I read a section in the book “Spiritually Anchored in Unsettled Times” by Bruce Hafen. (I have also been reminded how much my dad loved Pres./Elder Hafen and so reading the book has been a sweet experience for me.) I thought of my family and what trials we have gone through in the past couple of years and what surely lies ahead of us. It reads like this.

“If we are becoming more aware of our weaknesses, that doesn’t mean we are drifting away from Him; it may well mean that we are drawing closer. For because of the Atonement, we can learn from our mistakes without being condemned by them.”

“The paradox of this divine tutorial is that the Lord will not only correct us but may also lead us into some forms of personal affliction. Elder Maxwell said ‘If we are serious about our discipleship, Jesus will eventually request each of us to do those very things which are the most difficult for us to do. Thus, sometimes the best people have the worst experiences because they are the most ready to learn.’ ”

“After Elder Maxwell learned he had the leukemia that eventually took his life, he shook his head and said he should have seen it coming. . . . . The more he (Elder Maxwell) desired the gift of charity—to love as Christ loves—the more he sensed how dear the price might be.”

I think that we all will have to pick ourselves up from time to time,(at least I do) and move forward and know that we are in times that we must totally consecrate our life to the Lord. And yes, we are going to have some of those worst experiences. I truly don’t know what I would do without my testimony and yet I realize how I need to continually strengthen it.