Gratitude for Adversity

     It might seem crazy, but one of the greatest blessing we receive in this life is the opportunity to experience adversity.  Challenges don't seem like blessings when we're going through them, but if we can realize there are lessons contained in every hardship, it helps to ease the pain--at least a little.  Not only are there lessons to be learned, there are also attributes to be acquired, if we choose to acquire them, rather than give in to the temptation to become bitter and angry.

     I'm not speaking from some theoretical point of view here.  I've certainly gone through my share of heartaches, disappointments, and trials.  Life can get messy.  It can present problems we never suspected we'd have to deal with.  It can throw us curve balls that hit us smack upside the head, and demand our attention to ordeals we thought we'd never face, given our careful preparation for life, and our desire to avoid  pitfalls.  But, we soon learn that the best laid plans can, indeed, go awry.  Though our intentions may have been good, life's outcomes don't always go according to plan.  I think of my own situation here.  My husband and I had our life pretty well planned out:  have our babies, get them raised, send them on missions for our Church, then on to college; we would work for another ten or twelve years and retire.  Didn't work out that way.  Our daughter still had two years of high school to complete when my husband became ill and life took a drastic and unexpected turn for us.  Sometimes it seems like this particular trial will never end.  It takes its own peculiar twists and turns, but so far, it is still with us.

     So, how do we handle these unsettling, sometimes prolonged situations with gratitude?  And why should we? 

     How?   I think a good starting place is being humble enough to realize we don't need to handle them alone.  We are told in Proverbs 3:5, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths."  Since God knows all things and has all power, and He loves His children, we can go to Him in confidence, trusting that He is aware of our situation, and desires to help us.  All we need do is ask, believing He will extend the blessings that are best for us.  That doesn't mean our trial will end quickly, but it does mean that we are not going through it alone.

     We are also instructed in scripture to "giv[e] thanks always for all things unto God" (Ephesians 5:20).  and, "In everything give thanks;... waiting patiently on the Lord....and all things wherewith ye have been afflicted shall work together for your good, and to my name's glory, saith the Lord." (Doctrine and Covenants 98: 1,2,3). It is comforting and wonderful to know that the difficulties of life will be turned to our blessing as we remember to thank God for the trials we encounter and must work through.

     Why should we be grateful for them?  What possible good comes from the challenges, illnesses, injustices and heartaches of life?   It is only in such uncomfortable circumstances that we learn true compassion for those who suffer pain;  develop faith, patience and humility; discover strengths we didn't know we had;  learn to forgive;  and come to know our reliance upon God and His mercy as He helps us and gives us insight.   I have also learned, through personal experience, that it is sometimes while suffering some great heartache of our own that we learn to rise above ourselves to serve a loved one or friend who is also in need of help. Thereby we come to know that, at our best, we are stronger and less selfish than we ever knew we could be.  These are no small gifts, and it is only by traveling the path of adversity that we come to acquire these attributes.  

     So, be grateful for the path you find yourself traveling, even if it is steep and rutted, and strewn with obstacles.  It is your path, lovingly watched over by God.  And if you let it, it will lead you through many wonderful, though sometimes difficult, experiences.  In fact, I am confident that, no matter how careful you were with your life plan, as you gratefully travel the path you find yourself on, it will lead you to a more beautiful place than you ever could have imagined. 

TODAY'S  AWESOME  BLESSING:  A friend brought me a wonderful book* that was filled with amazing insights regarding forgiveness and gratitude.  In fact, it gave me a whole new perspective on some things.  Although the grammar and spelling were sometimes awkward, and some of its content might seem a little "out there" to some readers, the stories that were related were insightful. As I read, I certainly felt there were possibilities to be considered that had never occurred to me.

    

*Possibilities by Doug Mendenhall.  Available on Amazon.com