Pulling Life’s Weeds by Facing Trials

Sometimes the trials we face feel too heavy for us to carry, but those very trials are what strengthen us. 

While I was growing up, “spring break” meant “spring cleaning” at my house. We lived on just under two acres of land, and those two acres put up a fight. A weed called foxtails (I only recently discovered that my family didn’t make up this name for these little devil weeds) grew rampantly. And my mom required us to remove those foxtails by hand. 

In many places, temperatures in March are cool or even cold. However, in Gilbert, Arizona—my family’s hometown—March often brings the opposite. Consequently, my family experienced spring break with the sun beating down on us, delivering 90 degrees of dry, exhausting heat. Needless to say, pulling weeds in that heat during our one week off of school was not what any of us kids called an ideal break. But the yard work had to be done.

In President Henry B. Eyring’s October 2020 general conference talk “Tested, Proved, and Polished,” he shares an experience of pulling weeds with his mother. When President Eyring got too tired during such a long, grueling task, he exclaimed that the work was hard. To this exclamation, his mother replied, “Oh, Hal, of course it’s hard. It’s supposed to be. Life is a test.” President Eyring has remembered those words throughout the rest of his life. They’ve helped him understand and face life’s challenges with positivity. They’ve also helped him remember and feel greater gratitude for our Savior, Jesus Christ, who suffered for all of us so that He can help us understand and face our trials.

In my life, especially now as a young adult, I’ve experienced many trials that I didn’t want to experience. And I often wish that I could avoid those trials—avoid pulling those weeds. But when trials come in our lives, we won’t benefit by skipping out on the work. We have to keep pulling weeds in the heat of the sun. Only by so doing will we become resilient and learn the lessons God has for us to learn. And when the task feels too hard to bear, God often sends a little cloud cover to help ease the pain.

Our trials are hard. But they’re supposed to be. Only in the hard times are we truly tested, proved, and polished.

Read more about how to overcome and accept your trials in Henry B. Eyring’s talk, “Tested, Proved, and Polished.”

Source: www.churchofjesuschrist.org

—Elizabeth Gallacher, Latter-day Saint Insights

FEATURE IMAGE BY CDC

Find more insights 

Take a look at Elder Jeremy R. Jaggi’s “Let Patience Have Her Perfect Work, and Count It All Joy!” to learn more about facing trials gladly.

Read Elder Carlos H. Amado’s talk “Overcoming Adversity” to understand more about how to face adversity with faith.