"When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us."
Helen Keller
One of the talks that I enjoyed during Conference was Elder Wirthlin's talk.....He took a moment to lighten things up in a most gloomy and depressing time. He told us to "Come what may and love it." What does this really mean? Did you ever just ponder what our lives would be like if we just accepted things instead of trying to fight them.
Have you ever thought about laughter. When we laugh we enjoy that moment, we live that moment and experience it for what it is. Then it is gone and we go on to other things and every once in a while we will remember what made us so happy and chuckle again. On the other hand when we are sad we stay sad for a longer period of time. Why is that? What is the difference between happy and sad? I look at it this way. We don't try to fix "Happy" we live it and experience it. We do try to fix "Sad"! We don't just let ourselves experience being sad and live it. We think that we are weak or vulnerable. When sad comes up again we try to bury it or hide it. This is why Elder Wirthlin's talk was so simple and beautiful. He said to:
1: "The first thing we can do is learn to laugh. The next time you’re tempted to groan, you might try to laugh instead. It will extend your life and make the lives of all those around you more enjoyable. "
I am tempted everyday to groan, but yesterday I thought I needed to lighten up and enjoy my life. What an amazing thing happened: I had such an enjoyable day, I laughed more, I bonded with my 16 year old daughter in a way that we both needed. All in all it was a pretty amazing day and one that I want to have over and over and over again. I laughed with my kids and I laughed at myself for just being silly ol' me.....
2. "The second thing we can do is seek for the eternal. You may feel singled out when adversity enters your life. You shake your head and wonder, “Why me?”"
Kenna is going through some hard times right now and believe me this "Why Me?" has entered my head more then I want to tell you. (Or should I say the last 4 years of my life has been "Why Me?") But one thing is certain everyone has adversity and everyone has their share of problems. I know that going through these classes with Kenna and learning of others problems and trials has helped me to realize I would not trade my problems for anyone elses. I have learned to accept and appreciate what lays before me. In the strength of the Lord I can do all things! And with the love a support of family and friends I will never be alone.
3. "The third thing we can do is understand the principle of compensation. The Lord compensates the faithful for every loss. That which is taken away from those who love the Lord will be added unto them in His own way. While it may not come at the time we desire, the faithful will know that every tear today will eventually be returned a hundredfold with tears of rejoicing and gratitude."
This just gave me all the strength and hope that I need at this time. I know we are being watched out for and loved. We are not alone and we will never be alone.
4. "The fourth thing we can do is put our trust in our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ."
For some this is easier then others. Some of us (me) have a hard time putting trust in others. Be it by personal trials that we have had to face or just leaning on the arm of the flesh vs. the hand of God. For me I do want to know how things are going to turn out. That is so much easier then just trusting. We live in a society that is "I want it now". Putting our trust in God means we are allowing him to come into our lives and help us journey this long and sometimes challenging road. He knows what is the best for us and sometimes we only see what is good for us.
He closes his talk with a sweet and simple testimony: "Although my mother has long since passed to her eternal reward, her words are always with me. I still remember her advice to me given on that day long ago when my team lost a football game: “Come what may, and love it.”
I know why there must be opposition in all things. Adversity, if handled correctly, can be a blessing in our lives. We can learn to love it.
As we look for humor, seek for the eternal perspective, understand the principle of compensation, and draw near to our Heavenly Father, we can endure hardship and trial. We can say, as did my mother, “Come what may, and love it.”"
May we all "Come what may, and love it" how plain and simple is that. Just live the life you love and love the life you live.
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