Come What May and Love it!

Life is what you make it and right now life is great! But there are many things that I have learned this year about life- it isn’t always easy and it was never meant to be. We are put on this earth to learn and grow and part of that growth comes from trials and difficult times. However, even during those hardest times of life, we can find joy in the journey and love whatever comes our way. That is what I have learned this year. I wouldn’t have ever imagined that I would have a broken engagement, that my dad would have 3 different kinds of cancer before his 50th birthday, that my mom would wake up not able to open her eyes because of hives, that I would have to watch my sister go through 2 different surgeries, that I would lose my grandpa to cancer, or that I may never get to tell my grandma that I loved her again on this earth. It was hard to accept the things that were going on in my life but I learned what the Atonement really means and as we have gone through this Christmas season, my gratitude and love for the Savior is indescribable. I know that he went through everything that we did once in the Garden of Gethsemane and again with us this year. I wouldn’t trade this year for anything because of the things that we learned and now appreciate. I love my family more that I could ever describe. My dad has taught be about faith and trust in the Lord’s will. My mom has taught me about loving and serving others even when your life is hard. My sister has taught me to smile and laugh at everything. And my little brother and his wife have taught me to have courage and that we can do anything that we want in life. I love them all so much and because of the things that we went through tougher we have learn to say, “Come what may and love it!” Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin gave a talk about that very subject and it has become one of my favorites. I wanted to share part of that talk:

When I was young I loved playing sports, and I have many fond memories of those days. But not all of them are pleasant. I remember one day after my football team lost a tough game, I came home feeling discouraged. My mother was there. She listened to my sad story. She taught her children to trust in themselves and each other, not blame others for their misfortunes, and give their best effort in everything they attempted. When we fell down, she expected us to pick ourselves up and get going again. So the advice my mother gave to me then wasn’t altogether unexpected. It has stayed with me all my life. “Joseph,” she said, “come what may, and love it.” I have often reflected on that counsel. I think she may have meant that every life has peaks and shadows and times when it seems that the birds don’t sing and bells don’t ring. Yet in spite of discouragement and adversity, those who are happiest seem to have a way of learning from difficult times, becoming stronger, wiser, and happier as a result…Although my mother has long since passed to her eternal reward, her words are always with me. I still remember her advice to me given on that day long ago when my team lost a football game: “Come what may, and love it.” I know why there must be opposition in all things. Adversity, if handled correctly, can be a blessing in our lives. We can learn to love it. As we look for humor, seek for the eternal perspective, understand the principle of compensation, and draw near to our Heavenly Father, we can endure hardship and trial. We can say, as did my mother, “Come what may, and love it.”

My life hasn’t always what I thought it would be. It has been hard at times and it has been amazing at times. But despite what is going on I love it! We can’t really control what happens in our lives so we just need to learn to smile and say “come what may and love it!”