My companion and I have had a recent run in with some unfortunate guests. A little under a week ago, I woke up with bug bites all up and down my right arm. Well, I didn't really notice them until a day or two later when they began to itch. We spoke to our mission housing coordinator and he gave us the instruction to bag up ALL of our clothing and bedding and wash it in hot water. Let me clarify for a moment that it is two sister missionaries in their early twenties living in this apartment. That is a lot of clothes!!! But we got started anyway. About half way through bagging up all of our clothes, we called the mission president and his wife and we had a nice little talk( more like a freak out) about what was happening and how we were feeling. My companion and I both were ready to walk away from the whole thing. Burn the clothes, send the apartment up in smoke and get us the heck out because we were ready to be done! But obviously that wasn't something that we could do.
After reassessing the situation(i.e. type of bugs, who was bitten and where,) we had established that not as many detox measures were necessary. But we still washed all of my belongings, flipped my bed and box spring on their sides and thoroughly doused them in insecticide, as well as the carpet and floor boards near and around my bed. By the time that we went to bed last night we were both exhausted and feeling slightly at ease, assuming that the problem had been taken care of.
Lesson number 100 from this experience, never assume. My companion awoke this morning with new bug bites of her own. More washing and cleaning took place all day today and now we are even more sure that we are officially de-bugged.
But the point of this blog post is not to complain about our problems. Thankfully, through this whole experience we were both able to see the very clear gospel parallel. Bedbugs = Sin.
No one really knows what invited the bugs to come live in my bedroom. It could have been a window or a door left open too long. It could have been a crumb or two dropped when eating in that room. It could be any number of things, but we know that it was a lack of concentration on our part. We missed something along the way, and one thing lead to another and a bug got in. That bug got comfy, and invited some friends. The same principle applies to sin. We lose focus, or get lazy, or get careless even for the shortest time. Thinking "I can eat on my bed, its not gonna hurt anything" or "I can allow this small little mistake to slip by." and before we know it our lives are filled with unwanted filthy sinful habits that take a lot of time and resources and effort to remove from our lives. Who knew that something so simple could eventually lead to something so problematic.
That is a mindset that we get sucked into all of the time. We allow ourselves to get comfortable with sin.
I know that our loving Heavenly Father blesses us with guideposts to keep us safe, healthy and most importantly, Happy! The commandments are those guideposts to a full and happy life. God is the creator of the universe. He created the earth and all things thereon, wouldn't it make sense that He would know what rules and guidelines to put in place to protect his children from the things on the earth??!!
I have a strong testimony that God is our Father and He loves us more than we can ever comprehend. I know that He blesses His children. I am so grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and I know that it has truly been a blessing in my life. I invite all who read this to ponder what the bedbugs are in your life and to take care of them now! :)
Thanks so much for readin!
Love, Sister Petersen
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