Perspective
It's been a little while, once again. It's been a busy time of year with the holidays and that's made it a little difficult for me to find the time and energy to post on here. However, I've had some thoughts stewing around in my mind and I thought I'd share my thoughts on perspective today. Now that Christmas is over...I finally have time. And thank heavens Christmas is over, right?! Christmas just isn't what it used to be. Christmas is filled with buying presents, running gifts, running to parties all over the place, all sorts of cooking...it's just too much and the season simply isn't enjoyable anymore. Well... Not in my opinion. I absolutely love Christmas and the season. However, I can't tell you how many times I heard a conversation go something like this in December...
Person #1: "Are you ready for Christmas?"
Person #2: "Uh yeah...ready for it to be over."
Person #1: "Tell me about it."
Let me pose this question... What is the purpose of Christmas? Well... Christmas was established as the day of the year that the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was and is to be celebrated. If we lose sight of that purpose (meaning that our perspective has shifted) then the season potentially loses that special, magical feeling. You see, if we allow our thoughts, our perspective, to focus on the hustle and bustle of the season, then clearly everyone has a right to be excited for the season to be over with. December is a busy time of the year and I think everyone would agree with that. But should we allow the busyness of the holiday season to change our perspective?
To answer that last question, I want to talk about the movie "Alexander and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day". I absolutely love this movie and watched it just last night in fact. The basis of the movie is that Alexander is an 11 year old student who continually gets picked on and has bad days. In contrast to that, the rest of his family seems to always be on cloud nine and things seem to always go their way. For his 12th birthday, Alexander wishes that everyone in his family could just experience a "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day". His wish, miraculously, comes true...to an extent. As the following day plays out, it seems that nothing is going anyone's way, with the exception of Alexander. It's almost the best day of his life. The rest of his family deals with turmoil and disaster that is seemingly relentless. As the destruction seems to hit its apex in the afternoon, Alexander admits to his family what he wished for. As the conversation goes on, the point is made that it hasn't been the smoothest of days, but that they as individuals failed to handle things appropriately. In other words, their perspective shifted to all that was bad in their lives as opposed to all that is good in their lives. This would suggest that if they had maintained the proper perspective, the day wouldn't have been as stressful, "bad", etc.
So, back to my question. Should we allow the busyness of the holiday season to change our perspective? Absolutely not. At least that's my opinion. Bad days will come, just as Alexander's family experienced. But before their horrible day was through, they had righted the ship, regained perspective, and all went home happy. The Christmas season will continue to change and morph into something that may not fully resemble what Christmas used to be, but if we keep our focus on Christ and maintain the proper perspective, the holiday season can continue to be enjoyed...just like Christmases of past.
What does this have to do with my journey? Well a fair amount. You see... I've had a lot of people say that they wish they could take this burden away from me and/or from my family. I don't think there is anything inherently wrong with that desire. I think that it demonstrates a love and a desire to allow us to more fully enjoy our lives. But should this trial that we are dealing with...or any trial that anyone is dealing with...be allowed to shift our focus from that joy? Are we to assume that joy can only be experienced if our lives are trial free? Well some people might think that. Some individuals might suggest that certain trials are harder than others and, because of that, some trials make it harder to find joy in daily living. I suppose that if we allow that to be true, then it is. However, I suggest that if we strive to maintain the proper perspective through our trials, then life can be enjoyed no matter what we are going through. President Hinckley once said "Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he's been robbed. The fact is that most putts don't drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to just be people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, most jobs are more often dull than otherwise... The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride". We could all benefit from his prophetic counsel. The way I see it...there are numerous individuals in this world that would give anything to be in my position. Yes, I have stage four cancer. However, I have the Gospel of Jesus Christ, my wife, my family, a job, a safe and comfortable home, clothes, food, clean water, a wonderful community and support system...the list goes on and on. If I allow my trial to consume my every thought and shift my perspective, I will undoubtedly neglect to recognize, acknowledge, and enjoy the wonderful blessings that I have received.
