It was sunny yesterday and today. That’s a big deal. It seems like it has been raining for weeks and weeks. It normally doesn’t rain this much here. I was so happy to go outside and see the blue sky.
I realized though that I have lived through many sunny days and never realized how great they were or how blue the sky was, or anything. If it’s been sunny for a long time, I stop noticing sun. Rainy days, along with making the plants nice and green and everything, help me appreciate sunny days. Without rainy days, the beauty outside would disappear.
It seems that most people I know are going through really difficult things. Maybe it’s because I’m growing up and becoming more aware of others and their lives, but I don’t remember this many people going through this many challenges before. But, I’ve learned from my own experience that challenges are some of the greatest blessings God gives us. One of the purposes of our experience here on earth is to gain experience in order to change our character, who we are. God wants us to become like Him, to enjoy all the blessings He enjoys. But, we aren’t yet. So, He sent us to earth to learn by experience and to progress.
Challenges will both teach us wonderful things and help us develop deep relationships with God and Jesus as we work through them. Or they will destroy us. They can turn us to God in humility or turn us away from Him feeling hurt. It can sometimes feel that He has given us too much to handle or that He isn’t giving the help that we need. But, as I look back on the past few months, I see that that God was right there with me through all of my challenges. There were times that, in those moments, I didn’t know where He was. But, He was with me. He was supporting me and helping me and giving me strength to try again and again. I know that as we accept the help of Jesus Christ, He will carry what we cannot. He will fill our hearts with peace and reassurance. He will let us know that He knows how we're feeling and He'll encourage and love us. He knows us. And He knows how to help us. He knows what we, together, can handle. He understands how hard things can be for us. He is patient and compassionate. He's willing to work with us where we are, as we are.
The more we know about our purpose in life and God’s love for us, the more we can understand challenges. Challenges help us appreciate life and who God is. Challenges are rainy days. They actually are beautiful blessings that help us recognize all that God does for us; they help us learn and become more like Him. Many of them take a long time to work through. But, I know that if we will not give up on Jesus Christ, we will make it though them eventually. The trick is just to hold on to Him when it seems that we may not be able to hold on for much longer. But, He can help you hold on. And He will.
To learn more about the purpose of challenges, go here to learn more about God’s plan for our progression and happiness: http://mormon.org/plan-of-happiness/
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