There was this one year...oh wait...it was more like five years, when almost every week something would happen that would feel like this!  It's that 'oh my word - are you kidding me?' feeling!   (by the way, isn't she adorable)?

Why is it that we often can't see the blessings that come from walking through trials until we are through the trial - or at the least - towards the end of it?  It was five years of employment frustrations, health frustrations, worrying over many things.  It was HARD!  But these are some of the things that as we reflected back over that time that we learned.  These things that have become part of who we are.

• No matter what we have to do, we can't do it alone!
• Prayer works.  Our personal prayers and the prayers of others in our behalf.
• Faith is sustaining.
• God loves us, knows us and wants what is best for us.
• There is great power in priesthood blessings.
• Having righteous priesthood leaders is a strength - a bishop, a ministering teacher, etc.
• Personal revelation is real and necessary.
• The importance of relying on our family members and close friends.
• Forgiving is vital to moving forward.
• Recognizing that there is evil around us - the adversary won't stop at trying to get to us.
• It's ok to ask others for help.
• Our prayers - for ourselves and for others - need to be very specific and heartfelt.
• Those that be with us are greater than those that be with 'them'.  
• Ways are provided for our escape.
• Our burdens have been made light, and our ability to bear them has increased.
• Don't hold on to what is holding you back. Don't look back.  Move forward.
• Don't let how others treat us affect who we are.
• Let go and let God....  there are some things that we just need to turn over to Him.
• Don't let our doubts and fears block the blessings that our Father in Heaven desires to give to us.
• Look for and appreciate the blessings that we have.  Enjoy the vistas even when the journey is difficult.
• Fasting brings spiritual strength.
• The temple can bring peace and strength - answers and confirmation of answers often come while in the temple.    

What are some lessons learned or blessings you have received because of trials in your life?

Be of Good Courage

 

We are often asked to do hard things.... 

• ....to say no to a marriage proposal because it doesn't feel right
• ....to say goodbye to friends who aren't really being good friends
• ....to walk away from a job that has blessed you and/or your family because...
• ....to struggle with a disease or injury that will be with us, maybe forever
• ....to lose a spouse or a child because of sickness or injury

These are just a few examples - so many more can be added to this list.  We've all struggled through them.  And usually, we come out with blessings that we couldn't even imagine would have come from the struggle.

President Thomas S. Monson once said this:

"I wonder how we would have felt if we lived in Nauvoo with our beautiful brick home with all of the comforts of life - and then heard the call to move westward, to leave our homes, to leave our families in some cases, to leave behind the beautiful greenery and put our vision westward to the valleys of the great Salt Lake, where one tree greeted us upon our arrival as pioneers.  Yet, where would we have been today were it not for the courage of the Latter-day Saints to expand the frontiers of the Church?"

Consider the hard things that you have had the opportunity to struggle through.  In the middle of the struggle, it's hard to see the blessings, but as you look back on the experience, what gifts were you given because of it?  Do you have more compassion and empathy for others going through something similar?  Do you more immediately recognize the hand of the Lord in your life or in the lives of your family members?  Have you come to cherish relationships more?  

"...know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.  The Son of Man hath descended below them all.  Art thou greater than he?"   D&C 122:7-8

Photo courtesy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints