I found this picture online; jumping from 2013 to
2014...2013 was a good year, it went fast…we had many ups and downs; personally
these last few years have definitely been rewarding but trying in many ways; I
wish I could share my heart but I do not have the time or I guess space. I
guess to sum it up, I love my family, I am learning to love who I am, I struggle
with many things, but like others try my best to be the person God intended me
to be; 2014 will bring many changes to our family, I am terrified and content
at the same time; is that even possible...maybe at the same time is not the
right word; some days are better than others, but that is how life is; you
learn as you go...and I sure have a lot of learning left. My kids are my
saviors and I cannot imagine life without them; my husband has been very
supportive of me and I am grateful...I recently heard someone quote Elder
Joseph B Wirthlin when he said "Come What May and Love It"; this hit
me really hard...this is not something I am good at.
The first part of the title of his talk says “Come
what May”, anyone close to me knows that I do not handle things great, when it
just comes; I sorta freak out. I am
getting better but it’s something that I struggle with; having kids has helped
me in many ways, but then the other part says “And Love It”; another thing I
tussle with; LOVE…what is love? Love is another entity in itself, but one I
have been really pondering lately as well? What does “I love you” even mean;
there are so many different ways to show love…”what is love" was the most
searched phrase on Google in 2012” not sure about 2013 but I bet it was still
pretty high on the list. I show love very differently from other people, I
guess everyone shows love differently. I am not an overly affectionate person,
I don’t think I will ever be…but I do enjoy helping others and I think that is
where my love lies; I need to be better at finding a balance in my life with my
family and love; I think this year I want to work on that.
I decided to read the whole talk that Elder Wirthlin
spoke. He gave this talk in the October 2008 General Conference; he passed away
December 1, less than two months after giving this talk. At his ripe old age
this was something that was important to him and I think something that can
help me in many ways. He starts off by telling about a sporting event that he
participated in when he was young and one day his team lost a game and he came
home discouraged; he talks about how his mother was there to listen to his sad
story but she also taught them that when they fall down they need to get up and
get going again; the advice his mother game him that day was “Come what may,
and love it”
He said “I think she may have meant that every life
has peaks and shadows and times when it seems that the birds don’t sing and
bells don’t ring. Yet in spite of discouragement and adversity, those who are
happiest seem to have a way of learning from difficult times, becoming
stronger, wiser, and happier as a result.”- When I think of someone that is
always happy I think of my mother; throughout the years I have changed my
perception of her happiness though; I use to think that she never got sad or
was unhappy, but I have come to know that she does have sorrow and times or
adversity but she has been able to learn how portray happiness through her
trials. I on the other hand have a hard time showing happiness in the midst of uncertainty
and I always thought there was something wrong with me, I do still feel like
that at times, but reading this talk helped me see a different perspective.
He said “How can we love days that are filled with
sorrow? We can’t—at least not in the moment. I don’t think my mother was
suggesting that we suppress discouragement or deny the reality of pain. I don’t
think she was suggesting that we smother unpleasant truths beneath a cloak of
pretended happiness. But I do believe that the way we react to adversity can be
a major factor in how happy and successful we can be in life. If we approach
adversities wisely, our hardest times can be times of greatest growth, which in
turn can lead toward times of greatest happiness.-deep down that happiness is
something that I do want.
He shared 4 ways that have helped him through
testing and trail
1)
Learn
to Laugh
2)
Seek
for the Eternal
3)
The
Principle of Compensation
4)
Trust
in the Father and the Son
Learning
to laugh; or maybe for me it should be relearning to laugh.
I remember times when I would laugh a lot, it has not been the case for a while…but
maybe if I could take this advice, I could change.
“The next time you’re tempted to groan, you might
try to laugh instead. It will extend your life and make the lives of all those
around you more enjoyable.”-this seems like a goal I could work on
Seek
for the Eternal; “You may feel singled out when
adversity enters your life. You shake your head and wonder, “Why me…but the
dial on the wheel of sorrow eventually points to each of us. At one time or
another, everyone must experience sorrow. No one is exempt-I know that I have a
life of a queen compared to some around me but there are times when I cannot
see the light, I feel God made me such a weakling; I hope that I can see things
with a new light, and seek for the eternal in my life. This life is a time to
prepare to meet God, it’s a time of great learning and of course a time of disappointment,
suffering and sorrow; God did make each of us unique, my abilities are
different than others, I think this year I want to find out the good qualities
that make me different and use those qualities in a good way instead of seeing
my bad qualities in a bad way like I have done before.
The
Principle of Compensation; “The Lord compensates
the faithful for every loss. That which is taken away from those who love the
Lord will be added unto them in His own way. While it may not come at the time
we desire, the faithful will know that every tear today will eventually be
returned a hundredfold with tears of rejoicing and gratitude.”-it’s interesting
that he uses tears in this example. I cry a lot, sometimes, I am sad and
sometimes I don’t even know why I am crying, the tears just come and I can’t
stop. I use to think that crying was a sign of weakness, I sometimes still feel
that way; but I have had some help in realizing that it just might be the way
that I release my emotions; I am a habitual stuffer and I am not very good at
showing emotion or talking about how I am feeling; sometimes I don’t even know
what I feel; I never learned how to express my feelings outwardly; it’s always
been inside, an inward battle. I have had many different ways in my life for
releasing emotions, some not always great and some that were detrimental to
myself…it has taken many years to
come to the point where I am now, and it will still take more time to find out
and juggle and learn from my emotions. I am grateful for the things I have
learned and will continue to learn.
Trust
in the Father and the Son-that is pretty self-explanatory…I
have always had trust issues and this year want to work on that. “I know why
there must be opposition in all things. Adversity, if handled correctly, can be
a blessing in our lives. We can learn to love it.”
“The way we react to adversity can be a major factor
in how happy and successful we can be in life"- I need to be better at
this…I need to be better at many things but I also need to realize sometimes
that life is not always about looking into the future and looking back in the
past; yes those are important; but what also is important to live in the
present; that is my goal for the next little while is to be present; maybe my
life will become a little brighter, not saying that my life is not bright but I
would love to have a better attitude about life in general and maybe have a
little more optimism.
He closed with “As we look for humor, seek for the
eternal perspective, understand the principle of compensation, and draw near to
our Heavenly Father, we can endure hardship and trial. We can say, as did my
mother, “Come what may, and love it.”
Here is to a great 2014!!!-I hope to come back to
this in a year and see where I am!!!
