A little reminder

One of the blogs I follow, Cheryl, reminded me of the talks I heard at conference. I am so glad they are finally in print because I remember thinking that I need to read and re-read these talks. Although I look forward to Conference it is still hard to pay attention with the kids and get the message. There are people who can do it but I have always had a short attention span, or focus of interest. I get side-tracked REALLY easily. What was I saying...oh, yes. So the talks are now in print and I remember Saturday afternoon being most touched with the messages of hope. Looking quickly over the topics I came across this talk Come What May, and Love It by Joseph B. Wirthlin. What a great talk and what a wonderful time to be reminded of it. I posted previously about the Prop 8 sign being stolen and the banner that a friend got to replace it. I know it is a serious matter but it makes me smile and even chuckle. Another friend hosted a calling party for Prop 8. It sounded like so much fun. I loved how she made something that most people find dreadful into something to laugh through. Not saying it wasn't hard but they still had fun. What the nation is going through right now is crazy, economy issues, same-sex-marriage, presidential election. I am not sure if I am caring more about what is happening as I see it affecting me and my family or if times are changing that much that I can no longer live in that bubble of ignorance or innocence.

I do have to say that come what may after all this is done I WILL love it! I have a loving family, I couldn't be happier with the man who choose me as his wife. He treats me better than I ever knew a husband can treat a wife. I have five children who are no doubt exhausting but they love me so unconditionally I can't describe it. I am so blessed. All the other stuff is just STUFF. We roll with it, and even learn to make jokes about it and laugh lots.

Elder Wirthlin interprets his mother when she would say "Come What May and Love it" to mean this :

...that every life has peaks and shadows and times when it seems that the birds don’t sing and bells don’t ring. Yet in spite of discouragement and adversity, those who are happiest seem to have a way of learning from difficult times, becoming stronger, wiser, and happier as a result.

He goes on to say:
But I do believe that the way we react to adversity can be a major factor in how happy and successful we can be in life.

If we approach adversities wisely, our hardest times can be times of greatest growth, which in turn can lead toward times of greatest happiness.

With all the stuff going on there are so many people that I admire their class when dealing with adversity. The lack of retaliation or bad mouthing. Pure class! Some may see it as weak, but I see it as strength. Acting on those negative emotions such as anger does nothing to fight your cause and not controlling those emotions creates hasty and not well thought out decisions.

In closing his talk he says "Adversity, if handled correctly, can be a blessing in our lives." Of this I have a strong testimony. I know first hand well I guess first hand once removed (hee-hee) that adversity can send someone to depths they never thought possible, and going through it is so awful that it is hard to even find reason to press on. Looking back at that dark time, so much strength and so many blessings have come because of that time, I wouldn't trade it for anything...nor would I wish to live that time again. I am so grateful for the eternal perspective in all these trials, this is a short time that we have been given to show our faith in Heavenly Father, in His Plan for us, and in the love he has for our imperfect selves. He has promised us blessings, we just need to do our part. There is no better way to do it then laugh through it, keep that eternal perspective, know that we will be compensated in His time, and trust in the Father and the Son. All of which Elder Wirthlin speaks about in his talk.

What a great talk! I can't wait to read other talks, I'm feeling stronger already!