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.

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Roma - day 2

Image
Our first night sleeping here was quite an adventure.  We are staying in a wonderful hotel that is kind of a cross between a B&B and a hotel.  They gave us a lovely room at the front of the hotel.  Last night our air conditioning wasn't working for some reason.  When we returned to our room last night, the room was extremely hot and stuffy, so we had to sleep with the window open.  The temperature was great, but it meant that we heard all the going ons on the street below.  We went to bed late enough that it was not a problem falling asleep.  Neither of us slept soundly until the early hours of the morning.  Just before 8 I was jarred from a deep sleep when the garbage man dumped a trash can full of bottles into his truck.  Once I got my bearings and my heart had slowed down a bit, I looked over to find Mike sound asleep with his noise-canceling headphones on.  Smart man!  We love the noise of the street during the day when we'r...
Read more

"then came Jesus"

Image
As Conference ended Sunday evening, I sat for a time trying to make sense of all the thoughts running through my head. I believe COVID-19 has everyone mourning something right now. It might be your daughter’s last prom or your son’s graduation. Perhaps it’s a canceled wedding reception or missing the birth of a grandchild. All of us are feeling the ache of missing out on something. We all are feeling cut off from the people and things we love. There is so much to mourn right now. Yet, as I sat there Sunday evening trying to unravel my thoughts, the only words that came to me were HOPE and LOVE. Not just any love, but the all-encompassing love that comes only from our Father above. I have found these two words woven throughout my studies this week as I have focused on the people who witnessed the events of the Holy Week firsthand. Yesterday I studied the story of Thomas (see John 20:24-29). Like all of us, he felt the ache of missing out on something big. Des...
Read more

General Conference Preparation #3

Image
When I was younger, my parents could not afford to buy our family a television. They scrimped and saved for six months and rented a TV for a weekend twice a year, so we could watch General Conference. The anticipation for those weekends was almost like Christmas. I loved conference weekends: the anticipation and magic of the television, the love I felt, which I now also realize was the abundance of the Spirit, and we always closed the weekend with root beer floats. "Traditions cement families together and give them the strength to handle whatever comes their way." ( Mormon.org ) Traditions unify and create a sense of belonging. They create memories and provide learning opportunities. Traditions also create security in an ever-changing world. The Spirit helped me understand traditions were an important ingredient in creating a family-building and bonding weekend each spring and fall as we gathered to participate in General Conference. Some traditions are passed down from ge...
Read more