Storms of Life

This morning the kids and I were doing our daily scripture reading. We were reading in the Book of Ether. I have noticed that I need to stop more often than not, to see if they understand the topic or story. Today we were reading about the barges being built and traveling across the great water to the promise land. The brother of Jared asked the Lord, what can he do for light while they travel. Now the Lord did not give him the answer, but explained to the brother of Jared, why certain options wouldn't work. In one of the Lord's explanations, He talked about how hard the journey was going to be for them.
"For behold, ye shall be as a whale in the midst of the sea; for the mountain waves shall dash upon you. Nevertheless, I will bring you up again out of the depths of the sea; for the winds have gone forth out of my mouth, and also the rains and the floods have I sent forth.
And behold, I prepare you against these things; for ye cannot cross this great deep save I prepare you against the waves of the sea, and the winds which have gone forth, and the floods which shall come." (Ether 2:24-25)
As I was explaining this to my kids, my mind was opened and these verses started to mean more to me than before. The Lord gives us the storms and yet He also prepares us against the storms. These storms in life help us to get closer to the promise land or eternal life. I know I was prepared for my storms. I know the Lord gave me many angels to help me. I know He has given me opportunities to grow, so I could handle my storms. Hopefully now, I am teaching my children to trust in the Lord and His will. At times we may feel that we are at the bottom of the ocean and there is no way to come up for air. But I promise, as we put trust in the Lord, we will see the way He had prepared for us against the storms of life.