“And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.”- Luke 15

Like the prodigal son, all of us are sinners and unworthy of Gods love. But all of us can repent and return to our Father. Though we do not deserve His love, it is always there. We sometimes put ourselves in a position where we can no longer feel of that love and we think that we are too far gone and too dirty to return and repent. We feel guilt and pain and assume that He will not want us back. Do NOT give into those lies. Pick up your feet and run back to your God! He is waiting and watching for you! When the prodigal son returned, his father asked for ‘The BEST robe!’ I testify that our heavenly Father wants what is BEST for us. Let us not give up hope. Let us not give up after only walking a few miles towards home then deciding ‘oh, it’s not worth it’. You keep putting one foot in front of the other and He will run to you in aid and in love. Then will He be able to give you the best blessings He has in store! 

This week, we have been blessed to begin teaching MANY more people! One of those is Ralph! A dear sister in the branch met Ralph just a week prior and discovered he was an excommunicated member. He agreed to come to dinner at her home with us! We hit it off the first night and this week have had a total of 3 dinner/lessons with this family and Ralph! He feels the spirit strongly as we have taught him about the restoration of Christs gospel, the plan of salvation and the repentance process. We have laughed and cried together and shared incredible spiritual experiences as we journey towards Christ together! I love this man! He is one of a kind and will do much good in this church! He may have forsaken God for a time, but God has never forsaken Him and in His infinite wisdom, He guided sister Graham to him and she guided him to us and we have the blessing of helping guide him back to the Savior. He has felt that overwhelming love. It is great to see! 

Watching conference all together was beautiful and so exciting! I received so much incredible insight, but one thing that I kept thinking about is “good, better, best!” I do a lot of good, but I can do better and I am shooting for best! I want to let go of and sacrifice “good” things in life to embrace the BEST thing God wants to give me! One of the best things He has given me is a dear friend who has always inspired me and encouraged me to ‘do my best’ and I extend that same invitation to you.

Do your best. Let go of some of the good things and do a little better so that you can ultimately become your best! Like the prodigal son, leave your present state, put one foot in front of the other and return to your Father who will always give you what is BEST! Our best efforts are only possible through the grace of Christ. The ability to become our best is a God-given gift! I pray that as we do our best and allow God into our lives, we help others along the way to do their best! Sorry if this didn’t make any sense. It is about 5 ideas and thoughts all mashed into one! I will do better next time 😉 I love you!!!