Elder Neal A. Maxwell (1926–2004) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “Lest Ye Be Wearied and Faint in Your Minds,” Ensign, May 1991, 88, 90.“One’s life … cannot be both faith-filled and stress-free...Therefore, how can you and I really expect to glide naively through life, as if to say, ‘Lord, give me experience, but not grief, not sorrow, not pain, not opposition, not betrayal, and certainly not to be forsaken. Keep from me, Lord, all those experiences which made Thee what Thou art! Then let me come and dwell with Thee and fully share Thy joy!’ …Real faith … is required to endure this necessary but painful developmental process.”
Any Thoughts?
8 comments:
Love the quote. Love the acknowledgment of stress. I've got a Maxwell post in the works. I might steal your quote for it if that's okay.
wow, so true but so not what you want to hear on those awful days, lol!
Thanks for both of your comments. And Steph, steal away, it is not mine to keep anyway. :)
The quote was a great reminder to me that all of life's stress comes for a reason and a very good reason at that. Without stress and without faith we couldn't become like God. If that is what my stress can do for me I guess I can and will keep chugging along.
I thought that I commented on here with the last post but I didn't I guess. What a hard thing to go through with your son... and how true that it is totally similar to what Heavenly Father must feel.
I liked this quote by Elder Maxwell too. It's all in how you handle the pain and the stress don't you think? Pain can be totally purpose-less if we don't respond to it the right way. It's a good reminder to let those experiences shape us and refine us... not make us bitter and turn us further away. It's not very natural to respond to hard things that way, but I guess we're supposed to be getting rid of that Natural Man.
I want to thank you for sharing your testimony with the world and for your many inspirational thoughts. Keep up the great work!!
I love Neal A. Maxwell. I love listening to his talks. This quote about faith is perfect for "words of wisdom Wednesdays"
Yesterday for me was one of those stress-filled days. One "crisis" after another with each child. I tried to be patient and respond in a calm way... but after so many hours on end of my kids fighting, crying and screaming I finally snapped and resorted to shouting and yelling.
With this in mind I've been thinking about Nephi's faith to build a ship. He didn't have the tools or even the material to make tools. He didn't even have bellows to blow fire with... and amidst all this were the voices of others saying, "you're a fool", "you can't do this".
Sometimes I feel like this as a mom. I know what I need to do. But because of my upbringing and habits from a disfunctional family...I feel like I'm missing a few "tools" to handle "crisis" lovingly, creatively, and patiently.
Some days I feel the tasks at hand are much like trying to build a ship! I am learning faith one day at a time through one obstacle after another.
Through these experiences I am gaining hope. Storms don't last forever, Night always turns into day again, Not all pain is bad, Not all falls are failures and some things just take time.
I have hope in my Savior. His Grace enables me to keep trying, keep doing my best and to love my imperfect self.
Wow...I am loving these thoughts.
Ashlee, I love your thought that pain and stress can be purpose-less if we don't handle it the right way (in faith). I definitely need to work on that. So often I just tip over and forget what it is all about.
And Alicia, first of all thanks for your nice words. That made my day.
I also loved your thoughts on this quote and your personal experience. I have been in a similar boat lately. In many ways, your story sounds very familiar. I also have been trying hard to be patient and calm and sometimes things just seem never-ending and like you, sometimes I snap. So thank you so much for sharing the story of Nephi building the ship and I especially liked your word choice here - "lovingly, creatively, and patiently." You have me thinking about how to approach the situation in our house right now. Thank you.
I really love that. Its true, that we dwell with people that are like us. So if want to sit with the people that have been through experiences, we need to have them too.
I love that quote, but at the same time it makes me feel guilty. Sometimes when I'm in the middle of a trial, I just think, "When will this be over? If I can just get through this one, my life will be easier." But of course, that is what life is all about. Seeing how we react during (not after) the stresses. It's easier for me now, having experience, to see how I grew from keeping the faith during trials. I keep that in mind while I'm in the midst of a new one.
And I enjoyed reading all the comments too!
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