I want to share one other thought on this notion of taking trials away from individuals. I think that if we all had the proper perspective, we would never want to do that. We may want to help others carry their burdens, but we would never want to take them away. The purpose of this life is to gain experience. We all understood that in the premortal existence. We knew that our loving Heavenly Father had designed a plan that would allow all of His children to come to this world to receive a body and to gain knowledge through experience. Well...how do we gain experience? If life was smooth sailing and everything just worked out, I'm not so sure we'd learn a whole lot. As a coach, I never liked to lose. However, I found that in general, I learned more from the losses than I did from the wins. Losing exposed weaknesses and flaws in our team and tactics. If we just won all the time, sure, we'd win a state championship, but I'm not sure the team would grow a whole lot over the course of that season.
I recently read Elder Paul V. Johnson's General Conference address from April 2011. It's titled "More Than Conquerors through Him That Loved Us". He talks about the nature of this life...that we all have to face trials, some of which can be devastating. I know that many individuals wonder why we have to face these trials. In his address he states the following: "Sometimes we want to have growth without challenges and to develop strength without any struggle. But growth cannot come by taking the easy way. We clearly understand that an athlete who resists rigorous training will never become a world-class athlete. We must be careful that we don't resent the very things that help us put on the divine nature. Not one of the trials and tribulations we face is beyond our limits, because we have access to help from the Lord. We can do all things through Christ, who strengthens us." We cannot grow if we do not have trials. And is it vitally important that we remember that trials are allowed to come into our lives for the sole purpose of benefiting us. That can be difficult, but it's something we should all work toward.
It is important that we remember why we are given trials. If we lose that perspective, the trials don't benefit us. Elder Johnson says, "Trials are not just to test us. They are vitally important to the process of putting on the divine nature. If we handle these afflictions properly, they will be consecrated for our gain.". That is a vital bit of doctrine. If we endure and experience our trials well, they will be consecrated for our gain. But what does that mean? Well...if we simply give in to our trials and let them win, what good do they do us? If we run from challenges, how do we learn and grow? As we learn to face our trials and burdens with the right attitude and the proper perspective, we put ourselves in a position for the Lord to mold us. We allow Him to further purify and refine us. If we do that, our trials are for our gain.
I love what Elder Johnson says about returning to the other side of the veil. He states the following: "Someday when we get to the other side of the veil, we want more than for someone to just tell us, 'Well, you're done.' Instead, we want the Lord to say, 'Well done, though good and faithful servant.'" I don't want to just coast through this life and be told that I'm done when I get back to my Heavenly Father. I want to learn how to maintain the proper perspective through my trials and I want to be able and willing to endure my trials with an attitude of willing submission so that I can be molded, refined, and purified so as to become more like the Master.
I've learned that it can be difficult to allow loved ones to suffer difficulty and hardship. Imagine how Heavenly Father feels on a daily basis as he watches billions of His children all deal with trials and tribulations. His restraint would have to be perfect (which it is) in order to allow His children to learn through experience without taking it all away. While Heavenly Father can't and won't take our suffering away, He has provided us with many tools to help us through the struggles and trials. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to this world to bear the sins of the world. Because Christ did that, He can perfectly succor each one of us, if we are willing to turn to Him. That is the greatest gift any of us could ever ask for. That's why Christmas is so important. That's why we must fight to maintain the proper perspective during the Christmas season. Without Christ, none of us have a reason to rejoice or enjoy this life. However, because He came and because He willingly submitted to all things, we can return to live with our Heavenly Father again. There is no other way that this can be accomplished.
I want everyone to know how grateful I am for the love and support that I have been shown since my diagnosis. I also want everyone to know how grateful I am for this trial. It is a challenging one, but because of this trial I have grown closer to my Father in Heaven, closer to my Savior, closer to the Holy Ghost, closer to my wife, and closer to my friends and family. What wonderful blessings this trial has brought into my life. I've learned so much over the last three months and I look forward to many more years of growth from this trial.
