I'm typically a pretty resilient person. I try to play life with the hand of cards I've been dealt. I play cards and draw cards. I can't determine how the game will go from day-to-day or week-to-week, but I do my best to look at my current hand and figure out how to best play the cards I have.
The last few weeks have been particularly challenging - a nexus of a lot of things, none of which, taken alone, would move the needle much in my life.
Today I truly enjoyed church - all 3 hours. I have no idea what talks were given during the first hour (Sacrament Meeting). However, I do know that I was feeling the Spirit and being tutored.
The Spirit reminded of a trifecta of scriptures that have generally been pretty helpful for me.
I will never be free of weakness (Ether 12:27). Weaknesses are simply a gift from Heavenly Father. Weaknesses are just a starting point though. They are not the destination or the final state. That means I'm not simply powerless. I have more options than just figuring out how to "cope". I (and everyone else) have been given the divine gift to be a free agent - to act for myself. This means I have a choice on how I play my hand in life.
The creator of the universe has, among many goals, the goal to help me achieve eternal life (Moses 1:39). He sent Jesus Christ to become my Savior and intercessor. Heavenly Father does not line up challenges and trials that would put the goal of eternal life beyond my reach. However, He does constantly and unflinchingly challenge me to help me see I am limited primarily by my own myopic view of eternity (aka mortality).
Finally, these few simple words speak powerfully - "men are that they might have joy" (2 Nephi 2:25). Joy should be a verb. It is used as a noun, but we can make it a verb. Heavenly Father reminds us to that joy is an essential component of this life. We were created to experience joy - along with many other things.
Joy is as essential as trials and challenges. That means that joy must not be mutually exclusive to them either. The million dollar question:
How can I feel joy while the hurricanes of life assail me?Joy is not a "before" nor an "after" experience only. Joy is not simply the absence of negative things. Joy is an essential component of life and should be woven in the fabric of our daily lives and through our trials and challenges.
Experiencing joy is a choice - at least that is so for many people.* To believe it isn't a choice means I must give up some freedoms willingly and I must give up choosing to feel joyful. I also believe this life is filled with limitations and trade-offs - some are dealt to us specifically and intentionally, some come by our choices, and some exist simply due to random "quirks" of nature.
It really comes down to this for me: I find it easier to feel joy when I view joy as a verb and that I am free to choose to feel joyful in whatever circumstances I find myself in.
* NOTE: Limitations imposed by mental illnesses (such as depression and anxiety disorders) or other circumstances can not be simply dismissed or ignored. The effects of such are real and are not a matter of simply "choosing" differently. There is a great article in the March 2017 Ensign that specifically addresses anxiety and anxiety disorders (here). There are many other articles which address depression and other issues.
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