(2Nephi 2:11)I never thought I would be grateful for opposition. I am though, really, I am. I don't believe I have been through the most intense trials that others have experienced, but I know I have been through my own that have at times brought me to me knees with great feelings of despair. Because I have felt those things and experienced such opposition I am stronger and it has brought me more happiness. I can honestly say that at this time in my life I am more satisfied and happy than I have ever been before. I believe it because I can better recognize what greatness I have in it, what blessings there are and I have grown with gratitude for the smaller and more important things I have. I judge less harshly, I forgive faster and I have more empathy for others because of what I have experienced in life. I know there is more to come, more opposition, more stretching and pain and more growth and happiness. I have learned that I need to welcome the opposition and bear it gracefully because it truly is for my own good.
I love verse 13 where is speaks of opposition and why it must exist. "And if ye shall say there is no law, ye shall also say there is no sin. If ye shall say there is no sin, ye shall also say there is no righteousness. And if there be no righteousness there be no righteousness nor happiness there be no punishment nor misery. And if these things are not there is no God. And if there is no God we are not, neither the earth; for there could have been no creation of things, neither to act nor to be acted upon; wherefore, all the things must have vanished away." I just feel like this makes so much sense. It is yet more evidence, not that I require any more evidence, but it is just more to show that God lives, He is real and nothing would be here if He did not exist. After this verse Lehi bears testimony that there is a God. I sometimes think it is my favorite part of a person's testimony when they testify of God and our Savior. It is so powerful and really speaks to me when I hear it. It just reinforces what I already know and makes that knowledge more powerful.
Verse 16 is another that just makes sense when I read it. It is speaking of opposition again. "Wherefore, the Lord god gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other." So of course we would need opposition. How could we develop character without it. How could we have choice. It is a blessing that we can choose to be righteous or not, to bear our burdens gracefully or not, to love or not love. If we didn't have that choice we would be living Satan's plan. I have friends that have said to me, "I just think that if there was a God He wouldn't let people suffer with cancer or other horrible things." Because there is a God He allows us to suffer through illness, through hardship, through rejection. He allowed our Savior to suffer through all of it, even all our sins. Because He loves us he allows us that choice. We could not feel happiness or feel at all without choice. If we cannot experience those feelings and emotions, if could not have experience we cannot grow and we would never become like our Father in Heaven. As I am typing this out it just continues to make more and more sense to me. I mean this is all stuff I understood, but I somehow feel it deeper this time around. I feel really motivated right now to really embrace my struggles and really handle them gracefully. For me right now that means being a more loving and gentle mother! That is my greatest struggle right now. Hopefully I will remember this feeling tomorrow morning when I am woken up and tomorrow evening when it is obvious that my children are tired and hungry or in the afternoon when they really crave some good attention! Anyone want to remind me? Just kidding.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment