In our lives we will need to be prepared to endure many trials, and if we prepare ourselves through the gospel we will not falter, we will be even as our pioneer ancestors before us.
Make Gratitude our Perspective in Trail
After September 11th when Kevin was activated, I had been listening to the book, The Greatest Generation, on CD, and so my first thoughts were of others who had sacrificed more than I was being asked to sacrifice. I thought of the women during that generation who said goodbye to their husbands, and didn’t see them or hear their voices on the phone for years, not one year, but in some cases five years. Some of these women were pregnant, or had small children and even new born babies in their arms as they said goodbye to their husbands, not knowing if they would return. It was an uncertain time, and unlike our present times, there was a lot to fear concerning the outcome of that war. I told myself over and over, how easy we had it in comparison to so many who came before us.
I learned an important lesson last summer, while I sat and listened to the beautiful music at the pioneer day commemorative broadcast from Salt Lake City. As I listen to the music inspired by the courageous actions of our pioneer ancestors, I reflected on pioneer stories that had been told during the dedication of the Winter Quarter’s Temple several years ago, one story in particular came to my mind, it was a story of a women with seven children, who lost them all in a horrible heart breaking way, they starved to death. As a mother I could not imagine how it would be to watch your children starve, and be un-able to anything to save them, to feel so helpless, the pain could not be described in words. The heart break that these pioneer men and women must have endured is un-comprehendible to me, and yet they persevered in faith. They and other pioneers in American history have given us everything; we live in a nation we did not found, communities we did not build, and in homes we did not construct, but our ancestors built this nation, and these communities that we now enjoy in peace, and they gave them to us freely a precious gift born of their sacrifice.
Do we show gratitude for this gift? Is there enough that we can do to express proper thanks for what they did for us, for all they sacrificed? I know that I do not do enough. My forgetfulness, and complacency in the face of such blessings shames me at this moment, and I feel as though I dishonor them by being indifferent to how easy my life is. My life has contained no afflictions in comparison to their afflictions. I have abundantly been taken care of, and have given far too little back.
Oh, how comfortable we are at every moment of our lives, we do not have to watch our children suffer from hunger, cold, and sickness, we have not had to face certain death, our faith has not been tried in these ways. With Faith in every footstep they forged this nation and preserved the Lord’s Church, and passed to us the world we have today.
They, the builders of the nation, blazing trails along the way.
Stepping stones for generations, were their deeds of every day.
Building new and firm foundations, pushing on the wild frontier.
Forging onward, ever onward, blessed, honored, pioneer!
Service ever was their watch-cry, love became their guiding star.
Courage their unfailing beacon, radiating near and far.
Everyday some burden lifted, every day some heart to cheer.
Everyday some hope the brighter, blessed, honored, pioneer!
As and ensign to the nation, they unfurled the flag of truth.
Pillar guide, and inspiration, to the host of waiting youth.
Honor, praise, and veneration, to the founders we revere!
List our song of adoration, blessed, honored, pioneer!
It is much easier to view our own trials as minor when we compare them to those who have truly been tried. Here in America, where we live comfortable lives in a free land, at a time in history of great prosperity, we have very little to complain about. We must fill our hearts with gratitude for those who went before; who with tears, sweat, and blood, paved the way for us and gave to us all that we enjoy. We are truly spoiled by our Father in Heaven, and if we will just be grateful for that, we will more easily sail through the trials he has seen fit to bless us with. Yes, bless, that is what our trials are, they are blessing, an opportunity for us to grow closer to the Lord, to be more humble, more teachable, and more holy. I hope that we will honor their sacrifice, by being worthy of the blessings we have been given, by serving in righteousness and selflessness, and by giving our Gratitude to God with our obedience and faith.
For Kevin and I giving our own small sacrifice to our beloved country was easier when we remembered to be grateful for the sacrifices made on our behalf. In order to put our sacrifice in perspective we didn’t really have to go back as far as World War II or the early pioneers of this great land to find people who had and were sacrificing more than us. The truth is that there were families across America at the same time, sacrificing much more than we. Families who’s Father’s were being deployed to Afghanistan, who would be in harms way, and who would not be able to see there families until the war was over. Kevin was not deployed overseas, he was safe, and he was close enough to home that we would see each other most every weekend. We were going to be spoiled in comparison to others in the armed forces. In Kevin’s second year of activation we were able to be together in Virginia, and again we watched as hundreds of thousands of soldiers across America were deployed to Iraq.
