18 months vs. Eternity

When I tell people that I will be gone for a year and a half with limited contact to family and friends, they sometimes think I am crazy. They comment on how long that is, and how it must be unbearable to only talk to your family twice a year. But I got to thinking today, and I realized eighteen months is NOTHING compared to eternity. The time that I have to dedicate my life to nothing but serving the Lord is so limited but such an amazing opportunity. I get to take a little sliver of my time on earth, to
change someone's life and help them to come unto Christ. I think that is so awesome!
I was away at college in Idaho for nine months. I came home for Christmas, but that was the only time I was with my family my whole freshman year. Today, it finally clicked that HOLY COW that was already half a mission! It felt like I blinked and my freshman year was over. I imagine that my mission will fly by like that, maybe even seem faster. That thought kind of saddened me!

So, here are some numbers. I will be serving from October 2014--April 2016 (ish). That means I will have two Christmas's in Paris (not complaining there), two (maybe three if I'm lucky) General Conferences, 2 New Years, One birthday, and one summer. So, when people tell me that eighteen months is a long time, all I can think now is IT'S SO SHORT!
Two years ago, a mission wasn't even in my plans. Two years ago, a mission was out of my reach, unobtainable. Now, I am leaving in one month and ten days. Who would have thought that now I can leave on my mission and come back months before I turn twenty-one? It's humbling to see Heavenly Father's plan and seeing how it has and will bless my life. My mission will be such a small moment in time in my life, but I know that what I learn from it and the blessings I receive from it will affect my life forever. So, even though eighteen months is so short, I am more excited for it than I have been for anything else that has ever happened to me.