God is at the Helm... (and my little Brother's on Deck!)

A little personal note. This isn't my real, about-my-life kind of blog, and I usually just share quotes here, but indulge me. Today my family took my little brother to the Missionary Training Center. We won't see him again for 2 years. We all cried a LOT. But after a few weeks there learning the Italian language and learning more of the gospel he loves enough to give up his life right now - filled with girls, his guitar, and, yes, his motorcycle - he will go to Milan Italy to share that gospel with all he meets. I am so proud of him. I will miss him. But I am so happy that the Lord means so much to him that at 19 he would go for 2 whole years to a foreign country (and let's face it, he has always been the baby, a mama's boy) to serve Him.

"Some, in speaking of war and troubles, will say, are you not afraid?
No, I am a servant of God, and this is enough, for Father is at the helm.
It is for me to be as clay in the hands of the potter, to be pliable and
walk in the light and countenance of the Spirit of the Lord, and then no
matter what comes. Let the lightnings flash and the earthquakes bellow, God
is at the helm, and I feel like saying but little, for the Lord God
Omnipotent reigneth and will continue his work until he has put all enemies
under his feet, and his kingdom extends from the rivers to the ends of the
earth."

~John Taylor, in Teachings of Presidents of the Church: John Taylor [2001], 150