Having said all that, that first year that we lived apart would prove to be hard on our family, only emphasizing how hard it must be for those families who could never see each other through the war. That first year apart had a very big impact on me and Teddy, one that I didn’t expect. I didn’t realize how much I depended on Kevin, I didn’t realize how crucial fathers are to their children, and husbands to their wives. I had always seen myself as a verily independent person, but I realized that Kevin had become part of me, and without him there everyday I wasn’t the same person I had become. So how does the Gospel prepare us for sacrifices such as these? Weather big or small, we will all be asked to sacrifice. We will be tried in our lives weather they are trails like the ones our pioneer ancestors endured, or if it be that the wickedness of the world that surrounds us today, as if besieging our lives, threatens to destroy us, we can with faith in every footstep prepare ourselves to face them through the gospel of Jesus Christ. If we are blessed to live through the last days we will need to be prepared to endure many trials, and if we prepare ourselves through the gospel we will not falter, we will be even as our pioneer ancestors before us.
Rooted like a tree.
In this last conference Elder Sheldon F. Child of the Seventy talked about our sure foundation; he spoke of a storm that devastated trees in his area –
“He pointed out to me that the trees that survived the storm were planted on firm ground; their roots had to sink deep into the soil to receive nourishment. The trees he had lost were planted near a small stream, where nourishment was readily available. The roots were shallow. They were not anchored deeply enough to protect them from the storm.”
“Our testimonies, like those trees, must be built on a sure foundation, deeply rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ, so that when the winds and rains come into our lives, as they surely will, we will be strong enough to weather the storms that rage about us. Helaman counseled his sons:”
“And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.” Helaman 5:12
~Elder Sheldon F. Child, Of the Seventy
When I heard this talk by Elder Child I recorded this in my journal:
“The other day Teddy asked me why the bushes in our yard had withered and died, and I explained that the drought had killed them, because they needed lots of water to live and several years of drought had finally killed them. He then asked me how it was possible that our Large Maple tree had not died, when everything else around it had. I pauses for a moment and then explained that the roots of a tree like our big maple go as far down into the ground as the branches grow upward. I asked him to look up at our tree, as we looked up we observed this massive tree that reaches at least 50 feet into the sky, and I said to him “just as it looks up there, just as high as it reaches, it is the same under the ground, the roots of our tree reach deep into the ground where the ground waters flow to nourish it. So that during the drought the big trees can still drink of the ground waters and live.” As I heard Elder Child’s talk I remember this conversation with Teddy and I thought how this relates to our spiritual roots. As Elder Child explained, our roots must run deep into the Gospel, and like that tree of ours, when our roots run deep we can drink of the ground waters which are the living waters, even when the world in struck with a draught of spiritual weakness, we can grow strong in the gospel.
“Weather the wrath of the storm tosses sea, or demons or men or whatever it be, No water can swallow the ship where lies the master of ocean and earth and skies.” Hymn 105.
I have always loved the symbolism of this favorite hymn, every time I sing this song I am reminded that no matter what happens, no matter what challenges come my way, I cannot be swallowed up by them if I will rely on Jesus Christ. If we picture our homes as if they are the ship spoken of in this song, and we invite the Lord into our ship everyday, then whatever storm threatens the Lord will not let it sink us.
To have the master in our lives, in our own person ship we must realize that our lives rest in his hands, and that the things we go through in this life are given to us from God for a wise purpose. In order for Kevin and I to tackle what was to come for our family, we had to put our hands into the hands of our Savior, and trust that our Heavenly Father’s plan was broader than our own vision.
“Know ye not that ye are in the hands of God? Know ye not that he hath all power?” (Mormon 5:23) To be in the hands of God would suggest that we are not only under his watchful care but also that we are guarded and protected by his wondrous power.” Elder W. Craig Zwick, Of the Seventy, goes on to say in his conference talk, “The great plan of Happiness includes a proverbial roller coaster of challenging times; yes we all have our moments of difficulty and heartbreak. Occasionally, they are so difficult for us that we just want to give up.” (“The Lord Thy God Will Hold Thy Hand”, Elder W. Craig Zwick, of the Seventy. Ensign, November 2003.)
At times it was like this for me, the first year of Kevin’s activation when we were living separated from each other, I felt like my heart was breaking, like I couldn’t breath without him. I wasn’t the kind of mother I had been with his constant presence and support, and I felt horrible for Teddy. At times I wasn’t sure what to do, and I couldn’t express my feelings of pain to my husband, because I new that it would be so hard for him to do his duty to our country if he was feeling responsible for my pain. Through all this there was one who was listening; it was my Father in Heaven. I knew that I could put my trust in his sustaining presence and he could lift me up which was something I could not do on my own.
“Every one of us needs to know that we can go on in the strength of the Lord. We must trust the Lord. If we give ourselves freely to Him, our burdens will be lifted and our hearts will be consoled. Elder Scott has recently counseled: ‘Trust in God…no matter how challenging the circumstances…Your peace of mind, your assurance of answers to vexing problems, and your ultimate joy depend upon your trust in Christ.” (“The Sustaining Power of Faith in Times of Uncertainty and Testing,” Ensign May 2003.)”
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