I am sitting at my computer and trying to think of something worth writing about besides our societies obsession with consumerism. (My word for overindulgent shopping tendencies especially during the holiday season). So maybe I'll write about adversity.
I've decided that adversity gets a bad rep. When ever people think about having to struggle with anything, they aren't to excited about it. There were many times during Chad's internship (1st year of residency) that I just wished there was a wife of a doctor out there who wrote a book about how she survived the 4-5 year long residency process (with kids) and could tell me that everything would be OK. But I've learned something through the years. The times that have been the most challenging for me (For one reason or another) have also been the times when I have felt the hand of the Lord more prevalent in my life. So if you had to choose, what would you pick; A care free easy life void of spiritual impression, or a difficult challenge that not only helped you to learn something you could not have learned in any other way but also provided you with the added blessing of peace that almost always coinsides with difficulty.
Sometimes I wonder what we would do if we could see our lives from beginning to end. Would we experience a feeling of wonder and excitement or would we leave wishing that like labor we didn't know what we were getting into until it was to late. I think most of us would rather not know.
I 've been thinking a lot about my friend Rachel. Two months ago she was doing everything most women in their mid 30's are doing. She has two darling teenage girls, she is active in church, she exercises, spends time with her husband and friends, and she works and takes classes at the local college to stay busy. Then she goes to the doctor because she's having problems with her vision and finds out that she has cancer. But her cancer isn't isolated to one area, it's all over. It's in her lungs, her colon, her liver, her brain, and behind her eye. In a matter of days her world is turned upside down. And yet, every time I talk to her she is joking about something crazy that has happened to her and she tells me, "if I don't laugh, I'll cry, so you just have to keep laughing."
My husband has been Rachel's primary care physician and he's been impressed with how at peace she has been. It's actually helped him to deal with the continuous stream of bad news a little better. I asked Rachel how her girls were doing, because I knew that they were having a really hard time, and she said, "you know it comes down to the basics. I just look at them and say, You know I love you, Right!" It's amazing how little really matters when you no longer have control of your physical well being.
I wonder sometimes, what I would do if I was asked to face some of the challenges I have watched my friends deal with. I wonder if I would be strong enough, and then I count my blessings that I don't have to be.
Life is such an amazing gift. No matter what we may be dealing with in our own lives, we have the blessing of living in a free country, of family and friends, of comforts greater then the majority of the world, and blessings so incredible that it makes me cower when I think of my own selfishness.
President Hinckley told a story once of a bricklayer who was sent to repair a building after a hurricane had hit the West Indies. His letter begins,
"Respected Sirs:
When I got to the building I found that the hurricane had knocked some bricks off the top. So I rigged up a beam with a pulley at the top of the building and hoisted up a couple of barrels full of bricks. When I had fixed the building, there was a lot of bricks left over. I hoisted the barrel back up again and secured the line at the bottom, and then went up and filled the barrel with the extra bricks. Then I went to the bottom and cast off the line. Unfortunately the barrel of bricks was heavier than I was, and before I knew what was happening the barrel started down, jerking me off the ground. I decided to hang on, and halfway up I met the barrel coming down and received a severe blow on the shoulder. I then continued to the top, banging my head against the beam and getting my finger jammed in the pulley. When the barrel hit the ground it bursted its bottom, allowing all the bricks to spill out. I was now heavier than the barrel and so started down again at high speed. Halfway down, I met the barrel coming up and received severe injuries to my shins. When I hit the ground I landed on the bricks, getting several painful cuts from the sharp edges. At this point I must have lost my presence of mind because I let go of the line. The barrel then came down, giving me another heavy blow on the head and putting me in the hospital. I respectfully request sick leave."
You have to laugh at life sometimes. (Especially if it kicks you when you are down). I'm not quite sure why I felt like writing all this tonight. Maybe I'm bored, maybe I just have to much spare time on my hands after my kids go to bed and my husband has sacked out. Maybe I wouldn't be so tired if I'd go to bed instead of staying up and blogging til midnight. Oh well, I hope you have good week, and if any bricks land on your head, run before a pulley drags you down. See ya.
