Fact: life can be tough. However, as we look toward Christ, we can find the joy we need to endure even the most difficult trials.
We never think that we will be the ones who will have to suffer through a particular challenge or trial—until it is staring us in the face. We don’t think that we will be the ones to lose a job, get in a car accident, or have a loved one die prematurely. “That could never happen to me,” we say. Then, when faced with unexpected trials, we are tempted to believe Satan’s lie that we cannot feel complete joy until our trial has passed.
In my case, I never thought that I would have to struggle through infertility, but I am trying to learn how to find joy in my difficult trial.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is centered on the family. On any given Sunday, you can easily find about twenty little kids munching on Goldfish crackers during sacrament meeting. And the ordinances that we perform in our most sacred places, our temples, revolve around linking eternal families. When my husband and I decided to start our own family, we were as optimistic as any couple could be. However, soon after we made that decision, I was diagnosed with various infertility issues. Eventually, we were overjoyed when we were finally able to conceive, but that first pregnancy quickly ended in miscarriage.
I started to feel that I was losing my faith, and I didn’t know how to handle it. I wondered why my husband and I were given such a difficult trial that brought so much pain and had no end in sight. Then one Sunday in Relief Society, a teacher discussed the talk “Joy and Spiritual Survival” by President Russell M. Nelson. In this talk, President Nelson encourages us to find joy in order to endure our trials and challenges. He assures us that joy is not as hard to find as we might think; we simply need to turn to Christ and place our burdens upon his shoulders. The Atonement can help us through any pain that we feel.
During that Relief Society lesson, I realized that I would be OK. I really felt my Savior’s love for me when I heard someone read the following words from President Nelson’s talk: “My dear brothers and sisters, the joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.” Living with joy doesn’t mean that we live without sadness or pain. Living with joy means that as we rely on the Savior, we will make it through the pain.
Although I will continue to pray in righteousness to be blessed with a child someday, I now know that I can find peace and solace through more fully implementing joy into my life. I don’t know how long I will have to endure this trial, but I do know that if all of my focus is on the destination, I will miss the important thing: the journey. Through this process, I am learning that as I put my faith and trust in Christ, I will have the joy that will allow me to keep going.
To learn more about finding joy amidst our trials, read or watch “Joy and Spiritual Survival” by President Nelson.
Source: lds.org
—Leah Emal, Mormon Insights
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Find more insights
Read “Enduring Well” by Elder Neal A. Maxwell to learn more about enduring through trials.
To hear additional stories about infertility, read “Faith and Infertility” by Melissa Merrill and “I Longed to Be a Mother” by Tamara A. Ilich.
I think that this article is beautiful. We must find joy amidst our trials. I know that everyone goes through their own trials, but I love the hope that this article provides to us. Even when our trials seem to weigh us down and we feel weak, we need to remember that we can turn to the Lord and he can help us during these difficult times. I know that when I have trials, I tend to turn away from the Lord. This is a mistake! When we are struggling the most, this is when we need the Lord the most.
I also remember that talk by President Nelson. Sometimes it is hard to focus on the joyous times when we are struggling, but I have learned that as I do, my trials feel a little more manageable. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for this article. It seems impossible to feel joy when you’re in the middle of a trial, but you can find true joy when you focus on Christ. Because of Christ, you can have hope despite your struggles.
It’s sometimes very hard to find the joy when your world seems to crashing around you. But when you rely on Christ, things have a way of working out.
This is such an important message. I know a few people who have been dealing with infertility and misscarriage. It is such a difficult trial, especially for couples who are just trying to do God’s will. In the midsts of trials it is hard to find joy or meaning, but with the light of Christ it is always there.
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