I survived giving a talk in sacrament meeting!

I gave a talk in sacrament meeting last Sunday, I turned red in the face but I survived. It had been 20 years since I was asked to speak so I'm sure that I was overdue.

I mainly spoke about opposition (maybe I feel like I'm experiencing a little of that right now :D) I shared our experience of going through the adoption process and how we almost had the chance to adopt a baby. If Heavenly Father had allowed me that blessing we would not have had the money to support ourselves through the job reversal that we are going through right now. I think of that Garth Brooks song about unanswered prayers.

Here is an excerpt from my talk:
Elder Wirthlin shared some counsel that his mother gave to him “Come what may, and love it.” I really like this counsel and I am going to try to remember it as I go through the various challenges of life. I believe that I will be happier if I do. He went on to describe four ways that we can handle adversity in our lives: Learn to laugh, seek for the eternal, the principal of compensation and trust in the Father and the Son.

The principal of compensation was the most interesting to me; Elder Wirthlin taught “That which is taken away from those who love the Lord will be added unto them in His own way.” I love the Lord and as I thought back on our adoption experience I realized that I had been compensated and right away too. A day or two after that sorrowful news we found out that our nephews and niece would be able to visit with us for a month in the summer. This gave us the opportunity to establish a relationship with them greater than we previously had. We had so much fun together, I’m so grateful for this blessing.

I was reading the Ensign last month and I came across a great quote that is in For the Strength of Youth “The Lord will make much more out if your life than you can by yourself. He will increase your opportunities, expand your vision, and strengthen you. He will give you the help you need to meet your trials and challenges.” What a relief to know that through my trials I can be made into something better if I will just trust in the Lord.

I am really glad that I was able to give a talk, it was good for me to think about and apply what Elder Wirthlin taught in General Conference. I hope that I won't be asked to do this again for another 20 years ;)