Saturday, March 5, 2011

"For Thy Good"

If thou art called to pass through tribulation....
And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.  (D&C 122: 5, 7)
The above scripture goes on to say that our Savior has risen above all of these horrible things.  Which is absolutely true and something to always remember.  But I get stuck at the end of this passage.

"...Know thou ... that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good."

The other day I got a call from my SIL as she was worried about her little boy.  The next day or so I got a call from a neighbor who needed help with her injured daughter.

As usual, this got me thinking.

Lots of crappy things have happened in our house lately.  Nothing earth shattering, but crappy.  As the days have gone by, the only thought that has carried me through was the upcoming vacation.  We made plans to go to San Diego.  It's near enough that we can get there within a few hours but far enough that we would be on vacation.  Then we thought we'd do more of a stay-cation so we could save some money and get a few things like a play set for the kids in the backyard. 

Then Josh cleaned the bathtub.

Yep, I'm gross and lazy.  I hate cleaning the bathtub and only do it if I have to.  So Josh did it.  And he found what had once been a small hairline crack in the tub has become a split that may be leaking into the subflooring beneath the tub. 

Now we have our vacation funds invested in the tub that is on its way from Home Depot.  Our children are still being watched by my parents (thank goodness) and Josh and I hope to still find some time to see a movie and go out to dinner a few times.  But that's the extent of it.  The linoleum on the floor is peeling and needs to be replaced, so we might as well do it at the same time.  This is going to be a long and semi-expensive fix. 

This sucks.  I'm not happy about it.  And once, just once, I thought to myself, Why did this have to happen?

"...[To] give thee experience..."

I don't know why those wonderful women called me, but I'm glad they did.  And I'm glad I could help them.  The reason why I could (okay, Josh helped the neighbor's daughter, but I recruited him) was because I have some experience in this life.  If someone is experiencing something crappy, I probably have a touch of empathy to share. 

I think that's why we live through tough times.  It teaches us so we can more readily love others.  We can be on call for when one of our family members or friends needs us. 

I am quickly becoming an expert on:
Kids that don't know how to control their tempers
The function of the heart
Non-existent adult teeth
Moles and poor family health histories
Repeating 1st grade
Kidney transplants
New houses that were mass produced and cheaply applianced
The daily grind of life weighing you down
The judgment of others while I try to do my job at church

And those are just the issues so far in 2011.

Really, I'm not complaining.  Honestly.  This was an Ah-ha moment for me.  I'm still gaining experience.  And that experience may suck while I'm dealing with it, but maybe someday I'll be able to do some good because of it.  Maybe this crappiness won't be in vain.  I hope.  I really, truly do.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

As a person who has, at times, learned from your experience, I thank you! It may not be what has happened to you that I learn from, but how you have handled yourself through that turbulent time that I am able to learn the most.

Sometimes it's not what we're going through that is the test, but how we deal with it.

Know that we love you and your family and hope that sometime soon we will be able to come and visit, and maybe share some of our experience with you!

Merinda Reeder said...

Have I said lately that I love you? Nope. probably not. I'm extremely glad that you're there with experience in the function of the heart, and a whole heap of other important stuff.
And now, hey! Bathroom renovations!
Thanks for your experience in surprise C-sections, too. I was thinking of your sagacity a lot during the last few days.

Jeri Dawn said...

Sagacity? I had to look that one up Tech.

Shelly, maybe you could turn your bathroom renovation into a romantic stay-at-home renovation (sounds like a great idea for a new reality show). Work a bit, play a bit, be romantic a bit. Enjoy the experience of making something new with your husband...not the same as Cali. but still funnish. Get creative--the Shelly I know can be wildly and fantastically creative.

Good luck...you're in my prayers.