[adversity]

.saturday my little nephew was to be baptized at noon.
we were struggling to get out the door, hoping we wouldn't fail to witness this very special ordinance.
we were agitated, irritable and hot. for whatever reason, the air conditioning didn't eleviate the tension.
after traveling a while, our car reminded us that our fuel was low. we decided we'd better stop and remedy the situation. stressed and short, we made it in time to see nathan baptized & confirmed a member of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
our cares, frustrations & attitudes melted as peace filled our hearts.
what a great opportunity we had to be a part of his special day.
after visiting with family & friends, we began our way back home.

well, for whatever reason, no matter what sam & i said to eachother, we couldn't agree on anything!
it seems like every couple of months, our communication clashes.
i told sam it's like we have a marital menstral cycle.
we just can't understand one another. we're out of sync & it drives me crazy. it generally doesn't seem to last very long, but while it's here, it's horrible.
does anyone else experience this?
i know this heightens when we're super busy, and that we've been these days!
nonetheless, we couldn't figure out what we wanted to accomplish that afternoon & boy we were disheartened.
i was really angry at sam. i don't remember the last time i felt so far away from him.
finally after talking it out, we were ready to work together.
i truly believe the Adversary works carefully to bring us down, especially families!

during sunday school yesterday, our always prepared teacher gave a remarkable lesson on adversity.
"what can we learn from adversity?" he questioned.
so we made a huge long list on the whiteboard.

here are a few we jotted down:
-patience
-humility
-thankfulness
-self evalutaion
-change
-empathy
-prayer
-service
-appreciation for good
-can bring families or communities closer
-sacrifice
.the list continued.

brother sorenson respectfully mentioned that the Lord is very smart!
"how else can we learn all these lessons so well?" he added.
i was reminded that much good can come from trials. as tough and tumultuous as they may be, like these scriptures say below, our attitude is everything. we must take the high road, face our frustrations & pain and move forward with determination to fight.
okay, it's a lot easier said than done, but never impossible.
with the Lord on our side, we can be buoyed up and carried through fire.


Doctrine and Covenants 121:

7 My son, ^apeace be unto thy soul; thine ^badversity and thine afflictions shall be but a ^csmall moment;

8 And then, if thou ^aendure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy ^bfoes.

9 Thy ^afriends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands.

then in relief society, my good friend mandy gave our lesson for the second week in row; what a gift she has! she has a special way of inviting such a warm sweet spirit to the class, touching the hearts of every woman in the room! never a dry eye! her lesson was about President Eyring's "Man Down!" what a great lesson of service, love and devotion to our fellow man. we're hear for each other for a reason. we need eachother! let us help brighten the lives of others always, especially when they're down!

these two lessons were placed perfectly for me yesterday. hearing these divinely inspired words helped me immensly. i love being at the right place at the right time!

thank you to all of my family, friends, teachers and leaders & readers! i love and need you :)