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I answered the phone at work today. It was one of my homeless contacts. I asked her how she was doing and she said she wasn't doing as obviously well as I was. She said I sounded incredibly upbeat and happy.

Oh how I laughed. I told her I had to laugh to keep from crying---not that I intend to cry. Crying doesn't help. Plus, we've been through worse.

We had our taxes done a week ago. Apparently a blood sacrifice, along with the donation of several appendages will be required to fulfill our tax debt to Uncle Sam. In our all married life, we've NEVER owed this much money to the government. Hubby got waaaay down but I cheered him up by telling him it was only money. We are all fine (for the most part) and we're healthy, we have each other and life is still wonderful.

When our suburban began to act suspiciously possessed, I took it in to the shop for repairs. They said they've never seen anything like what they saw my suburban do. Never in all their years of working on suburbans. Not once. This was obviously code for, "I do hope you have a shoe box at home stuffed with thousands of dollars"

We've had the flu moving slowly through each member of our family during the past two weeks. We laugh. It's not the end of the world. Ok, I laugh, the others not so much. I haven't been stricken.

As long as we keep our eyes and hearts where they need to be, we'll be fine. I know that the Lord knows me. He knows my family. And you know what? It IS just money. Money. It's not the end of the world.

And when I say we've been through MUCH WORSE, those of you that know our family's history understand what I mean. There's an article written by Richard C. Edgley that has touched me. The full article is here if you'd like to read it.

What he said near the end of this article resonates within me. He says:

There are few of us, if any, who don’t walk the refiner’s fire of adversity and despair, sometimes known to others but for many quietly hidden and privately endured. Most of the heartache, pain, and suffering we would not choose today. But we did choose. We chose when we could see the complete plan. We chose when we had a clear vision of the Savior’s rescue of us. And if our faith and understanding were as clear today as it was when we first made that choice, I believe we would choose again.


Therefore, perhaps the challenge is to have the kind of faith during the hard times that we exercised when we first chose. The kind of faith that turns questioning and even anger into acknowledging the power, blessings, and hope that can come only from Him who is the source of all power, blessings, and hope. The kind of faith that brings the knowledge and assurances that all that we experience is part of the gospel plan and that for the righteous, all that appears wrong will eventually be made right. The peace and understanding to endure with dignity and clarity of purpose can be the sweet reward. This kind of faith can help us to see the good, even when life’s path seems to be layered only with thorns, thistles, and craggy rocks.

All things shall work together for our good---I firmly believe this. If we don't go through the hard times, if we're not tested, how can we prove our faith?

So I smile. I'm bubbly on the phone. I'm actually happy. I know, odd, right?

But not really. Not really at all.