After listening to the most recent General Conference address by President Monson about the woman who traveled from Russia to Germany and lost all her children on the way I was confused. What was I to learn from this story? I was positive that woman prayed along the way, only to find everything taken away from her.

After studying Elder Bednar’s talk on the enabling power of Grace as well as the topical guide and Bible Dictionary I felt I understood President Monson’s Conference Address a little better. After losing everything, this woman had not lost her faith in God. And God remembered her, by memorializing her faith through His prophet years later.

Grace enables us to pass through the trials of life and come out better, wiser, sanctified. Grace does not always take the trial away. Physical struggles remind me of Paul who suffered with an ailment all his days. And you can’t tell me he didn’t have the faith to be healed. Look at how much he accomplished.

In this post you paid special attention to the fact that the scripture points out that all things “must” fail. That includes the hold a particular ailment, flaw or illness has over us. And that gives me comfort. The one person that will never fail me, has already secured the failure of the effects of ailments, death, fatique and pain with His resurrection.

I do hope that you get to sleep normally one day soon. But you are accomplishing much despite this hinderance, and that is very “grace”ful.

In that way, I am very grateful for my trials because they do keep me close to the Lord.

Well said.

Luisa, (Hi!) your comment reminded me how the Lord answered my fervent prayer to be a better mother by blessing me with child number five! I think I will be better for the reason you described: I must rely more fully on the Lord to handle all that I’ve been given.

I’m so grateful we have the scriptures to guide us toward the Atonement, but it seems to take real-life experiences to truly teach us how to live charitably and by faith. It seems we realLy did need to come to earth to learn this lesson (at least I know I did).

I, too, love how Segullah gives us a place to discuss and share our thoughts and ideas about this wonderful thing called the gospel. I feel so blessed!

“I’ve learnt to lean on the Lord more in my life ESPECIALLY because other things/people have failed.”

I think that is often what is the case — we have to learn by experience that there is no other perfect solution than to turn to the Lord…even as we might have help from other sources along the way. I don’t think we can fully put faith and trust in anyone or anything but the Lord.

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Luisa, thank you for sharing your tender thoughts about leaning on the Lord in your motherhood. I love that hymn, too.

Kay, I love that scripture, too. It’s hard sometimes to be still. And wow…what a story about your husband and his new calling!

Eric, thanks for your thoughts. I sometimes get scared when I realize how many things could go wrong. It helps me, too, to trust that God sees and knows what I don’t see and know, and that pain in our sphere is, imo, often not seen the same way through an eternal perspective.

traci. thanks for your thoughts.

Anonymouse, I have been there before, and sometimes still struggle with those kinds of questions. I have found that sometimes I have to keep praying and waiting on the Lord and doing my best with what I know until some answers distill. Hang in there!

Faith.Not.Fear, thanks for the reminder about scriptural people and how they trusted in the Lord and how He helps in different ways.

Dovie, when you find out which book it is, let us know!

Josi, I can relate to some of your questions as well. Faith can sometimes feel scary. That is something I’m working on a lot. I think it is hard sometimes, too, to find the balance between my part and God’s part. I’ll tell you this, though, I am learning that God is really smart, and that sometimes my pain has ended up having broader purposes. I’m trying to let go a little more and not hold so tightly to my visino of what life ‘should’ be. Easier said than done, though. It does help me, though, to remember that fear and faith can’t coexist, so I can know that God doesn’t want me to be afraid (again, easier said than lived!)

Rebecca, the effect of my health issues on my kids has been VERY hard for me. It’s one example of something in my journey that I have had to let go of a little, because doctors can’t really fix what’s wrong (they can’t figure out what’s wrong to know what to fix!) I keep telling myself that ‘it’s their journey, too’ — they are learning and growing; we are learning and growing as a family.

And I LOVED this: “IMO, if a trial teaches us about the atonement then we have probably found the main lesson of that trial.” Amen!

Merry Michelle, beautiful thoughts. Thank you.

Thomas, thanks for the empathy. And thanks for being willing to share some of your own struggles…we all have them. That’s something that is certain in life!

SilverRain, good point — sometimes our struggles help us gain more charity through a compassionate heart. This learning by experience business can be hard stuff!

traci: “I remember a saying from somewhere – If you hurt and do not recieve love, you become bitter, if you do recieve love, you become compassionate!” Interesting thought. Motivates me to want to be more loving!

Melissa M., thank you for sharing your powerful experiences.

Thanks everyone, for your thoughts so far.

(I love Segullah!)