What you do, makes a difference

I Moroni
by Walter Rane LDS artist

Struggles and trials come to each one of us.  Some are worse than others and some are so hard that we want to quit.  It is not the struggle that destroys us.  It is what we do with it in our lives that makes the difference. 
Heber J Grant said, "may we be strengthened with the understanding that being blessed does not mean that we shall always be spared all the disappointments and difficulties of life."
One of my favorite stories in the scriptures is the one in the New Testament about the wise man and the foolish man.  This parable from the Savior has meaning for me because it illustrates that life's challenges came upon the wise man also.  The rains came down and the floods came up for both of them.  Yet the wise man survived them all because he had built his house on a sure foundation.  We know through our own history, that the lives of the pioneers were filled with trials.  The rains came down and the floods came up for them, but their faith was never wavering.  No matter what trials we endure, if we have faith, we will make it through and we will learn and grow from the experience.  More importantly, we will be who the Lord wants us to be.
I found this story this morning on the internet and thought that it was exactly what I needed to hear today. 

How To Dance In The Rain
 by David Stone

"It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80's, arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am.

I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would be able to see him. I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound.

On exam, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound.

While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor's appointment that morning, as he was in such a hurry. The gentleman told me, no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife.

I inquired as to her health. He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer's Disease. As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now.

I was surprised, and asked him, 'And you still go every morning, even though she doesn't know who you are?'

He smiled as he patted my hand and said, 'She doesn't know me, but I still know who she is.'

I had to hold back tears as he left, I had goose bumps on my arm, and thought, 'That is the kind of love I want in my life.'

True love is neither physical, nor romantic. True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be".

'Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it is about learning to dance in the rain.'

With everything going on around us and keeping us busy.  With all the noise and the distractions that surround our every day lives, sometimes there is a thought or a moment or a lesson that comes along, that has an important message for us.  That is the way this message was for me.  I hope it is one of those things for you and that it touches your heart to be more like your Savior. 

The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.

"As we live on earth we must walk in faith, nothing doubting. When the journey becomes seemingly unbearable, we can take comfort in the words of the Lord: 'I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee.' Some of the healing may take place in another world. We may never know why some things happen in this life. The reason for some of our suffering is known only to the Lord." James E. Faust - Oct. Gen. Conf 2004

Journeys End
by LDS artist Derek Hegsted

"The greatest lesson we can learn in mortality is that when God speaks and we obey, we will always be right." Thomas S. Monson - Oct. Gen. Conf. 2002