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Gift #7: Humility

Today, I am boasting a gift that spiritually and physically brought me to my knees: humility. 

This blog post is also dedicated to my wonderful trainer Brooklyn Tanner, formerly known as Brewer Shimai—the poster child for patience.
Background: I never rode a bike before my mission. My mission trainer had to teach me. :) 

April 30, 2015
Okazaki, Japan

Today, we rode a bike more. A week or so ago, Brewer Shimai said that this bike has two wheels—it isn't very stable, but it will work if you stay balanced. As we were practicing today, I thought, "Why would they give us such an imperfect means of transportation?" In other parts of the world, missionaries drive cars. Then I had the impression that just as this tool was imperfect, I was a tool in the hands of Lord. Thus, I knew I needed to be more patient and try harder. Biking went a lot better.

It's as easy as riding a bike, right? Wrong.

Several people attempted to teach me how to ride a bike over the years. The result: mutual frustration. I was unteachable. I was an old dog, refusing to learn new tricks, or rather, tricks that most toddlers mastered. 

To learn how to ride a bike, I needed a miracle in the form of a heavenly tutorial. And the topic of that tutorial was humility. As one of our church leaders, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, once said, “We don’t discover humility by thinking less of ourselves; we discover humility by thinking less about ourselves.”

When Brewer Shimai was teaching me how to ride a bike, I was constantly thinking about my own shortcomings. But the Lord gently reminded me that to serve in the Japan, Nagoya mission, I had to ride a bike. I had to suck it up, get back on that loathsome piece of metal, and rely on Him. 

About six months later, part of my bike pedal broke off. Rather than throw it away like a normal human, I put in on my dresser, where it remains today. I didn't keep it to remind me of the first bike I learned to ride, thought that was a miracle. I kept it to remind me of the important lesson that began on my mission: humble yourself or God will do it for you. 

Missionary work is super exciting. 

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