Elder David A. Bednar said, “Strong faith in the Savior is submissively accepting of His will and timing in our lives—even if the outcome is not what we hoped for or wanted”.
It’s been 15 years now since my dad got paralyzed. During the first year of his paralysis you could tell his frustrations and sadness, especially when we had financial crisis. It was hard for him to see my mom carrying the burden. Because I was very young I didn’t fully understand why the Lord allowed these things to happen in our family. As far as I knew, my dad’s desire was to be a responsible father, a good husband and an obedient servant of the Lord.
When I was in college, I was diagnosed with a similar illness. Since that time, my life plans became uncertain. I was not able to maintain my grades and later, lost the opportunity to enjoy my scholarship. I got released from my calling as a teacher in primary. I lost the one I loved as well because of my situation. I felt like I was losing everything that I had and I didn’t understand why. One night I asked my mom how she learned to accept everything that had happened. I remember what she said, “Sometimes it is hard to go through trials and face the truth that your father will never be the same again in this life. But if you try to open your eyes, you will still see great things. You just need to trust the Lord that He knows what’s best for you. I believe that all these things are for our own good and it will just be for a moment. So please be strong. I know our Heavenly Father is preparing something great for you”.
Those words touched my heart and soul and helped me believe and trust the Lord even more. During my recovery from my illness, it’s been wonderful to see my dad happy even though he’s still sitting in that chair. He has been teaching seminary for 12 years now. He’s dedicated his second chance to helping us serve missions and his other students.
I believe that our faith in Jesus Christ’s Atonement and a complete submission to the will of the Lord will set us free, and will give us greater comfort and peace. It gives us the power to live, no matter how difficult life may be. Then, we will see miracles no matter how small or big they are. The Lord knows better and His love for us is infinite.
