The winds of Adversity
Introduction
This summer Kristina and I took the kids and hit the road to go explore the Oregon coast. As a family we have always loved our time going to the beach and having fun along the shore. The kids loved the trip this summer so much that they were trying to find ways that we could leave Wenatchee and move to the Oregon coast permanently.
One of the difficult things we faced this year was that we were going to be camping for a few nights of our trip and there was just so much more we had to pack in the van for camping. We ended up borrowing a car top carrier from my parents to put some of the odd ends in....Things like sleeping bags, and foam pads that just took up a lot of space in the car. It was perfect
Well there is a beautiful stretch of road as you come through Fairbanks and approach the Dalles. The highway takes you along the Columbia river and on a clear Sunny day you can see Mt. Hood up in front of you. We found out soon that this stretch of road has very severe side winds. You can see white caps on the river and as we drove along this highway you could feel the wind try to throw you off the road. Anyhow, so we're driving along this road and suddenly we hear this large bang and I looked in my rear view mirrow and I could see the lid of the car top carrier had gone flying onto the ground at full speed and our sleeping bags and memory foam pads were bouncing everywhere on the highway.The Diesels are swirving all over the place...so I jump out and realize I still have half the cartop carrier and that the wind had ripped the lid just above the joints where it clamps down. So I go sprinting....If you have ever lost something on the highway you know that its quite a distance to where the thing la ds by the time you stop going 65 miles an hour. So I'm running and trying to gather everything up without getting killed by a semi truck. We got everything to the side of the road and drug everything back to the car. We ended up stuffing the dirty sleeping bags and foam pads with tire grease all over in the only available space left in the van, our kids's laps. I ended up gashing my hand on the sharp plastic while I was trying to tie down the peice that had torn so we could get it off the road, but . Well after 30 minutes of heart pounding and getting everything back on the van... We took off again to try to find a place to pull off and deal with it...then we're cruisin along the road again all of a sudden we heard another bang! The wind was still blowing and another peice of plastic ripped off and went flying. Again, I got out to go retrieve this stupid thing...and then out of no where another semi truck comes barreling around the bend....and I'm like here we go again...I felt like I was trapped in a real life version of that frogger game. So then as if in slow motion I see this Semi spook because of the debris in the road and he swerves to the right and starts coming right at me..in the process he grazes a corner of this huge piece of plastic and it goes spinning into the air, slams against the windshield of the next car over and shatters into a thousand tiny shards of plastic in every direction. Luckily the Semi truck saw me and veered back into his lane. Honestly I thought I was going to get killed right then and there. However, I know for a fact that someone from above was looking after me that day. We later found a place to pull off the highway and ended up dumping the remainder of the car top carrier in a dumpster on the back side of a starbucks cafe.
I got to thinking about this experience and I think there is a definite correlation here. Why is it that on the roads of life there are similar trechorous conditions? Why are there severe sidewinds? Why do things break down and get torn apart? Why do people get hurt? I had a lady on my mission that asked me why do bad things happen to good people? I remember answering all the reasons like there is opposition in all things, and it can be a result of our choices, or other people's choices, or just a physical act of nature, or to condem the wicked, etc, etc, etc....but it got me thinking why would the Lord put that in his plan. Why must we have sorrow, and sickness, and death, and anguish??
Let me read you a few scriptures:
Mathew 14:26-32
Peter walks on the water but when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid and [began] to sink
Fear or weakness
Helaman 5:12
It is upon the rock of our Redeemer who is Christ the Son of God that ye must build your foundation that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea his shafts in the whirlwind, yea when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you.....
Temptation
D&C 122:7-9 Background: Revelation given to Joseph Smith while a prisoner in the Liberty Jail.
IF fierce winds become thine enemy if the heavens gather blackness and all the elements combine to hedge up the way
Persecution and Suffering
Whatever the wind is it stands for the opposition in our lives.
Hold on thy way..for God shal be with you forever and ever from Elder Aoyagi---We are not alone in the battles we fight.
If we build our lives on the Rock of Christ we cannot fall.
Be of good cheer, It is I. Be not afraid.
Story about Kites on the beach Oldest Kite shop on the Oregon Coast, box kite, sport kite...etc....This wind was no different than the wind that cause all the trial on the road...but we were in a better place we were in the sun having fun flying kites....John Bytheway once said:
"When the winds of adversity come, remember one thing--kites fly the very highest against the wind. Kites don't fly in spite of opposition, kites fly high because of opposition. In fact, they couldn't fly without opposition."
President Henry B. Eyring stated: “The test a loving God has set before us is not to see if we can endure difficulty. It is to see if we can endure it well. We pass the test by showing that we remembered Him and the commandments He gave us.”4
Matthew 11:28
Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Brothers and Sisters, whatever sever side winds that you have in your lives. Please remember to Hold on thy way, remember that it is on the Rock our Redeemer, who is Christ that we must build our foundation. If you do this you will not fall. I testify to you that Jesus Christ is the Saviour and that all these things will give you experience. He has descended below them all. He knows your struggles and your pains. Reach up to him, take hope. I invite you to take personal inventory of your lives and strengthen your faith in Christ. I invite you to find ways to focus on the tender mercies that the Lord is giving you rather than get caught up in the sorrow of your trials. I know that if you do this the Lord will strengthen you to endure all things.
