Bear With Patience Thine Afflictions

     As I've mentioned before, I'm an assistant coach for the 14U Corner Canyon Chargers. On Friday afternoons, the boys go to a strength and agility training session. On Friday nights, we practice inside an old Sports Authority store from 9:00-11:30pm. Needless to say, the boys are pretty tired by the time we start our late practice. During our Friday night practices, our pitchers and catchers rotate through bullpen sessions while the rest of the team does defensive drills. After that, we go through short hitting stations to finish the night. One practice, it was obvious that all of our players were exhausted. They were walking instead of jogging to each new station and their swings didn't look the same. There was about 10 minutes left in practice and I encouraged each player to finish strong. Before beginning my soft toss station I reminded each player, "I know you're tired, but this is when you get better. Give me your 5 best swings right now." As I observed each player's final swings, it taught me a lot about their grit, will to work hard, and mental tenacity. The formula to success always consists of hard work, even when we are tired or struggling. Not coincidentally, the same players who finished practice strong that night were the same players who had big hits in big moments in our tournament in Las Vegas.

     Some days are more tiring than others. Sometimes we will wonder why things are happening to us, even though we've tried so hard to be good. In the book of Ether, the Brother of Jared and his family are commanded to build barges to float to the promised land. The Brother of Jared had already shown great faith while preparing the barges, to the point where he conversed with the Lord face to face. When the barges were finally prepared, they got inside and trusted the Lord to guide them where they needed to go. Ether 6:5 reads, "And it came to pass that the Lord God caused that there should be a furious wind blow upon the face of the waters, towards the promised land; and thus they were tossed upon the waves of the sea before the wind." In order to get to the promised land, the faithful servants of God were blown by a furious wind and were tossed around in the water. Later in verse 11 it reads, "And thus they were driven forth, three hundred and forty and four days upon the water." Needless to say, this was a trying experience for the Brother of Jared and his family. My favorite part about this story is when they finally arrive to the promised land. In the very next verse (12) it reads, "And they did land upon the shore of the promised land. And when they had set their feet upon the shores of the promised land they bowed themselves down upon the face of the land, and did humble themselves before the Lord, and did shed tears of joy before the Lord, because of the multitude of his tender mercies over them." I can't imagine being on the waters for almost a year, but these people turned around and thanked God as soon as they arrived to the promised land. They may have been tempted to murmur along the way saying something like, why can't we just smoothly ride to the promised land? Or, we've already worked so hard and endured a lot, why can't there be a more comfortable method of transportation? Despite their trials, they were diligent and they thanked the Lord as soon as the arrived.

     Probably the most difficult thing to overcome during trials is the temptation to turn inwards and murmur in our hearts. It's eminent that trials will come, but it's up to us to react positively. In my Utah Valley University Institute class, there was a scripture brought up that I really liked. It's found at 1 Nephi 13: 37. "And blessed are they who shall seek to bring forth my Zion at that day, for they shall have the gift and the power of the Holy Ghost; and if they endure unto the end they shall be lifted up at the last day, and shall be saved in the everlasting kingdom of the Lamb; and whoso shall publish peace, yea, tidings of great joy, how beautiful upon the mountains shall they be." The next time you are tempted to turn inward and tune out from the world, remember that the greatest joy comes from serving others. The Lord gives us trials as an invitation to remember Him and turn to Him. When we turn to Him in the midst of troubling moments, we will realize that helping others come unto Him is the best way to deal with any situation.

Photo from lds.org