To the Person Struggling, Hold On

Life wasn't meant to be easy. That's one thing I can promise you.

It wasn't meant to be a walk in the park, or a skip through a field of daisies, or anything that seems nice & friendly without consequence. If it was God would have called it 'Your nice & friendly trip without consequences." But that's not what He called it. God called it LIFE. And in this life we struggle, we have pain, & we have sadness, BUT we also get so much more than that. We also get gain, joy, & beauty, & that's truly what this is all about.

Think about the vision of the Tree of Life¹ with me for a second.

http://purposedrivenmotherhood.blogspot.com/2015/06/printable-chart-and-quotes-about-tree.html

When I think about this vision I often think of those who held onto the rod. There were 2 types of people holding on. You have the group that was "clinging" to the rod, & then you had the group that was "continually holding fast" to the rod.

Now those who were clinging to the rod made it to the rod, but in the end were ashamed. Life got hard, & it wasn't all butterflies & roses. One day they woke up & life just sucked, so they let go. They let go & they walked away.

The other group that was continually holding fast made it to the tree, & stayed there wanting others to partake of the fruit of the tree as well. Did life get hard for this group? Of course! They were holding the same rod, but they were holding the rod differently & were going through life differently.

When life gets hard I do not want to be the people that fall to the wayside because I was not "continually holding fast." The Lord doesn't give us anything we cannot handle, & I truly believe that. I know sometimes hearing that is annoying, "Okay, I know but this sucks & I'm just not handling it WELL."

But we all fall. Adam fell (2 Nephi 2:25), Joseph Smith asked God "where art thou" (D&C 121), & even Christ trembled in pain & prayed that He might not drink the bitter cup (D&C 19:8). But Adam made it through this life, as did Joseph Smith with much reassurance from our loving Heavenly Father, who is always there. And Christ drank that bitter cup, for you & for me.

One of my favorite quotes is "Life is a beautiful struggle" & so it is. All you have to do is "continually hold fast."


When you think life is hard, hold onto the good. Hold onto the beautiful. Hold onto the tender mercies for they are literally all around you.

If you just turn to the Lord & remember to not only endure but endure JOYFULLY, "continually holding fast" will come that much easier.

And THAT is something I can also promise you.


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