Silver Linings

Photo by Em bé khóc nhè on Unsplash

It seems 2020 has been a year of mourning. The past few weeks I found myself once again mourning what was supposed to have been a time of family … all together at last. We’ve had a couple of these trips planned this year only to have them all canceled. I’m sure you have had similar experiences of anticipating and planning only to have them canceled.

 

I have seen such parallelism to the private and public battles we are dealing with this year woven throughout the war chapters as I’ve studied the last couple of weeks. Have you recognized them as well? I’ve had the overwhelming feeling the Nephites completely understood what it means to have a tough year (or years). Yet, tucked in the middle of their difficult years is this nugget:

 

“… there never was a happier time among the people of Nephi, since the days of Nephi, than the days of Moroni; yea even at this time, in the twenty and first year of the reign of the judges” (Alma 50:23).

 

(Did you catch it was even the twenty-first year of the reign of the judges and we are in the twenty-first year of this century?)

 

So, how amid all the wars, destruction, disappointment, and pain did the Nephites find happiness? Can you say there was never a happier time in your life than 2020?

 

In a Facebook post last week, President Nelson shared a few of “silver linings” he and his wife have found this year amid the struggle, disappointment, and sorrow (Facebook post, 5 August 2020).

  •  “Many families have re-enthroned their homes as sanctuaries of faith.”
  •  “Many better understand how important the family is and that it really is ordained of God, with an eternal destiny.”
  • “… fear, isolation, and loss can be mitigated by immersing oneself in caring for other people.”

I have pondered on the “silver linings” I have found amid the challenges this year has brought. As I began listing them, I realized mine all revolve around family and service, just as the Nelsons' discovered. I’ll share just a few.     After a decade or more of traveling at least 85% of the time, my husband found new employment that guaranteed he would be home at least 50% of the time. Because of the pandemic, he has been working from home 100% of the time since he started his new job on March 16. We haven’t spent this much uninterrupted time together ever.

  • Our home has been a refuge from the storm and a sanctuary of faith.
  • We have been able to gather in each of our children’s homes this summer. I have gained a deep testimony of the doctrine of gathering the last few years, and there is no better place to gather than in the homes of family.
  • We have a beautiful new granddaughter and a grandson due next month.
  • We have modern technology that allows us to often gather virtually with family all over the country.
  • Even amid social distancing, the Lord has provided ways for us to continue serving others.

Rather than focusing on what might have been, I am choosing to embrace happiness in the hard things. What silver linings have you found amid the storms this year? I encourage you to make your own 2020 silver linings list.

 

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