I feel like I've been wrapped in a warm blanket by the beautiful blessings of conference this past weekend. I go along doing the things I do every day, and then suddenly I'll feel the spirit close to me....testifying of the things I learned. I just love the gospel so much! I relish the amazing blessings of having a Prophet of God, and Apostles on the earth. The greatest blessing of all is that I know! My heart aches for those who don't.......
Pres. Eyring gave a talk that made me think of so many sisters I visit, and people I've seen struggle through challenges they face in their homes and lives. We each have gifts given to us so we can bare the tests. The gifts of hope and faith always enter in, but there are also other things that we learn, or were given before we came here that prepare us for those trials. I will share a section of his talk.
Pres. Henry W. Eyring "To My Grandchildren" "Life in families will test us. That is one of God's purposes in giving us the gift of mortality - to strengthen us by passing through tests. That will be especially true in family life, where we will find great joy, and great sorrow, and challenges which may at times seem beyond our power to endure. You will need that assurance, as I have needed it. I have tried to seek and feel the power of the Atonement. I have prayed with faith that human angels would come to their aid, and they came. God has devised means to save each of His children. For many, that involves being placed with a brother or a sister or a grandparent who loves them no matter what they do.
Years ago a friend of mine spoke of his grandmother. She had lived a full life, always faithful to the Lord and to His Church. Yet one of her grandsons chose a life of crime. He was finally sentenced to prison. My friend recalled that his grandmother, as she drove along a highway to visit her grandson in prison, had tears in her eyes as she prayed with anguish, "I've tried to live a good life. Why do I have this tragedy of a grandson who seems to have destroyed his?" The answer came to her mind in these words: "I gave him to you because I knew you could and would love him no matter what he did." (end quote)
This brought me back to an experience I had with my mother when I was 14 years old. I had a lead in the junior high school musical. We had been working on it for several months during which time my mother started having back problems. Soon she had to go to the hospital for surgery. At that time people were in the hospital for a long time when they had surgery. When my mother came home she had to have a hospital bed for a few weeks because she wasn't supposed to move, or sit for very long at a time. I would come home from school to help take care of her, and remember giving her sponge baths and other things to help her. My grandmother came and helped me learn how to cook some simple things. I felt a special sense of love in being able to do these things for her. By letting me help her she was teaching me the joy of service, and about unconditional love.
As time approached for the performance, I knew my mother would not be able to attend. She couldn't sit for all that time without pain. The production was about 1 1/2 hours. I gave her a kiss goodbye, and promised I would do my best. I was back stage just before the show began and a friend called me to come to the door. I looked out and there was my dad pushing mother in, in a wheelchair. Tears came to my eyes as I thought of the great sacrifice she was making.... for me. She taught me about love. She taught me about loving her children no matter what, and about making the sacrifices necessary to show that love. Some of those sacrifices were big, some were small; but they left me and my brother with a sure knowledge of her devotion to us.
Pres. Eyring's talk answered a question I've had at times, when there have been challenges in my own family. I've asked myself a few times why I was placed in the position I'm in. Why did I have to bare trials, sorrow, and carry the particular burdens that were there for me. I've wondered if I was weak in the pre-existence and needed more trials than most people to perfect myself. Then I thought of my mother and of her trials. I thought of so many sweet sisters here on my mission who suffer with illnesses and events in their homes that are great burdens for them. I realized that I indeed had learned to love. Perhaps Heavenly Father was saying to me and all who suffer or grieve; "I gave you these trials before you came here because I knew you could... and would, love no matter what.
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