Gratitude for Trials

For most of you who know me, you know that I generally have an early bedtime, so to be awake and writing at this time of night is a rarity. However, there is reason for my being up late. Tonight started out as a less than average night. I came home from work tired and worn out as usual to Dave, who was not so happy with me because of a little disagreement we had earlier in the day. So after sitting down for the night, we began a discussion talking about where we're at in life, where we're at in our marriage, and what things we need to work on right now. Although the discussion started out with more frustrations than anything, it ended on a really good note and with an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for what our Heavenly Father has given us.

As I've mentioned in a previous post, the beginning months and years of our marriage have had their fill of trials (as do most). Through this time, as we've suffered from multiple job losses and trouble getting pregnant and watched others our age seem to have success with both matters, we have wondered why these specific trials are those that we've had to face. I grew up in a home where my father had the same job for 30 years and layoffs were not something I understood. Dave has grown up as a hard worker who has always been valued for his strong work ethic and never thought that holding a job would be a challenge he'd have to face. And yet here we are, two years into our marriage, with three job losses already and an overwhelming question in our minds wondering if job stability will ever be something that we will be able to experience.

During these specific trials, I have listened to many people speak about their gratitude for the trials they have been given and the blessings that have accompanied those trials. And I have continually wondered how they could be grateful. I honestly never thought that I would come to a time in my life when I would be grateful these specific challenges I have been given. I had lost hope that I would ever see the blessings from these times.

Finally, tonight, it all clicked for me. As we have talked about our struggling economy and the large amounts of people who are also experiencing job losses, I couldn't help but feel grateful that these challenges have come at this time in our lives. There are so many people out there who have lost jobs while they have had large families to support and large bills to pay. Although we have suffered job loss, we have been lucky to experience it while we're young, without children, and while I am still working with an income.

And I realize that just because we have experienced layoffs early in life doesn't mean we will be immune to them later in life. But how grateful I am that we have learned how to deal with these challenges so that we will know how to face them in the future. I also think about how grateful I am for these life lessons that we have gained at such a young age. We are being taught how to live within our means and prepare for ourselves for any upcoming struggles in our economy and in turn within our family.

I can finally say that I truly feel blessed for these specific challenges that we have faced. I am grateful to our Heavenly Father for the many opportunities he is giving Dave and me to learn and to grow together. I only pray and hope for those of you who, too, are facing challenges that seem unbearable. I pray that you will get to your day when you can understand the reasons behind your trials and feel the incredible blessings that come with them.