Resilience!

If there is one thing that this life has taught me it is that if you don't have this (resilience) you are in for a really tough ride.  My life has taken all the twists and turns I thought it would never take.  I have had experiences I thought I would never have, gone places I thought I would never go, done things I thought I would never have to or want to do.  I have learned things I thought I would never have to learn.  I have learned I am nothing if not resilient.

As I spend more time in this life that is new to me in a place that is new to me doing things that are new to me, I have learned that Heavenly Father made people resilient in order to just survive this experience that is not natural to their eternal spirits.  I have seen people here whose lives make mine look like a piece of cake even though it never has been one.  I have had my share of ups and downs, disappointments and heartaches, surprises and agonies.  I hear stories here that still blow my mind.  I find myself thinking often, "How do they stay positive after all they have been through?"  I have said to myself many times, "Would I be able to do that?"  Then I think about it and say, "Oh yeah, been there, done that.  I am resilient!"

We are constantly "going with the flow" so to speak.  We plan out a day only to find that as we pull up to our first appointment, we get a text saying don't come today.  At this time, we regroup, think it over, say a prayer and turn what could have been lemons into lemonade.  Lots of trite sayings here!  We pray and head to another house.  When we call they say please come and after we get there, the man of the house who is struggling with a difficult decision says, "I think the Lord sent you here today."  He is not a member and probably will never be one.  He is catholic and 84 years old.  We love him and his wife and he says we met because the Lord wanted it that way.  He wants us to tell the world that the end is near and he is very insistent upon it.  He has had a difficult life in the mines and lost one wife.  He is resilient.

We spent an hour this afternoon with an alcoholic.  He ranted, he cried, he complained and told us his pain.  When we arrived at the door, he said, "I was standing in my room thinking I might call you and I looked out the window and there you were."  He has been through so much.  He was put in a foster home at the age of 8.  It is the only real love he has ever known.  He is now 36, having spent many years in jail and much time in rehab.  He has a daughter 3 years of age who seems to be about all he lives for.  He said he would be all right as we left.  He is resilient.

We packed up a woman and her family who Ken baptized a few months ago.  I don't know how many times she has moved after a life full of misery and pain.  As we walked away, I thought of that old song with the lyrics, if it weren't for bad luck I'd have no luck at all.  She is not really happy to be moving yet again since she is just starting to make good friends here.  As we left her she commented that she would give this new town and ward a try.  Somehow, she manages to pop back in spite of everything.  She is resilient. 

I was commenting to a 91 year old woman at Tai Chi yesterday that she amazed me to be so active still at her age.  She said she had no choice.  That is the difference.  She has a choice and she chooses the better part.  My family and most of my friends look at things the same way she does.  They see only one choice and that is putting one foot in front of the other and moving forward.  That is their choice.  It is enduring to the end.  It is resilience!