Mountains to Climb

It is a common fallacy in society to believe in perfection in this life. We often look at others and see the good parts of their lives and think “I wish my life were perfect like theirs. But as the saying goes the grass is greener on the other side. The truth is that life is hard, and everyone faces challenges and we all even face crises in our lives. A crisis is defined as a time of intense difficulty, trouble, or danger. A crisis is caused by a stressor event. A stressor event is any event, experience, or environmental stimulus that causes stress in an individual. These events or experiences are perceived as threats or challenges to the individual and can be either physical or psychological. Some examples of stressor events are; the death of a child or a spouse or parent, Divorce, the disability or chronic illness of a family member, the jailing of a family member, a substance addiction of a family member, and the emotional problems of a family member. 

These events can be life-altering. They can make or break a family. James E. Faust once said “Into every life, there come the painful, despairing days of adversity and buffeting. There seems to be a full measure of anguish, sorrow, and often heartbreak for everyone, including those who earnestly seek to do right and be faithful. The thorns that prick, that stick in the flesh, that hurt, often change lives which seem robbed of significance and hope. This change comes about through a refining process which often seems cruel and hard. In this way, the soul can become like soft clay in the hands of the Master in building lives of faith, usefulness, beauty, and strength. For some, the refiner’s fire causes a loss of belief and faith in God, but those with an eternal perspective understand that such refining is part of the perfection process.” (Ensign May 1979) A part of this life is the trials that we face. We can use these experiences to either grow as a family or they could break the family apart. It is like the muscle in your body. If they are never used, they become weak but if they are strained and broken, they eventually come back stronger than before and more prepared for future use. As a family comes together to deal with a crisis, they are able to find the strength they previously did not have, and they will be more prepared for the next trial they face. I have seen this in my own family. Though we never experienced anything too extreme my family has been riddled with medical issues for years. After a few years of this, a family friend made the comment that it happened so often that we could not catch a break. I will forever remember my Father’s response to this. To summarize he basically said that he barely noticed the difficulty. Why did he not notice? I was because we were able to rely on previous experience to help us know how we could better face future challenges. There are many things in this world that are out of our control but as we grow closer as a family in moments of crisis we become better prepared for future crises.