I recently returned from a three-week overseas short-term mission. Because the time was brief, the schedule was so tightly packed that each day blurred into the next. For the entire first week, we focused solely on preaching. I had never spent a full day preaching even in Korea, so by evening, the soles of my feet ached terribly. In those moments, I couldn’t help but think of our Heavenly Father; how much more must His feet have hurt, having walked endlessly throughout His life in search of His lost children? On particularly exhausting days, I would collapse into bed the moment we returned to our lodgings. And yet, amid that physically demanding routine, something unexpected happened: a habit I had long struggled with quietly began to change.
Before the short-term preaching trip, I often fell asleep while scrolling through my phone. I knew it wasn’t good—for my health or otherwise—but once a habit takes root, it’s hard to break. Yet during the mission, I was so completely spent from sharing the gospel that I never even thought to reach for my phone at bedtime. The whirlwind schedule, rather than draining me, helped me overcome a poor habit and turn my focus entirely toward God’s will.
Even after returning home, I continue to carry out my duties as a gospel worker, staying just as busy, so that I can hold on to the good habits I’ve built. Preaching, after all, may be the sweetest and most effective tip for forming good habits, don’t you think?