Adversity

Okay, I know that this is not catching up on all the things that happened this summer, but please bear with me. I'll be getting to that.
I've learned a lot in the last few weeks. Especially last week. I've learned a lot about trusting in my Heavenly Father and relying on His knowledge for my life. I've learned about the Atonement of my Savior and how it applies to all the vicissitudes of life, even when sometimes I don't realize just how at the moment. I've learned about friends - how invaluable they are and how Christlike my friends are. I've learned about family - their caring, friendship, and to know that they always stand by me.
I've learned a lot. Adversity does that to me, I guess. Fresh trials make me realize that I can't do any of this life thing by myself. That I have to lean on my Heavenly Father and trust Him - and that there are always new things I can learn and deeper meanings to all the things I thought I had already learned.
Another thing I learn {every single time I have a new trial I re-learn this nugget of wisdom} is that there is always someone out there going through something worse than me. Case in point: Paul Cardall. This man is 36 years old and just had a heart transplant; he's suffered from a heart disease since his birth, and the doctors didn't think he'd live. I believe he waited over a year for a heart transplant. His story has touched me and really helped me put my own trials in perspective. I found this post on his blog very profound and wanted to share that with you. I also wanted to share this quote that he shares in another post from Thomas S. Monson:

"Mortality is a period of testing, a time to prove ourselves worthy to return to the presence of our Heavenly Father. In order to be tested, we must sometimes face challenges and difficulties. At times there appears to be no light at the tunnel's end—no dawn to break the night's darkness. We feel surrounded by the pain of broken hearts, the disappointment of shattered dreams, and the despair of vanished hopes. We join in uttering the biblical plea 'Is there no balm in Gilead?' (Jeremiah 8:22). We are inclined to view our own personal misfortunes through the distorted prism of pessimism. We feel abandoned, heartbroken, and alone. If you find yourself in such a situation, I plead with you to turn to our Heavenly Father in faith. He will lift you and guide you! He will not always take your afflictions from you, but He will comfort and lead you with love through whatever storm you face.”

And finally, this metaphor that Paul Cardall shares here is one I just had to share as well:
"David found a metaphor in the waves, as they would crash into the shore, some waves crashed harder while others softer. He thought of waves as trials and challenges that continually crash upon us. They don’t stop. They keep coming. For a while they calm but they return. And every now and then there’s a Tsunami."

And I would add: though a Tsunami is devastating and messy, everything is always cleaned up, the waters seem calmer when it's all over, and the lessons are eternally lasting and profound.

Thanks for letting me ramble through all of that - I needed to share my feelings on this matter and wanted to share Paul's blog.