So this post is one of those commentary kind. I'm seriously interested in everyone's opinion/observation/reaction. I was talking to a good friend of mine about returned missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The idea was brought forth, that missionaries generally go one of two ways after returning home from their mission. 1- After two years of hard work, self discipline, hard work, submission to the Lord's will and some more hard work, they see this return to the "real world" as their opportunity to do whatever they feel like doing. A spiritual splurge if you will. OR 2- they're so immersed in what they're mission has meant to them that they find it difficult to move on with normal life. Dating is awkward, popular music is rough, and sometimes harsh judgment of others occurs. Perhaps they find themselves wishing they were still on the mission.
My questions:
RMs- do you find this to be even remotely true? If so, how can your peers and family help you best overcome either of these extremes?
Others- What have you observed that may be helpful to all of us? How can we help these guys out, or ourselves? These are only two options- perhaps you've observed a third? (Let's keep this safe- avoid names if telling a specific story)
Those unfamiliar with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints- Would you be interested in hearing a message about the living Christ?
6 comments:
so what brought on this discussion?? i don't know that i really have anything to contribute...i'm a little old to be thinking or caring about RM issues. my pet peeve is when for the rest of their lives guys start every sentence with, "when i was on my mission..." get over it man, it was two years of your life. hopefully there's more to life than the mish, like, it's only going to get better!
It was just one of those times when we all were sitting around and dating came up. Hard to talk about dating and not bring up the returned missionary awkward phase (for me any way). miss you ju. How was New York?
I think that their is a third option, and this is the one that I see most of the time. That is that it is a little bit of an adjustment for the first month or two and sometimes a little longer, but then they seem to be an improved version of what they were before they left.
Yah, its true.
There is social pressure to become "normal", which i think is wrong. I know for me it was hard in some aspects, and easy in other aspects. It was a real identity crisis in a sense, because some things i used to do i didnt want to anymore.
Every newly returned missionary i talk to i tell them to not feel a need to "become normal". The Lord has been sculpting you for the past two years, dont throw it away. Let it happen naturally. What happens is that friends/family pressure the RM to make changes when they arnt yet in a state of mind to do so. example: Every kind of non-church music sounds bad to a RM. also, all movies etc, but they feel a need to become normal so they push through those feelings of discomfort because they figure its just the weird missionary in them. However, what can happen (and ive seen it happen) is that they go below standards that they should live by. This hurts everybody, because a lot of people could be influenced for good by seeing the life style changes an RM wants to live by.
not sure if that made sense. but ya.
Thanks Skyler. Its good to get an RM comment on this. That's an understanding of the situation I've never had before. That will actually change the way I treat Returned Missionaries. Maybe I can help them keep some of those things that are good for them :)
funny. I met Paul just two weeks after he got home. Luckily he was a normal guy. And quite honestly, I like hearing about his mission and experiences he had. When Eric and Chelsey (my siblings) came home- it just took a little while for them to get back into the swing of things. I think it's good that a mission affects people- and hope they remember the things they learned and the what their experiences did to change them- but just like any life situation, they need to adjust to the new environment they are in, without forgetting who they are. :) Love ya Val. I'm not sure why I just blabbed all that but oh well.
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