If any of you have been watching the news, you will know that Tennessee has been getting some pretty interesting weather lately. Lightning, high winds, rain, tornadoes...Its been an interesting few days. Last Tuesday, I was with my 2 companions and one of the other missionaries in the mission. We had gone to bed to a reasonable light rain, and it didn't look like much of a storm was going to happen.
Well, I guess I was wrong. About 1 a.m., I woke up to the tornado sirens going off. In my apartment, I sleep on the couch right next to the window. I poked my head up to see what was going on, and it didn't look very bad outside so I just closed the blinds and tried to go back to sleep. 10 minutes later, the sirens went off again and I opened the blinds and looked outside. It looked like the movie "Twister." Wind blowing, trees trying to hang on, and lots and lots of rain. So I yelled at my companions to wake up and we ran into the bathroom, brought in the mattress, and sat in the bathtub. Right about that time, the power decided to go out. So it was dead silent... and we could still hear everything beating on the apartment building.
I was reminded of a storm last year that happened in May 2010. I was in Kentucky at the time, but Nashville got hit bad. It was the worst flood recorded, and it took out a lot of homes. Even a few people were killed.
A lot of people ask themselves why God allows things like this to happen. Why is Mother Nature allowed to roam free sometimes? To be honest, I don't know. I do know, however, that God has a plan for us - a plan that we accepted before we came to this Earth. I also do know that God has a purpose for everything, and He loves his children. Sometimes when we experience trials, it makes us more willing to listen to what our Heavenly Father wants us to listen to.
Our trials make us stronger and more willing to help others out. Think of a story you have heard when someone has helped someone else out in the midst of a crisis. How has that person been uplifted, and how in turn were YOU uplifted as you listen to that story?
Elder D. Todd Christofferson, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, shared the following story:
"On August 15, 2007, Peru suffered a massive earthquake that all but destroyed the coastal cities of Pisco and Chincha. Like many other Church leaders and members, Wenceslao Conde, the president of the Balconcito Branch of the Church in Chincha, immediately set about helping others whose homes were damaged.
"Four days after the earthquake, Elder Marcus B. Nash of the Seventy was in Chincha helping to coordinate the Church’s relief efforts there and met President Conde. As they talked about the destruction that had occurred and what was being done to help the victims, President Conde’s wife, Pamela, approached carrying one of her small children. Elder Nash asked Sister Conde how her children were. With a smile, she replied that through the goodness of God they were all safe and well. He asked about the Condes’ home.
“It’s gone,” she said simply.
“What about your belongings?” he inquired.
“Everything was buried in the rubble of our home,” Sister Conde replied.
“And yet,” Elder Nash noted, “you are smiling as we talk.”
“Yes,” she said, “I have prayed and I am at peace. We have all we need. We have each other, we have our children, we are sealed in the temple, we have this marvelous Church, and we have the Lord. We can build again with the Lord’s help.” "
I know that Heavenly Father loves each one of us. I know that he wants us to learn from everything - even if it isn't the most convenient or fun to have to go through it. Its something we all go through - and the best we can do is to go forward with it.
I'm laughing to myself as I am typing this, because I can hear another major storm right above my head right now. We had a tornado strike less than a mile from my aparment 2 nights ago. I slept right through it, thankfully. We have had massive amounts of rain (including the rain we're getting right now) and it sounds like many things are flooding. As I sit here, all I can think about is the many blessings that I have received, and how I can count on those to get me through the storms of life.
So bring on the rain....
