Thank Goodness for Hard Times

 I was talking with my 17 year old daughter the other day and she was telling me about a teacher she has in school.  He grew up in Brazil.  He father left them when he was a young child.  It was just his mom, his sister, and himself.  He retold of days where they had very little to eat.  One of those hard days they had a few eggs and rice to eat for dinner, the one meal they ate that day.  Each one of them got one egg and some rice.  This was hardly enough to quench the hunger.  The younger sister ate her egg and rice then cried because she was still so hungry.  The mom gave her daughter her egg and had only rice that night.  The son, my daughters teacher now, decided then and there that he would do whatever it took to make sure his mom never had to go hungry again.  He began training in soccer.  He played with other kids his age and ran all over the city they lived in.  He could outrun many kids and teens his age.  He made it on a professional soccer team at the age of 15 and played for many years.  

During those years, he was able to care for his mom and sister.  He provided for their wants and needs.  Without his hard years growing up, would he have worked so hard to become someone his family could rely on?  He talked of training a talented teen in soccer after he finished playing.  He thought this young man could go far in the sport.  Unfortunately, the young man was not as dedicated as the coach thought.  After an important tournament game where his team won, the young man ran over to the opposing team and began laughing at them and taunting them.  The unsportsmanlike conduct got him suspended for the rest of the tournament and his team lost.  This young man was given another chance and invited to train with a team in England.  Instead of working hard and learning all he could, he slept in late, missed practices and, after two months, was sent home.  The difference between the two young men were hard life lessons that developed a strong determination and good work ethic in one, while the other had no such life lessons and was less determined and didn't know how to work hard.  

While my daughter was telling me her teachers story in Brazil.  I cried.  It was hard to imagine having so little, eating one meager meal a day.  I was so grateful for all that we have and that my kids don't have to experience those hardships.  Except, as she kept talking about this teacher and his hard life and all he has accomplished, I started to wonder who has the better life.  He had some terrible days maybe even years, but the lessons he learned and the things he accomplished because of the hard times makes me wonder is it so bad to have difficult experiences?  I don't think it is. 

Adversity might not be the evil we often think it is.  Without it where would we be, would we ever move forward, work hard, reach goals, and become better people?  I don't think we would.  Elder Bednar in April of 2014 talked about bearing burdens.  He told a story of a friend who took his new truck into the woods to cut some wood for the winter.  The truck got stuck in the snow as the friend tried to park it off the road.  The man decided he couldn't get the truck out, he had tried everything he could think of, so he would at least load it with wood and hope some help came by or the Lord would provide some help.  He loaded the back of the truck up with wood and tried to get the truck out of the snow again.  This time the truck moved because it was weighed down with a heavy load of wood.  The load was what helped the truck move forward.  Heavy loads or burdens aren't always a bad thing.  Often they help us to move forward and progress on our journey.

This year has been a tough year for everyone, but that doesn't mean it hasn't been a good year either.  Hard times help us reassess our priorities, our goals, they help us to discover what is truly important.  Don't let a hard time drown you in sorrow and heartache, let it propel you forward to bigger and better things.   My daughter describes her teacher as a happy, cheerful guy who has lived a good, purposeful life.  He has accomplished all his goals so far.  He is doing what he loves now which is teaching and coaching.  His hard days gave him the determination to do and be better.  I'm reminded of the analogy of the bow and arrow.  The arrow has to be pulled backward before it can be shot forward.  During difficult times we may feel like that arrow on a bow being pulled back on the string, going the opposite direction we want to.  When finally released, we are shot forward farther than we ever thought we could go.  Thank goodness for hard times that give us a chance to move forward and help us become what God needs us to become.