"And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.
"And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities." -Alma 7:11-12
I would not have chosen this experience, even if it will help me understand other people better. I think it has been and will be of help to me, because, like my mother said, it is a chance to learn through experience things that will allow me to better assist other people who are struggling. But I wouldn't have picked it and I still fight against it sometimes and wish it wouldn't have happened. The Savior, on the other hand, chose to take upon Him the pains of all people: the pain of sin, the pain of sickness, the pain of sadness and loss. He did this so He could understand perfectly how we feel and help us in our trials. That's why we can truly say that we are not alone in our suffering, because not only is our Savior with us, strengthening us and suffering with us, He has also been there before, and has felt what we are feeling, and knows how to "succor", or minister to, us in our sorrows. And when we suffer, though, unlike our Savior, it is not by choice, it can help us to be more like Him, and more able to minister to those around us who are also hurting. Maybe that is one reason things like this happen.
Thank you all for your kind words, faith, and prayers. We have been strengthened by your love and support. I'm sorry if we have given the impression that because of our faith, this experience has not been difficult for us. There have been lots of tears. We are just private people and choose to keep our tears to ourselves. Please forgive us for not expressing that better.
With love, Anna
6 comments:
Anna, thank you for sharing that. I'm so sorry for your loss. It's such a hard thing to deal with. But for this amount of sorrow you will have that much more joy when you give birth to the next child I'm sure will come. Take care...
It takes a strong person to be able to stand back, look at their life and see how their trials can help them. You two are so strong and seeing your testimony during your trials is very inspiring.
thanks for sharing you guys. you've been in our thoughts. and we are so happy that you are back here in rexburg so we can see you again. ps...your pictures are done!!! let me know when we can come by to get them to you. they turned out great!
I truly am sorry for your loss. I admire your courage & faith!
Your words were very touching, Anna. And, like the Savior, I think we truly DID choose to go through the trials we do. I think we knew the things we would be facing before we came to earth - it's just sometimes hard to remember the bigger picture while we are having this earthly experience! I love you guys!
Anna, I found your blog through another ward memeber and I just wanted to let you know that I truly believe that I was led to it today because I needed to read what you had written. I had a miscarriage this summer after 2 years of trying to get pregnant and so I understand that regardless of my faith in the Lord's plan for me and the comfort that comes from our Father in Heaven, it still hurts. And eventhough its been 3 1/2 months since I had the miscarriage this week has for some reason been hard for me. But your post reminded me that I am not alone and that one day I will be able to help others by knowing how they feel becuase of the experiences I've been through. I probably am not making sense because I'm typing through tears, but just know that I appreciate the fact that you were willing to share your thoughts on your blog. If nothing else, they helped me today right when I needed it!
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