God is real. He is aware of all of us. His Son, our Savior, died that we might live. I testify that as we all seek Him out, we will all be comforted in our times of need and provided with what we need to one day return to live with Him. I bear this witness in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Person #1: "Are you ready for Christmas?"
Person #2: "Uh yeah...ready for it to be over."
Person #1: "Tell me about it."
Let me pose this question... What is the purpose of Christmas? Well... Christmas was established as the day of the year that the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was and is to be celebrated. If we lose sight of that purpose (meaning that our perspective has shifted) then the season potentially loses that special, magical feeling. You see, if we allow our thoughts, our perspective, to focus on the hustle and bustle of the season, then clearly everyone has a right to be excited for the season to be over with. December is a busy time of the year and I think everyone would agree with that. But should we allow the busyness of the holiday season to change our perspective?
To answer that last question, I want to talk about the movie "Alexander and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day". I absolutely love this movie and watched it just last night in fact. The basis of the movie is that Alexander is an 11 year old student who continually gets picked on and has bad days. In contrast to that, the rest of his family seems to always be on cloud nine and things seem to always go their way. For his 12th birthday, Alexander wishes that everyone in his family could just experience a "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day". His wish, miraculously, comes true...to an extent. As the following day plays out, it seems that nothing is going anyone's way, with the exception of Alexander. It's almost the best day of his life. The rest of his family deals with turmoil and disaster that is seemingly relentless. As the destruction seems to hit its apex in the afternoon, Alexander admits to his family what he wished for. As the conversation goes on, the point is made that it hasn't been the smoothest of days, but that they as individuals failed to handle things appropriately. In other words, their perspective shifted to all that was bad in their lives as opposed to all that is good in their lives. This would suggest that if they had maintained the proper perspective, the day wouldn't have been as stressful, "bad", etc.
So, back to my question. Should we allow the busyness of the holiday season to change our perspective? Absolutely not. At least that's my opinion. Bad days will come, just as Alexander's family experienced. But before their horrible day was through, they had righted the ship, regained perspective, and all went home happy. The Christmas season will continue to change and morph into something that may not fully resemble what Christmas used to be, but if we keep our focus on Christ and maintain the proper perspective, the holiday season can continue to be enjoyed...just like Christmases of past.
What does this have to do with my journey? Well a fair amount. You see... I've had a lot of people say that they wish they could take this burden away from me and/or from my family. I don't think there is anything inherently wrong with that desire. I think that it demonstrates a love and a desire to allow us to more fully enjoy our lives. But should this trial that we are dealing with...or any trial that anyone is dealing with...be allowed to shift our focus from that joy? Are we to assume that joy can only be experienced if our lives are trial free? Well some people might think that. Some individuals might suggest that certain trials are harder than others and, because of that, some trials make it harder to find joy in daily living. I suppose that if we allow that to be true, then it is. However, I suggest that if we strive to maintain the proper perspective through our trials, then life can be enjoyed no matter what we are going through. President Hinckley once said "Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he's been robbed. The fact is that most putts don't drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to just be people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, most jobs are more often dull than otherwise... The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride". We could all benefit from his prophetic counsel. The way I see it...there are numerous individuals in this world that would give anything to be in my position. Yes, I have stage four cancer. However, I have the Gospel of Jesus Christ, my wife, my family, a job, a safe and comfortable home, clothes, food, clean water, a wonderful community and support system...the list goes on and on. If I allow my trial to consume my every thought and shift my perspective, I will undoubtedly neglect to recognize, acknowledge, and enjoy the wonderful blessings that I have received.
