Trials and Tribulations

What do people blog about? Why do people blog? Okay, I admit it.... I am a blog stalker. I have several blogs that I read on a regular basis. A lot of them are about the lives of people with different challenges that have become very public and visible through their blogs. Most of these blogs started out as a way to keep family and friends updated, as well as a forum to request thoughts, prayers, and support. Through my reads, I have come to "know" these people whom I have never met, nor will I probably ever meet, but they have become a regular part of my prayers. These people blog about what they love, their families, careers, political views,they blog about illness, heartache, loss, love, comedy, some are light and filled with fluff, others are angry rants. Some are filled with sorrow, others with hope. I am certainly NOT a writer, so I hope that as I try to express my thoughts and feelings, they are relatively understandable and clear, without too many ramblings. As I was contemplating starting a blog,I read a couple of books about them, and I generally just wanted to keep some sort of a journal about my life, and to share pictures and updates with my family and friends that may not be geographically close to me. One of the suggestions that I read, was to blog about something that you are passionate about. What am I truly passionate about?? I love my family, so that is where I start. I have been thinking a lot lately about the different trials and tribulations that we each face in our lives. We all struggle with something. Sometimes, we see or know people, who from the outside, look as though they are totally put together. They appear to be happy, healthy, functional people. But do we know what goes on behind closed doors? Do we really know our family, friends, and neighbors? As I have been reading my favorite blogs, many of these people have let us in. They have made their trials public, we see the pictures, we read the stories of heartbreak and joy, their trials become embedded in our thoughts and prayers. I wonder where they find the strength to carry on, to go forward, to have hope, but they do. They find strength in their prayers, our prayers, just sharing their stories sometimes lightens their burdens. We also become aware of our own strengths through theirs. I don't know how I could survive the things that some of these incredible families have been through. It makes me keenly aware of my own blessings, how I should be grateful EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. that my children are healthy and with me here on this earth. I know that Heavenly Father loves us so much, He is rooting for us, we have been incredibly blessed with the gift of the Atonement. Jesus Christ has suffered all for us, he has given us a way to hold on, to keep going, even when our trials seem unbearable. All of us struggle with something,Sometimes things happen to us because we live in a telestial world, sometimes telestial things happen to our DNA as we are developing in the womb, we face illnesses, loss, things that just happen.... some trials are self imposed by the choices that we make, some trials that we have are the result of other peoples choices, and others are given to us to "refine" us. Our lives are made up of the hands that we are "dealt" as well as the ones we have chosen. Some lead lives seemingly free of big problems or public trials, and some of have more private trials. I am certainly not grateful for my trials, but I have learned from them, and I know that through the atonement, I can get through them, no matter how hard they seem. We struggled with infertility and loss for 5 years, now we have 3 beautiful, healthy children that I love with all my heart. That trial has passed, and I learned many valuable things from those years of struggle. New trials show up constantly. I face struggles every single day, sometimes I don't think I will make it through, but a wise Visiting Teacher shared something with me that her mom always told her growing up "how do you eat an elephant? one step at a time" One day at a time, sometimes even just one moment at a time. Endure to the end, not just until it gets hard, but to the end. The Lord knows us individually, he loves us infinitly, and He gives us the strength to carry on and go forward. Through my blog reading, I am amazed and humbled by the strength of human kind. I know that God loves us, and I know that He does hear and answer our prayers.