In this day and age when we have become so reliant on our computers, the loss of information for a lengthy period of time can be a difficult one. Recently one of our home computers had such a failure, and even though most of our files were recovered, there were about eight months of my very important stake Relief Society files that were not recovered. We did all we could to locate them but to no avail. Fortunately I had some of my files on another computer and in e-mail attachments, but still valuable information was lost.
Even though this was a misfortune for me, for some reason I kept calm. I kept reflecting on the recent CES talk given by Elder David A. Bednar, “That We Might Not Shrink,” and knew that the Lord was aware of my loss and that all would be well. He asked in his inspired talk if we had enough faith to “not be healed,” or in my case, not have my files recovered. I realized that I did have enough faith and that there were worse things than losing files.
I continued to use his analogy in so many areas in my life, be it from the very challenging to the small inconveniences we face. Each time, I realized it was all dependent on my faith if those areas did not produce the positive or otherwise results that I desired. The strength of our faith is not in how optimistic we are that we will receive what we desire. It is dependent on our faith in the Lord to accept His will and know that the Lord will bless, comfort, and strengthen us through our experiences and to NOT shrink in the process through our trials of faith.
I chose to not think upon all the lost information in my computer files, but instead of all that the Lord has blessed me with in my life. How could I complain? Can I have that same faith when much greater loss is at stake, be it the loss of a loved one, the loss of a house, finances, the loss of health, etc.?
As I listened a second time to Elder Bednar’s talk, I was confirmed even more so of these truths. I had a sure sense of peace and acceptance not only for lost files, but for all my blessings in my life. Through our faith during a time of disappointment, we found that we were enormously blessed almost immediately in unexpected ways, like having the resources to send our daughter on a mission.
I love Elder Bednar’s statement in his talk, “Strong faith in the Savior is submissively accepting of His will and timing in our lives, even if the outcome is not what we had hoped for or wanted.”
I testify that the Lord will bless us with even more peace when we recognize how our faith in Christ has blessed us no matter what the outcome. When the outcome may seem favorable in our eyes, we need to recognize and show our gratitude, but when it is not as we had hoped or envisioned, what a wonderful time to strengthen our faith in the Lord even more so.
Trust in Him. I have no doubt He trusts us even more. We will always be stronger and more resilient for the next time when we use these smaller events or those in larger proportion to gain such valuable lessons of faith.
