Come What May, and Love It

I was saddened to learn that one of the leaders of my faith, Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, passed away last night. Both Bryson & I always looked forward to hearing him speak-- he always had a way of conveying so much love in his words.

And as life would have it, his words came back to help me through this day in particular.

It seemed as though today was doomed from the beginning. As I sat at my desk this morning, working out my to-do list with Taylor sitting on my lap, I suddenly heard an ominous "uh-oh."

As I realized just what was causing the warm-- yet moist-- sensation I was experiencing, Elder Wirthlin's words from his last address echoed in my mind, "Come what may, and love it."

In his words:

...Every life has peaks and shadows and times when it seems that the birds don’t sing and bells don’t ring. Yet in spite of discouragement and adversity, those who are happiest seem to have a way of learning from difficult times, becoming stronger, wiser, and happier as a result.

If we approach adversities wisely, our hardest times can be times of greatest growth, which in turn can lead toward times of greatest happiness.

There is an antidote for times such as these: learn to laugh. ...The next time you’re tempted to groan, you might try to laugh instead. It will extend your life and make the lives of all those around you more enjoyable.

As we look for humor, seek for the eternal perspective... and draw near to our Heavenly Father, we can endure hardship and trial. We can say... “Come what may, and love it.”

Now, I am fully aware that my trivial aggravations and frustrations are pathetically minute when compared to what so many are experiencing during these hard times. Still, his words were no less profound to me today.

For example:

Little boy peeing on my lap?
Come what may, and love it!
Going to the grocery store in an effort to clear my head... only to have little children disregard my requests and run off while I try to reign them back in?
Come what may, and love it!

Little girl knocking over a five-foot tall display of batteries at the aforementioned store?
Come what may, and love it!

Picking up the small mountain of batteries with nary an on-looker's assistance?
Come what may, and love it!

Trying to leave the store with some small shred of dignity intact when my little boy stops in the middle of the parking lot and refuses to budge an inch?
Come what may, and love it!

Little girl screaming at the top of her lungs as her mom struggles to carry her, push a shopping cart single-handedly, and vocally persuade (ever so gently, of course) her brother to get a move on?
Come what may, and love it!
Yep, my ship may have sailed in the dignity department today, but as I loaded the kids into the car-- and took a much needed pause alone outside-- I couldn't help but laugh. How absurd was this? Yes, I felt like wringing out my hair, but honestly--wasn't this funny?

Looking at things from this perspective made me realize how a change in attitude can affect our whole day. By choosing to laugh about it, I was happier, and the situation gradually began to resolve itself.

"Mom?" Taylor asked.
"Yes?" A wary reply.
"I'm really sorry I had an accident today. And I'm sorry Reilly broke the store," he explained. "I'm going to try harder. I just love you so much."

Ah, yes.

Come what may, and love it.
Thank you, Elder Wirthlin.

For another enthralling tale full of misadventures & Wirthlin inspiration, check out this post on a good friend's blog.