Week 4, Day 6: In the Patience Comes the Lesson

Weird story. I was sitting in sacrament meeting today and my mind sort of drifted. (I was on the stand, so it may have seemed awkward.) In this drifting, I had a conversation with a friend. I don't know if this is abnormal, but it happens to me sometimes. It's as though the person is there with me in my mind, but I can control what they say as well. I think it satisfies my desire to be in control of things in some sick way.
Anyway...

In this conversation, he was trying to make a decision, and I was of course counseling him. As the conversation went on, he was feeling discouraged about something in his life, and into my mind came this counsel:

"In the patience comes the lesson."

I don't know why, but I think this sums up what this past year of my life has been: my mortal training ground. It was such a wonderful thing to be reminded of once again. I am here for a gloriously-eternal reason. All that has happened to my life is pointed toward the creation of my faith and trust in an eternal and loving Father. That faith could never be created if I was not asked to wait upon the promises of the Lord. No lessons could be learned if ours was a God of instant gratification.

As I continue in life and seek to trust in His plan, the words of one of my all-time favorite talks (Continue in Patience) comes to mind:

There is an important concept here: patience is not passive resignation, nor is it failing to act because of our fears. Patience means active waiting and enduring. It means staying with something and doing all that we can—working, hoping, and exercising faith; bearing hardship with fortitude, even when the desires of our hearts are delayed. Patience is not simply enduring; it is enduring well!

The lesson is not taught nor learned by sitting back and letting the Lord do the work... because He won't. He, as He did with the brother of Jared, asks us to engage in the work of going forward and seeking the proper tools, knowledge and information, and He will confirm or reject our steps. The scary part is that He sometimes does let us fall.

Tonight, as I talked with my sister-in-law and she shared with me some of her worries about the future of their family, I was so grateful for the things I have learned in my own path. Although I don't know exactly what they are facing, I am all too familiar with fears and worries and doubts. But I also know that facing those things in the strength of the Lord will help us form our eternal character.

So to Paige I say, dear sister, fear not. The Lord will stand by you. He has not failed you yet. Afterall, in the patience comes the glorious lesson. It will all work out.