Cursed or blessed?

Everything in life could be viewed as a curse or a blessing...  It just depends on the way you look at it.  I choose to believe that life is a gift and has purpose in every turn.  The point here is to grow and to learn how to be better on this our journey to becoming like our eternal, resurrected, all knowing, all powerful, all loving, Father in Heaven.

As I think back on my marriage and family so far I can't recall facing any serious, threatening problems.  We certainly haven't been without our trials.  But I think our attitude has played a big part in how things have played out.  Our big decisions have already been made, there is no question -- We have faith in Jesus Christ, we go to church and accept and participate fully in callings, we pay our tithing, we are faithful to our baptismal and temple covenants and to each other and our little family...  We have chosen our Rock a long time ago and we will not be moved.  Our faith was not shaken when we had to get through and pay for school, or when we thought I was pregnant but it didn't work out, or when our first new baby had to have cranial surgery at 5 and a half months old, or when I sprouted ulcers on both my legs that rendered me useless for a while, or when we packed ourselves up right after having our second baby to live 12 hours away from the only home we knew, or as we struggled to adjust to life with a toddler and a baby and in a brand new state, or how lonely it has been...  We could all spend hours talking about how our lives have been challenging.  But I'm certain we have been blessed as we have stayed true to Christ. 

I don't think any of us could say our lives have been easy.  We have our different set of challenges that are uniquely ours.  But those challenges no matter what they are do not define us, it's what we do with them that does.  It's in the way we handle them that our growth occurs.  And the way we view them, as a curse or a blessing, distinguishes between the bitterness and sweetness of life.

"For after much tribulation come the blessings. Wherefore the day cometh that ye shall be crowned with much glory; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand." (Doctrine & Covenants 84:4)