Two weeks ago, while sitting in my classroom, I received a text that I'd been waiting for all morning. It was Sydney, letting me know that she and Ryder had just found out that they would be having a baby girl, due in the first part of June. I announced the news to my 3rd hour class, telling them that they knew the information even before my sisters. They responded with genuine enthusiasm that characterizes these 7th graders. Quickly forwarding the text, I shared the exciting news with the rest of my family.
Just as soon as I pushed "send" my phone rang. Seeing that it was Ryan, I stepped outside, expecting to hear him calling to celebrate the great news. Instead, his voice was subdued, "Have you heard about my mom?" He proceeded to explain that she had been admitted to the ICU with kidney failure along with a host of other problems due to an infection. While talking to Ryan, my phone rang again. It was Denis, my father-in-law. Asking him what I could do, he replied, "Get on your knees and start praying."
Gathering myself, I went back into my classroom with distressing thoughts running though my mind. And yet, I was greeted with the warmth, joy and optimism that youth possess. They didn't know anything about the difficult phone calls I had taken, but their spirits lifted mine. I was overwhelmed with love and gratitude for the young people that I get to associate with each day.
Over the following weeks, I have often thought of the immediate juxtaposition of these two very opposite experiences. Joy and sorrow bounced back and forth almost simultaneously. The excitement of welcoming a new girl into our family was balanced by the very real fear that we may be losing an integral part of our lives. Difficult visits to the hospital were followed by laughing playtime with our Chandler grandkids. As family members met at Carol's bedside there were tears but there was also laughter as we shared thoughts, memories and emotions. Tender feelings of love were expressed where normally they had been kept closeted. Personally, I felt a greater commitment to express and show my loved to those around me, before I missed my chance altogether. And then a few days ago-jubilation!- as doctors successfully removed Carol's breathing tube and pronounced slow but steady progress toward recovery.
In 2009, President Monson said, "Though storm clouds may gather, though the rains may pour down upon us, our knowledge of the gospel and our love of our Heavenly Father and of our Savior will comfort and sustain us and bring joy to our heart…My beloved brothers and sisters, fear not. Be of good cheer. The future is as bright as your faith."
Later, President Nelson taught in the October 2016 Conference, "Joy is powerful, and focusing on joy brings power into our lives. As in all things, Jesus Christ is our ultimate exemplar, "who for the joy that set before him endured the cross." Think of that! in order for Him to endure the most excruciating experience ever endured on earth, our Savior focused on joy! … If we focus on the joy that will come to us, or to those we loved, what can we endure that presently seems overwhelming, painful, scary, unfair or simply impossible?"
So why did I receive good and bad news at precisely the same time? For me, it has been a reminder of the beauty and the power of the Plan of Happiness. We are sent to this earth to experience joy as well as tribulation. While the trials may often seem to overshadow the cheer, we can find peace and happiness in all situations. It will be there. I'm certain of that.
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