Problems and Hope

Life has not turned out like I expected. It's easy to despair, to feel angry; though I don't feel those ways right now. I know angry people. I don't blame them. Terrible, devastating things happen.  

When I was young, I believed in fairy tales. I thought some day, if I did everything I was supposed to do, I'd have a happily-ever-after life. Youth is a time of idealistic thinking. I knew I wouldn't be perfect, but I believed if I made mistakes or bad things happened, I could fix them, or they'd be fixed for me. Then I'd continue on with a problem-free life. 

I didn't think some of my loved ones would make different choices than I'd choose. I didn't think about mental illness, and other body problems out of my control. I didn't think about entropy and natural processes like death.

It's also easy to compare lives. Some people seem problem-free. I have learned to not feel jealous of others. You may not know their hidden pain or past and future challenges. 

When I was younger, I should have realized there would be times when I would choose not to be happy. I want to grieve when loved ones die; I want to feel empathy with those in pain; I want to feel discontent when I need to make changes; and I want to be angry when there is injustice. I want to feel negative emotions when it makes sense. Being happy all the time doesn't make sense. 

Even "Jesus wept" as the scripture says in John 11:35. He knew Lazarus would rise from the dead, but he still wept with Mary and Martha. Jesus was perfect and was not happy all the time.

This morning, I was listening to a BYU devotional on YouTube while I exercised. It was given yesterday by Kendra M. Hall-Kenyon, called "Finding Strength in the Lord." 

Hall-Kenyon begins her talk with a story about her son Max. When he was about six, they were discussing Heavenly Father's Plan and he said, 

"You can have a no-problem day, but you can't have a no-problem life!" 

Hall-Kenyon proceeded to share how we can find strength in the Lord. She tells of tender mercies, miracles, the story of Alma and his people, and what it really means to "prosper in the land." It doesn't mean we won't have problems. 

It does mean we can be comforted, supported, strengthened, and receive tender mercies and miracles along the way. The way to recognize and experience these comes when we have a firm foundation of trust in the Lord, Jesus Christ and in Heavenly Father's Plan.

I should have realized opposition would continue throughout my life no matter how good I was. The contrast of life is part of what makes it complete, vivid, and educational. It's all part of the plan. When we expect otherwise, we might think there's something wrong with us. We might think an injustice has taken place. We might have trouble accepting reality. We might try to numb, escape, or fight. Ultimately, reacting to many negative experiences that way isn't helpful. 

We can accept there will be problems in life. We can expect negative emotions sometimes. We can also have hope. We can do what we can to fix problems within our control. We can also believe there will be tender mercies, strengthening moments, miracles, interventions, blessings, and ultimately salvation through Jesus Christ.