You Get to Keep the Joy

I've been struggling with things in my life feeling unsettled or not happening when I want them to. There are several people I know from church or elsewhere who are dealing with mysterious health challenges like I have gone through with my son. I shared some of these thoughts in testimony meeting last week and had been meaning to type them in my journal:

"And let us not be weary in well doing; for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." Galatians 6:9

"Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceeded that which is great." D&C 64:33

We have no idea how long it took Noah to build the ark or any of the other miraculously epic accomplishments that we read about in the scriptures, not to mention the women who had miracle children in their old age after years of infertility. A journey of a thousand miles is made up of single steps combined with a vision of what God wants for you. This is God's pattern in everything, including the development of a fetus, then a child, growth of a tree, construction of a building, family, or organization. You can't rush things and you can't skip steps. When someone appears to have an overnight conversion or a miraculous healing, there are many small steps that have laid the foundation for it, helped the person build their faith, or prepared the person to receive it. There are many among us who are struggling with seemingly intractable health or other challenges. Five years ago I embarked on a desperate search to get my son to stop trying to constantly hit himself. After one year of medical consultations, meds that didn't work, karate helmets and boxing gloves, a lot of blood and bruises when he wiggled out of his protective gear, and several nearly broken noses for me, I finally found someone who knew how to help him. My son has been improving gradually for the past four years, and for the past year he has only tried to hit himself once a week instead of every twenty minutes, and he calms down almost instantly. I testify that the atonement of Jesus Christ is real and washes away all pain and sorrow, but you get to keep the lessons and the joy!