I want to share one other thought on this notion of taking trials away from individuals. I think that if we all had the proper perspective, we would never want to do that. We may want to help others carry their burdens, but we would never want to take them away. The purpose of this life is to gain experience. We all understood that in the premortal existence. We knew that our loving Heavenly Father had designed a plan that would allow all of His children to come to this world to receive a body and to gain knowledge through experience. Well...how do we gain experience? If life was smooth sailing and everything just worked out, I'm not so sure we'd learn a whole lot. As a coach, I never liked to lose. However, I found that in general, I learned more from the losses than I did from the wins. Losing exposed weaknesses and flaws in our team and tactics. If we just won all the time, sure, we'd win a state championship, but I'm not sure the team would grow a whole lot over the course of that season.
I recently read Elder Paul V. Johnson's General Conference address from April 2011. It's titled "More Than Conquerors through Him That Loved Us". He talks about the nature of this life...that we all have to face trials, some of which can be devastating. I know that many individuals wonder why we have to face these trials. In his address he states the following: "Sometimes we want to have growth without challenges and to develop strength without any struggle. But growth cannot come by taking the easy way. We clearly understand that an athlete who resists rigorous training will never become a world-class athlete. We must be careful that we don't resent the very things that help us put on the divine nature. Not one of the trials and tribulations we face is beyond our limits, because we have access to help from the Lord. We can do all things through Christ, who strengthens us." We cannot grow if we do not have trials. And is it vitally important that we remember that trials are allowed to come into our lives for the sole purpose of benefiting us. That can be difficult, but it's something we should all work toward.
It is important that we remember why we are given trials. If we lose that perspective, the trials don't benefit us. Elder Johnson says, "Trials are not just to test us. They are vitally important to the process of putting on the divine nature. If we handle these afflictions properly, they will be consecrated for our gain.". That is a vital bit of doctrine. If we endure and experience our trials well, they will be consecrated for our gain. But what does that mean? Well...if we simply give in to our trials and let them win, what good do they do us? If we run from challenges, how do we learn and grow? As we learn to face our trials and burdens with the right attitude and the proper perspective, we put ourselves in a position for the Lord to mold us. We allow Him to further purify and refine us. If we do that, our trials are for our gain.
I love what Elder Johnson says about returning to the other side of the veil. He states the following: "Someday when we get to the other side of the veil, we want more than for someone to just tell us, 'Well, you're done.' Instead, we want the Lord to say, 'Well done, though good and faithful servant.'" I don't want to just coast through this life and be told that I'm done when I get back to my Heavenly Father. I want to learn how to maintain the proper perspective through my trials and I want to be able and willing to endure my trials with an attitude of willing submission so that I can be molded, refined, and purified so as to become more like the Master.
I've learned that it can be difficult to allow loved ones to suffer difficulty and hardship. Imagine how Heavenly Father feels on a daily basis as he watches billions of His children all deal with trials and tribulations. His restraint would have to be perfect (which it is) in order to allow His children to learn through experience without taking it all away. While Heavenly Father can't and won't take our suffering away, He has provided us with many tools to help us through the struggles and trials. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to this world to bear the sins of the world. Because Christ did that, He can perfectly succor each one of us, if we are willing to turn to Him. That is the greatest gift any of us could ever ask for. That's why Christmas is so important. That's why we must fight to maintain the proper perspective during the Christmas season. Without Christ, none of us have a reason to rejoice or enjoy this life. However, because He came and because He willingly submitted to all things, we can return to live with our Heavenly Father again. There is no other way that this can be accomplished.
I want everyone to know how grateful I am for the love and support that I have been shown since my diagnosis. I also want everyone to know how grateful I am for this trial. It is a challenging one, but because of this trial I have grown closer to my Father in Heaven, closer to my Savior, closer to the Holy Ghost, closer to my wife, and closer to my friends and family. What wonderful blessings this trial has brought into my life. I've learned so much over the last three months and I look forward to many more years of growth from this trial.
God is real. He is aware of all of us. His Son, our Savior, died that we might live. I testify that as we all seek Him out, we will all be comforted in our times of need and provided with what we need to one day return to live with Him. I bear this witness in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
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