last days of the Earth as it is currently constituted. I know that I was saved for these final days, and Alec as well. I hope one day that my children will serve the Lord faithfully and bring others to Him.
Alec, I know that the hand of God will assist you on your mission. Your testimony is strong, and it will only get stronger as you help those in need of the truth. Never give up, and always remember that you have been chosen to be here in the final days. You have been chosen to do this work right now because you are a strong and courageous spirit. You have blessed my life in more ways than you realize, and you will do the same to those you meet on your mission. Thank you for always being there for me. I hope you know that I will always be there for you as well.
Elijah
