Perspective

There is basically one thing that gave me the strength to get through the first year, and it has also helped me through the following years as well.  What is that one thing?  Perspective.  The perspective that the doctrine taught by my church provides.  The thing I have found for me is that when you look at things with an eternal perspective, the things that might seem overwhelming here, really aren't that significant eternally. I'm not saying that the accident wasn't significant, because obviously, if it weren't, I wouldn't have written so many blogposts about it.  However, the significance of it eternally is in what it has taught us, not what it has done to us. The things that have been done to us will be fixed.  They are temporary. Here are some of the doctrines that come into play as I went through this experience.

1. Families are Forever.  Richard and I were sealed as an eternal family in a Temple of the Lord.  I knew that no matter what happened to him, he would still be my husband forever.  
   
   
   
   
   
2. Resurrection.  We believe that when we are resurrected, our bodies will be perfected. Every inperfection will be gone.  All injuries will be healed.  
   
3. Doctrine & Covenants 122: 7-8 "And if thou shouldest be cast into the pit, or into the hands or murderers, and the sentence of death pass 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.  The Son of Man hath descended below them all.  Art thou greater than he?"  From this scripture, we learn that experience is part of the plan.  There will be hard times, and many others have had harder times than we have had. We believe that we grow through those experiences and become the kind of people the Lord knows we can be.  (Maybe that is one of the main reasons that I am doing this blog, to share with others the things I have learned through my experiences.) 
4. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ all injustices will be made right. 
5. No matter what, my Heavenly Father will always be by my side as I go through difficult times, even when the situation that I am in is of my own making.  I am a daughter of God, and because of that, he will sustain me through all my life experiences. 
6. To understand how important it is to serve one another with no thought of reciprocation, even when you are in the midst of your own crisis.   Service & compassion are a big part of what we need to learn here. 
7. Priesthood blessings can bring miracles, especially if they are done by people who have the gift of healing.
8. Miracles also happen when we fast.  For some reason, when you are willing to show the Lord that you are serious enough to give up food and water for a period of time, he showers us with his love through miracles. I don't understand it completely, but I am grateful for it.
9. There are worse things than death.  
10. We have a prophet on the earth.  The first general conference after the accident, I went to the conference looking for encouragement. The man who had been president of the church and prophet for a long time had recently passed, and I needed to hear an encouraging message from the new prophet. This is what he told me ( and the rest of the church) during that conference:  "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?”6We are inclined to view our own personal misfortunes through the distorted prism of pessimism. We feel abandoned, heartbroken, 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."  I felt it was a message meant for me, and I couldn't have been more grateful.  

What has worked for me may or may not work for you. Everyone is different. Finding your own faith in challenges is one of life's many lessons. Find yours, and share what you learn.  I would love to hear what you have learned through your challenges as well.