This Too Shall Pass

by Susan Allred

The last two weeks have been exhausting for my family and I, as I'm sure it is for nearly all of us during the summer. I don't know where the term "summer vacation" was ever derived, but around here it has been anything but.

In the past two weeks we've spent ten days in Montana at Glacier National Park for my husband's family reunion with more than sixty other relatives. During that time, I found myself in the ER with complications from my IUD and a urinary tract infection, then spent nearly the rest of the week laying on an air mattress while the rest of the family reunion continued on without me. When we returned to our home, we attended my family's reunion a week later.

In that week's time, my daughter had surgery. While she was coming out of anesthesia, I got a phone call from my husband saying he was being ordered to the ER due to sky-high enzyme levels. Three hours later, my husband was out of the hospital (he was out of town, of course) and back on the road to his destination, my daughter was ready to go home, and I was preparing for a tonsillectomy for my youngest son the following Monday.

By the time I finished my three doctor's appointments today (our family has endured a total of ten doctor's appointments this week) I was physically and emotionally exhausted. I was beginning to feel a bit like Job's neighbor, wondering if some of his luck had rubbed off on me.

Then, in the quiet of the night, after the little ones are tucked into bed, I meditate on the last several week's activities and how I will get through the rest of this week. I feel the scriptures calling to me, beckoning me to open them and to fill my now-empty cup.

How easy it is to be thrown to and fro in life, reacting to one event after another rather than preparing ourselves each morning spiritually for what may lie ahead. How much easier would it be for us to be able to weather our own personal storms if we had the Savior's arm around us, guiding us through the chaos of everyday life. All we need to do is grab hold of his perpetually outstretched hand, and he will never let go.

So, tonight I will put down my mile-long to-do list, and will curl up with my scriptures to seek comfort in knowing my Father in Heaven knows and loves me, and that this too shall pass...like a kidney stone.