Trials and Change

Yesterday I got my feelings hurt. I won't go into details because what happened is not important. What is important is what I learned as I walked with my mom later that night. I was reminded that we can never fully understand why certain people treat us the way they do, perhaps they had a particularly bad day, or maybe something tragic happened. Either way we all have bad days and shouldn't judge others who may be struggling.

The trials we face, even the small ones like hurt feelings, help us to grow and become better. I know that when people treat me badly, after the inital "pity me" feeling, I move on to "I will never treat someone like that" feeling. We have been counseled through scripture that on earth we will endure trials which will help us to learn and become stronger. I know this to be true and will continue to endure to the end...hurt feelings or not. :)

So the above was my post from yesterday that I never pulished because I fell asleep. Now on to todays post....

Today is March 13, 2014. March 13th has a lot of meaning in our family. March 13, 2005- Wes proposed to me. March 13, 2008- my sweet nephew Waylon returned home to his Heavenly Father. March 13, 2012- we received the shocking news that my Dad had cancer.

Although Wes and I recognize this day as special day, many may feel like it also represents a day of sadness and bad memories. However, in my mind this day is not a day of "good" or "bad" it is a day of "change".

Life is all about change. Sometimes change is good, such as a marrirage proposal. Sometimes that change is difficult for us to understand, such as a death of a child. Somtimes we wonder how we can deal with change, especially when it comes in the form of a life-threatening illness. Yet, looking back on each of these situations I feel like I can get a glimpse of what God has planned for us.

From the very beginning humans have dealt with changes, throughout the scriptures we read about change. I.e. Adam and Eve leaving the Garden of Eden, the cleansing of the earth in Noah's time, Moses leading the children of Israel to the promised land, etc. In each of these stories God had a plan for His children. He saw what He needed to do to help them grow and become a stronger more faithful people and frequently it involved a significant amount of change.

We are not exempt from change. Change is good. Even when it is hard, change is often necessary. Just like the examples in the scriptures, change will help us to become stronger, it will help to increase our faith, it will often bring us to our knees and in so doing will draw us closer to our Heavenly Father.

I am so grateful to my family, particularly my sister Sarah and my Mom, who have set a wonderful example to me about how to endure change and become better because of it. I may not always welcome change, but change blesses lives, I know it has blessed mine. May I continue to look for the good in change and use it to become a more positive and faithful child of God.