No matter how severe the fine dust was, I never used to wear a face mask. But now, I put one on faithfully from the moment I step outside until I return home. There are even times when I realize I’ve forgotten my mask and rush back to get it. It has become almost impossible to use public transportation or enter stores without one.
Perhaps because I never liked wearing masks to begin with, they still feel uncomfortable. On days when the temperature rises even slightly, it becomes especially hard. With half my face covered, sweat pours down like rain, and breathing grows difficult. Even when the wind blows, it does not feel cool, and the urge to take off the mask wells up again and again.
Whenever that happens, I think of Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother, who left the glorious throne of heaven and came to this earth. I struggle with even a small, palm-sized mask, yet God did not refuse the suffering of putting on the flesh—for the sole purpose of saving the children. I give thanks for Their boundless love and sacrifice, for being with us in the same time and space, sharing in our hardships so that we may receive eternal life.