Spiritual Weight-Lifting

Hello again. This post is going to be a bit different. Yesterday I was reading in my scriptures and had some thoughts that I was wanting to share. Hopefully I will not come across as overbearing and you will be able to bear with me while I stumble on in my words. In Alma 62:41 it says, "But behold, because of the exceedingly great length of the war between the Nephites and the Lamanites many had become hardened, because of the exceedingly great length of the war; and many were softened because of their afflictions, insomuch that they did humble themselves before God, even in the depth of humility."

Right after reading this I noticed that it said some people had become hardened because of their afflictions while others were softened and humbled. I had the thought that it is not whether or not I have afflictions in my life that make me happy or sad or weak or strong, it is my attitude.  What am I going to do with the trials that pass my way?

I remembered back to when I was in my weights class in high school and thought of what I had learned there. I determined that afflictions can be compared to weight-lifting. What am I going to do with those weights? I can do one of two things: I can a) lift the weights improperly and drop it on my foot, causing harm and a great deal of pain to my body, or b) lift the weights properly and use them to strengthen my body. No matter what I choose, the choice is mine. I will never be forced one way or another; but in the end, I cannot grow stronger without them. The same can be said of afflictions. I have two choices: I can use those afflictions improperly by having a negative attitude, which will only hurt me, or I can use those afflictions to my advantage and grow stronger and wiser. Either way, the choice will always be mine, and I cannot grow stronger without them. It is as President Dieter F. Uchtdorf said in his April 2010 talk entitled, "Your Happily Ever After,":

"The scriptures tell us there must be opposition in all things, for without it we could not discern the sweet from the bitter....In stories, as in life, adversity teaches us things we cannot learn otherwise. Adversity helps to develop a depth of character that comes in no other way. Our loving Heavenly Father has set us in a world filled with challenges and trials so that we, through opposition, can learn wisdom, become stronger, and experience joy."

(You can read Elder Uchtdorf's entire talk here.)

Let me add more to my weight-lifting analogy. Assume that I decide to use the weights properly; I make the choice to use them to make me stronger. I start the grueling process of lifting, pushing and pulling those weights day after day after day. At first, it is difficult and painful. But as I press forward, it gradually becomes easier to bear and the pain eases. After a while it is no longer as difficult and I have grown stronger as a result. However, if I want to continue to progress, I must choose heavier weights and start the whole process over again. As the weight that I lift gets heavier and harder to bear, the need for a "spotter" may become necessary. In weight lifting, a "spotter" is a person who stands by while you weight-lift, ready to catch the weights should you get tired and struggle to lift them, thereby preventing the weights from dropping and falling on you, which would cause severe injury. 

Applying this analogy again to the spiritual side of things, afflictions are especially difficult to bear in the beginning and it can seem a long and overbearing burden I have been asked to carry. But if I press forward in faith, the burden will become easier to bear and I will be strengthened spiritually. Granted, it is my opinion that perhaps as I overcome one trial I may be given another, even more difficult trial, but with faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ, who is my "spotter," I can lift those burdens that seem impossible on my own.

Hopefully I will not wait until the weight is too difficult to carry before I turn to Christ. In weight-lifting it would only make sense to choose a spotter who has lifted the same weight as you and greater, so they can help you lift yours when it becomes too difficult to do on your own. Christ, who is my "spotter," has carried my burden, and other burdens much heavier than my own. He has carried the greatest burden of all, that is to take upon Him mine and everyone else's sins and burdens and die for all of God's children, enabling me to return to live with my Heavenly Father, if I will but choose to follow Him. But even if I do wait to ask for help, it is NEVER too late to turn to Him!

"...for I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day."

-Alma 36:3.

Long Time No See!

Hey! Long time no see! The past year got away from me and has been rather chaotic. But to summarize our life over the past year in a few short sentences, since I last wrote Luke was finally able to get a job in mid-February of this year at a factory called Freshway Foods. His job was to chop vegetables and bag them. Fun fun! He was working "second shift" but because they were so short on workers it was really second and third shift that he was required to work. So from 4:30 p.m. to at least 2:30 a.m. and very often it was more like 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m.  But luckily after a little over a month at that job he was blessed with a recruiting job at Russ Hadick & Associates in Dayton. He searches for people to fill engineering jobs at various different companies. He has been working there since the beginning of April and he loves it! Much better than chopping onions! 

Shortly after he got the job we moved into a house that Luke's parents are renting out. However that did not last long because of two reasons: 1) There were several problems with the house as a result of previous bad tenants, and 2) Luke's drive to and from work is just too long. It takes him about an hour and a half just to drive home from work! Traffic is horrible....as well as gas prices. So last Saturday we moved out of the rental and back in with Luke's parents while we wait for our townhouse down in Centerville to become available. We will be moving there September 20. 

The other big event that has happened this year is that in May we lost our car. On this special day, Luke was driving home from work in a really bad rainstorm. It rained so much that one of the cities through which Luke had to drive got 4 1/2 inches of rain in 30 minutes, causing flash flooding in the streets and parking lots. It was in this particular city that Luke happened to be driving through right when the flooding was at its worst. As he got farther into the city, the streets got worse, so looking over at a nearby store parking lot, he saw other cars that were out of danger and decided to pull in there for a while to wait off the worst of the storm. He drove into the parking lot, saw a parked car that was sitting in only about three inches of water and tried to pull into the spot next to said car. Well, as he pulled in into the parking spot, he realized too late that it wasn't a "spot" after all, but a big hole! As you can guess, the car immediately was partially submerged in about 4-5 feet of water. So Luke forced the door open, and simultaneously letting all the water into the car and ruining the interior. He and a friendly stranger who saw he needed help tried to push the car out of the water, but to no avail. He ended having to call his dad to come and pick him up and bring him home, but when his dad arrived, the streets were so flooded that he couldn't drive out to where Luke was and so Luke had to wade out to meet him. Needless to say, by the time he finally got home, it had been a rough day. In case you're wondering, the car was totaled.  But we like to look at it as a blessing in disguise because we were needing a bigger vehicle anyway but weren't sure how we were going to get one, so this gave us the opportunity and excuse we needed, plus it cut our car payment in half. Happy day! 

As far as kid updates are concerned, there isn't a whole lot to report that's new. Brian turned 4 in March. We decided to keep him out of school for another year because of the moving situation so we will see what the next school year holds for him. Alli turned 2 in February and is a character. She is always goofing off and keeping me on my toes! We are currently working on potty-training her. Rosalie turned 1 in June, says a few words, has 4 teeth, crawls around in super-fast mode at all times, and is trying to stand and walk on her own. She is ALWAYS happy! 

So that is the basic update with my family over the past year. I must through a shout-out thank-you to everyone who has given us so much help, support, and kindness over the past year---really more like three years---we never would have made it without all of you! Thank you! Hopefully I will be able to post some pictures soon. My camera is currently not working and I have not yet figured out how to move the pictures from my phone to the computer using itunes or icloud or whatever it is that does that (I am not always the most technologically-savvy person you will ever meet). I'll figure something out though! :)