While on my mission in Alaska, I heard a couple wise sayings that made me laugh but have stuck with me. Both of these sayings dealt with patience. The first was "I really want patience... but I want it now." The second saying was simply more of a prayer to God that He would "help me learn quickly what I am suppose to from this challenge so that it is no longer a challenge."
I think I really appreciated these sayings while on my mission because being a missionary often involved both waiting and challenges. Both of these aspects of missionary work left me feeling at times extremely impatient.
Since being home, I have found that trying to develop patience and conquering challenges seem to have come home with me--imagine that! Recently, I have found myself confronting these same issues. In the past months, I have been trying to make many life decisions with my graduation approaching here in April and have felt as though the Lord has been slow to answer my prayers. This has left me feeling fairly discouraged. The Lord has also at times answered me, but in a way my father would of approve of--by "answering the question that should have been asked rather than the one that was."
As I read from the scriptures this week, though, I came across the story of the sons' of King Mosiah (king over the Lamanites) mission to the Lamanites (enemies to King Mosiah's people). One of the brothers has immense initial success whereas the other brothers are met with serious tribulation. After a while, the successful brother Ammon finds his brothers in prison and it is recorded in Alma 20: 29, "And when Ammon did meet them he was exceedingly sorrowful, for behold they were naked, and their skins were worn exceedingly because of being bound with strong cords. And they also had suffered hunger, thirst, and all kinds of afflictions; nevertheless they were patient in all their sufferings."
This verse touched me because what these imprisoned brothers didn't know was the success that would shortly befall them. One brother in particular would go on to help convert the king of the Lamanite nation! Yet for a time, these brothers suffered immensely in prison. I have to think that at times, they must have been tempted to wonder what the Lord was doing or what was taking Him so long to help them. However, they endured and as He always does, the Lord came through.
I think at times, the Lord has us make sacrifices that seem tough or puts us through trying times. It is during these times that we seem to become painfully aware of time and can become impatient. However, I think it is because we fail to understand the Lord's workings. I think the key to developing patience is faith. In Samuel we read, "them that honour me I will honour" (1 Sam. 2:30). The imprisoned sons of Mosiah waited patiently on God, and I believe they were able to do so because they had faith Him and His timing. He knows what we need and when we need it. I will wait patiently because I believe that.
For those of you who may feel as though you are waiting on the Lord as well, wait on! Don't give up on Him. I don't know what will befall us in every situation, but I do know that when we patiently wait on Him, it will be His will!
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