We always go up to Washington, DC with the Robertsons to see the lights. It's fun to spend that day with our family, bask in the glorious lights that surround the temple, and enjoy a wonderful concert in the Visitor Center.
This was a fun new thing. On Christmas Eve, we started at the Dudley's house and had a "Bethlehem Dinner." We enjoyed food that would have been eaten at the time Christ lived. While we ate, we read about the traditions of Christ, His birth, and other aspects of His life. In between narrations, we sang songs. It was fun to eat with our fingers (those of us who were brave enough to do so!).
We are so grateful for wonderful family and friends. Though this week has been tough, we have had our testimonies strengthened. We know that families are most important to our Heavenly Father. He knows us by name and he loves us. We know that we go through trials for our own good. Most of all, we know that through the difficult times are Heavenly Father extends his tender mercies. He allows us to see His hand and He reminds us that he loves us and is watching out for us. We have seen these tender mercies this week and they have not been unnoticed.
I am grateful for a supportive husband. Who honors his preisthood and is sensitive to the Spirit. I am grateful that he is willing to be by my side and be my support. I am grateful for a mother who is still willing to take care of me (in ways she thought should have been done years ago), go to doctors appointments, comfort me, and share spiritual moments with me. I am grateful for sisters who step up to the plate and act so mature, and remind me that they love me. I am grateful for a loving Father who honors his priesthood, and reminds me that my husband is my #1 man and that he is #2. I am grateful for family and friends who are kind, loving, and willing to lend a listening ear.
The Ensign this months is filled with talks that I swear were written for me. Elder LeSueur wrote:
"Apostle Orson F. Whitney (1855–1931) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, explained: “No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God . . . and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire.”
Trials give us opportunities to show the Lord and ourselves that we will be faithful. We can choose to feel sorry for ourselves and ask, “Why me?” or we can grow from our trials, increase our faith in the Lord, and ask, “How can I be faithful in the midst of this trial?” We can let adversity break us down and make us bitter, or we can let it refine us and make us stronger. We can allow adversity to lead us to drift away from the things that matter most, or we can use it as a stepping-stone to grow closer to things of eternal worth. Spiritual growth can often be achieved more readily by trials and adversity than by comfort and tranquility. Trials can teach us that faith in God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ is the source of inner strength. President David O. McKay (1873-1970) recounted the testimony of one of the survivors of the ill-fated Martin handcart company, who said: “We suffered beyond anything you can imagine and many died of exposure and starvation, but . . . [we] came through with the absolute knowledge that God lives for we became acquainted with Him in our extremities.”"
Though having a miscarriage my seem so small in comparison to what others face, I have learned so much. I know that we will be stronger and better for this trial. I know that God has a plan, and though I don't completely understand why we needed this and why we are going through this, He does, and it will be okay. And I am starting to see how this can be and why this is a blessing.
President Gordon B. Hinckley said, "Our individual testimonies of these truths are the basis of our faith. We must nurture them. We must cultivate them. We can never forsake the. We can never lay them aside. Without them we have nothing. With them we are everything."
How grateful I am for this knowledge. How grateful I am for my faith and testimony. How grateful I am for my knowledge of families and their divine role and importance in this world and in God's plan. Not only am I grateful for my family but for the one we will one day have.
