Fog and Regrets

A foggy morning looking out of our apartment window.

The first week in April we had a very unusual weather event for Rio Gallegos, fog. We couldn't quite figure out why people were so unnerved by clouds hugging the ground. It wasn't even that thick a blanket.  This is a coastal area, and in my experience, fog should be a fairly normal occurrence, but the people of Rio Gallegos found it unsettling.  Then it dawned on us; the air was completely still.  We hadn't had hardly any wind and that allowed fog to settle over the city. 

Sometimes I need to realize that opposing winds are there to keep the fog clear from my life, not just to make it difficult.   My wife states this much more eloquently than I can.  Here are Hermana Merkley's thoughts about a foggy night . . .

Last night we had an interesting experience. As we were out walking to do errands and visits, we watched the sky darken and thicken as fog rolled into the city when the sun set. It created an eerie, haunting atmosphere as the sounds of barking dogs, moving cars, and people talking bounced around in all directions. This fog was a first for us here in Rio Gallegos.

We had an appointment to visit a family from a different branch. When we got there, only the father was home. His wife and daughters were out shopping. We learned that this brother has been a member for 26 years. He served a mission in Córdoba, Argentina and at one time served in the district presidency here in Rio Gallegos. But he allowed some personal frustrations with a few of the members to cloud his thinking and stopped going to church, though he still has a testimony.

He has been married for ten years and his wife is a more recent convert of nine years. When he stopped going to church, his wife's testimony slowly died. With tears in his eyes, he explained how new converts need to be nourished and cared for and that he had allowed his own frustrations to damage the tender testimony of his wife. She is currently working in a Catholic school and doesn't really want anything to do with the church.

He has a strong desire to come back to church. He told us that he knows the things he needs to repent of, but the thought of going to church by himself is really hard. He has a daughter that will be turning eight soon, and he would really like to be able to baptize her. Hopefully he can find the strength to make those changes necessary to return to full activity in the Church.

As we left his house and stepped into the thickening fog, I thought of my own regrets in life. But regrets can only cloud the mind and confuse our purpose. When we turn our regrets over to the Savior, He can heal us and give us clear direction. How grateful I am for my Savior.